title: Forkhead box protein-3 (Foxp3)-producing dendritic cells suppress allergic response.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The generation of the tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) is not fully understood yet. Forkhead box protein-3 (Foxp3) is an important molecule in the immune tolerance. This study tests a hypothesis that DCs express Foxp3, which can be upregulated by Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB).
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression of Foxp3 by DCs was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR, Western blotting, flow cytometry, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that mice treated with SEB at 0.25-0.5 μg/mouse showed high frequencies of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-producing CD4+T cells and TGF-β-producing DCs in the intestine, while the IL-4+CD4+T cells and TIM4+DCs were dominated in the intestine in mice treated with SEB at 1-10 μg/mouse. Treating DCs with SEB in the culture induced high levels of Foxp3 at the TGF-β promoter locus. The function of Foxp3 was blocked by STAT6 (signal transducer and activator transcription-6); the latter was induced by exposing DCs to SEB in the culture at doses of 100-400 ng/ml. Treating allergic mice with specific immunotherapy (SIT) together with SEB significantly promoted the therapeutic effects on the allergic responses than treating with SIT alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dendritic cells have the capacity to express Foxp3, which can be upregulated by exposure to SEB.
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Safety, School of Life Sciences, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
authors.forename: X-Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: L-Z
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: X-Q
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.|Shenzhen ENT Institute, Longgang ENT Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: X-R
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.|Shenzhen ENT Institute, Longgang ENT Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Z-Q
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Affiliated Luohu Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: L-T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.|Shenzhen ENT Institute, Longgang ENT Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Z-G
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: H-B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.|Shenzhen ENT Institute, Longgang ENT Hospital, Shenzhen, China.|Brain Body Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: L-T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Safety, School of Life Sciences, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
authors.forename: T-G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: The Research Center of Allergy and Immunology, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China.|the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: P-C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000628:therapy*; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007167:Immunotherapy; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D050800:STAT6 Transcription Factor / Q000276:immunology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D004768:Enterotoxins; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C498833:Foxp3 protein, mouse; D050800:STAT6 Transcription Factor; C494100:Stat6 protein, mouse; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D015847:Interleukin-4; C031818:enterotoxin B, staphylococcal
keywords: T lymphocyte; dendritic cell; forkhead box protein-3; intestine; staphylococcal enterotoxin B