title: Bee venom enhances the differentiation of human regulatory T cells.
abstract: Venom-specific immunotherapy (VIT) is well recognized by its efficacy, and compelling evidence implicates regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the underlying tolerogenic mechanisms. Additionally, hymenoptera venom has for a long time been claimed to modulate immunity. Here, we investigated the putative role of bee venom (Bv) in human FOXP3-expressing Treg homeostasis and differentiation, irrespective of the donors' allergic status. We found that Bv significantly enhanced the differentiation of FOXP3-expressing cells both from conventional naïve CD4 T cells and mature CD4 thymocytes, a property that may contribute to the VIT's capacity to expand circulating Tregs in allergic individuals. We expect that our data enlightening the Treg-mediated immunomodulatory properties of Bv regardless of TCR specificity, to have application in other allergies, as well as in other clinical settings, such as autoimmunity and transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Caramalho
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa-Norte, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pedro
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa-Norte, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: M M P
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.|Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa-Norte, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: R M M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Victorino
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pereira Santos
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sousa
mesh_terms: D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D037182:T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D001514:Bee Venoms; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell
keywords: bee venom; regulatory T cells; venom-specific immunotherapy