Alloantigen-induced regulatory CD8+CD103+ T cells

Sven D. Koch, Elena Uss, René A. W. van Lier, Ineke J. M. ten Berge

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) appear of great importance in the balance between alloreactivity and tolerance and subsets of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells have been recognized to function as regulatory T cells after allogenic transplantation. Among the CD8(+) T-cell subsets, the CD103(+) cells were most recently identified as regulatory. In this review, we describe their phenotypical and functional properties, as well as their relevance for the alloimmune response in vivo. These CD8(+)CD103(+) Tregs are generated within mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLCs) and are elevated by additional transforming growth factor-beta. Interestingly, myeloid dendritic cells are the responsible cell type for induction of CD103(+) Tregs. Allostimulated CD8(+)CD103(+) Tregs display an antigen-experienced effector phenotype with limited effector functions such as cytotoxicity and interferon-gamma production and show a reduced proliferation capacity after restimulation. Beside this anergic phenotype, CD8(+)CD103(+) Tregs are able to suppress alloreactive effector T cells. Through intracellular cytokine staining and transwell assays, we showed that the mechanism of suppression is cytokine independent, but close cell-cell contact is required for suppression
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)737-744
JournalHuman immunology
Volume69
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

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