Isolation of purified and live Foxp3+ regulatory T cells using facs sorting on scatter plot

Abstract

There are no ideal ways to identify and isolate viable and purified Foxp3+ regulatory T cells so far. Here we developed a novel procedure for the isolation of highly purified Foxp3+ cells using flow cytometry. This method relies on an identification and sorting of the lymphoblast cell population identified on a scatter plot using flow cytometry. We confirmed that greater than 98% of the cells sorted using this technique expressed Foxp3 and displayed a potent suppressive activity. This method provides a valuable tool for the study of the T regulatory cell biology and their therapeutic manipulation. © The Author (2010).