title: Is Foxp3 a good marker for regulatory T cells?
abstract: To track the changes in the tested Treg markers especially Foxp3 following activation to determine whether data of human studies using Foxp3 in evaluation of Tregs are reliable or not. Four-colour flow cytometry analysis was carried out to calculate the percentages of Tregs before and after lymphocyte activation. Foxp3 expression by CD4(+)CD25(+)* and CD4(+)CD25(high) T cells increased after T cell activation. A moderate negative correlation was observed between the percentage of each of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+)IL10(+) or CD4(+)CD25(high) Foxp3(+)IL10(+) T cells and the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells "after activation" and a weak negative correlation was similarly observed between the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(-)Foxp3(+)IL10(+) T cells and the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells "after activation". A moderate negative correlation was observed between the percentage of each of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+)IL10(+), CD4(+)CD25(high)Foxp3(+)IL10(+) or CD4(+)CD25(-) Foxp3(+)lL10(+) T cells and the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(high) T cells "after activation". CD4(+)CD25(high) T cell subpopulation expressed a significantly higher level of intracellular Foxp3 compared with CD4(+)CD25(low) and CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells subpopulations. In conclusions, Foxp3 is a good marker of Tregs especially if panels of markers were used for their identification. CD4(+)CD25(high) Foxp3(+) T cell subpopulation mostly represents Tregs and thus should be the one targeted in Treg studies.
authors: Douaa
authors: D
authors: Sayed
authors: Omnia H B
authors: OH
authors: El-Badawy
authors: Eman Nasr
authors: EN
authors: Eldin
authors: Rania
authors: R
authors: Bakry
authors: Mohamed S
authors: MS
authors: Badary
authors: Mohamed E
authors: ME
authors: Abd-Alrahman
authors: Mohamed A
authors: MA
authors: El-Feky
authors: Amany G
authors: AG
authors: Thabit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015704:CD4 Antigens; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit