Abstract
Naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ T regulatory (Treg) cells have been shown to inhibit adaptive responses by T cells. Natural killer (NK) cells represent an important component of innate immunity in both cancer and infectious disease states. We investigated whether CD4+CD25 + Treg cells could affect NK cell function in vivo by using allogeneic (full H2-disparate) bone marrow (BM) transplantation and the model of hybrid resistance, in which parental marrow grafts are rejected solely by the NK cells of irradiated (BALB/c × C57BL/6) F1 recipients. We demonstrate that the prior removal of host Treg cells, but not CD8+ T cells, significantly enhanced NK cell-mediated BM rejection in both models. The inhibitory role of Treg cells on NK cells was confirmed in vivo with adoptive transfer studies in which transferred CD4+CD25+ cells could abrogate NK cell-mediated hybrid resistance. Anti-TGF-β mAb treatment also increased NK cell-mediated BM graft rejection, suggesting that the NK cell suppression is exerted through TGF-β. Thus, CD4+CD25 + Treg cells can potently inhibit NK cell function in vivo, and their depletion may have therapeutic ramifications for NK cell function in BM transplantation and cancer therapy.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 5460-5465 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 103 |
Issue number | 14 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 4 2006 |
Keywords
- Anti-CD25
- Bone marrow transplantation
- Foxp3
- Hybrid resistance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Genetics
- General