A Role for IL-27 in Limiting T Regulatory Cell Populations

作者：Elia D. Tait Wojno, Nancy Hosken, Jason S. Stumhofer, Aisling O’Hara, Elizabeth A. Mauldin, Qun Fang, Laurence A. Turka, Steven D. Levin, Christopher A. Hunter · 发表于：The Journal of Immunology · 年份：2011 · DOI：10.4049/jimmunol.1004182 · 被引用次数：98 · 研究领域：T-cell and B-cell Immunology、Immune Cell Function and Interaction、Psoriasis: Treatment and Pathogenesis

IL-27 is a cytokine that regulates Th function during autoimmune and pathogen-induced immune responses. Although previous studies have shown that regulatory T cells (Tregs) express the IL-27R, and that IL-27 inhibits forkhead box P3 upregulation in vitro, little is known about how IL-27 influences Tregs in vivo. The studies presented in this article show that mice that overexpress IL-27 had decreased Treg frequencies and developed spontaneous inflammation. Although IL-27 did not cause mature Tregs to downregulate forkhead box P3, transgenic overexpression in vivo limited the size of a differentiating Treg population in a bone marrow chimera model, which correlated with reduced production of IL-2, a vital cytokine for Treg maintenance. These data identify an indirect role for IL-27 in shaping the Treg pool.