title: Regulatory T cells prevent catastrophic autoimmunity throughout the lifespan of mice.
abstract: Mice lacking the transcription factor Foxp3 (Foxp3(-)) lack regulatory T (T(reg)) cells and develop fatal autoimmune pathology. In Foxp3(-) mice, many activated effector T cells express self-reactive T cell receptors that are expressed in T(reg) cells in wild-type mice. Thus, in wild-type mice, most self-reactive thymocytes escaping negative selection are diverted into the T(reg) lineage, and whether T(reg) cells are critical in self-tolerance in wild-type mice remains unknown. Here, acute in vivo ablation of T(reg) cells demonstrated a vital function for T(reg) cells in neonatal and adult mice. We suggest that self-reactive T cells are continuously suppressed by T(reg) cells and that when suppression is relieved, self-reactive T cells become activated and facilitate accelerated maturation of dendritic cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Jeong M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeffrey P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Alexander Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Rudensky
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017634:Self Tolerance / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C498833:Foxp3 protein, mouse