title: Treg-enriched CD4+ T cells attenuate collagen synthesis in keloid fibroblasts.
abstract: Keloid is an inflammatory and fibrotic disease with an unknown pathogenesis. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) of CD4+ lineage can suppress other effector CD4+ T cells and modulate the immune response. A relative decrease in the number of Tregs may be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. We therefore investigated the number of Tregs in keloids using immunohistochemistry and examined the interaction between Tregs and keloid fibroblasts (KFs) using a coculture system. It was found that the ratio of Tregs/CD4+ T cells was lower compared with that in other common inflammatory skin conditions. In addition, Treg-enriched CD4+ T cells reduced collagen synthesis by KFs. Our findings suggest that a local imbalance of Tregs contributes to the development of keloids and that correction of this imbalance might represent a novel therapeutic approach to keloid fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murao
authors.forename: Ken-Ichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seino
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Emi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Funayama
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Yuhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oyama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D007627:Keloid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D003094:Collagen
keywords: coculture; fibroblast; keloid; regulatory T cell