Generation of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells from autoreactive T cells simultaneously with their negative selection in the thymus and from nonautoreactive T cells by endogenous TCR expression.
Normal T cell repertoire contains regulatory T cells that control autoimmune responses in the periphery. One recent study demonstrated that CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells were generated from autoreactive T cells without negative selection. However, it is unclear whether, in general, positive selection and negative selection of autoreactive T cells are mutually exclusive processes in the thymus. To investigate the ontogeny of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells, neo-autoantigen-bearing transgenic mice expressing chicken egg OVA systemically in the nuclei (Ld-nOVA) were crossed with transgenic mice expressing an OVA-specific TCR (DO11.10). Ld-nOVA x DO11.10 mice had increased numbers of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells in the thymus and the periphery despite clonal deletion. In Ld-nOVA x DO11.10 mice, T cells expressing endogenous TCR alpha beta chains were CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells, whereas T cells expressing autoreactive TCR were selected as CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells, which were exclusively dominant in recombination-activating gene 2-deficient Ld-nOVA x DO11.10 mice. In contrast, in DO11.10 mice, CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells expressed endogenous TCR alpha beta chains, which disappeared in recombination-activating gene 2-deficient DO11.10 mice. These results indicate that part of autoreactive T cells that have a high affinity TCR enough to cause clonal deletion could be positively selected as CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells in the thymus. Furthermore, it is suggested that endogenous TCR gene rearrangement might critically contribute to the generation of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells from nonautoreactive T cell repertoire, at least under the limited conditions such as TCR-transgenic models, as well as the generation of CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells from autoreactive T cell repertoire.
Kawahata
Kimito
K
Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Misaki
Yoshikata
Y
Yamauchi
Michiko
M
Tsunekawa
Shinji
S
Setoguchi
Keigo
K
Miyazaki
Jun-ichi
J
Yamamoto
Kazuhiko
K
D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017637:Clonal Deletion; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology*
D001324:Autoantigens; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2; D010047:Ovalbumin