In vitro expansion improves in vivo regulation by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells

CD4(+)CD25(+) T regulatory cells (Tregs) can actively suppress immune responses and thus have substantial therapeutical potential. Clinical application is, however, frustrated by their scarcity, anergic status, and lack of defined specificity. We found that a single injection of a small number of expanded but not fresh HY-specific Tregs protected syngeneic male skin grafts from rejection by immune-competent recipients. The expanded Tregs were predominantly located in the grafts and graft-draining lymph nodes. In vitro expanded Tregs displayed a phenotype of CD25(high)CD4(low)Foxp3(+)CTLA4(+), and also up-regulated IL10 and TGF beta while down-regulating IFN-gamma, GM-CSF, IL5, and TNF-alpha production. Furthermore, expanded Tregs appeared to express a reduced level of Foxp3, which could be prevented by adding TGF beta to the culture, and they also tended to lose Foxp3 following the repeated stimulation. Finally, a proportion of expanded HY-specific Tregs secreted IL2 in response to their cognate peptide, and this finding could be confirmed using Tregs from Foxp3(GFP) reporter mice. We not only demonstrated that expanded Tregs are superior to fresh Tregs in suppressing T cell responses against alloantigens, but also revealed some novel immunobiological properties of expended Tregs which are very instructive for modifying current Treg expansion procedures.