Interleukin-7 influences FOXP3+CD4+ regulatory T cells peripheral homeostasis

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Abstract

Mechanisms governing peripheral CD4+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) survival and homeostasis are multiple suggesting tight and complex regulation of regulatory T cells homeostasis. Some specific factors, such as TGF-β, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and B7 costimulatory molecules have been identified as essentials for maintenance of the peripheral Treg compartment. Conversely, Treg dependency upon classical T cell homeostatic factors such as IL-7 is still unclear. In this work, we formally investigated the role of IL-7 in Treg homeostasis in vivo in murine models. We demonstrated that IL-7 availability regulated the size of peripheral Treg cell pool and thus paralleled the impact of IL-7 on conventional T cell pool. Moreover, we showed that IL-7 administration increased Treg cell numbers by inducing thymic-independent Treg peripheral expansion. Importantly the impact of IL-7 on Treg expansion was detected whether conventional T cells were present or absent as IL-7 directly participates to the peripheral expansion of Treg after adoptive transfer into lymphopenic hosts. Our results definitively identify IL-7 as a central factor contributing to Treg peripheral homeostasis, thus reassembling Treg to other T cell subsets in respect of their need for IL-7 for their peripheral maintenance. © 2012 Simonetta et al.

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Simonetta, F., Gestermann, N., Martinet, K. Z., Boniotto, M., Tissières, P., Seddon, B., & Bourgeois, C. (2012). Interleukin-7 influences FOXP3+CD4+ regulatory T cells peripheral homeostasis. PLoS ONE, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036596

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