Summary: TheJournalofExperimentalMedicine
ARTICLE
Vol. 203, No. 11, October 30, 2006 2451­2460 www.jem.org/cgi/doi/10.1084/jem.20060956
2451
Naturally occurring CD4+ regulatory T (nTreg)
cells that represent 5­10% of peripheral CD4+
T cells constitutively express the IL-2R chain
(CD25) and the Foxp3 transcription factor, and
play a central role in maintaining self-tolerance
in several models of autoimmunity (1­3). These
nTreg cells acquire their immunosuppressive
properties during normal thymopoesis, and
abrogation of their development or function
correlates with increased immunity to tumors,
allergens, grafts, and pathogens and provokes
the induction of multiorgan autoimmunity.
Thus, CD4+ nTreg cells survive in the periph-
ery poised to prevent potential autoimmune
responses and immunopathology (4­8).
Persistent infections may represent a com-

Source: Arnold, Jonathan - Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center & Department of Genetics, University of Georgia

Collections: Biotechnology