Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 213.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534 Eur+J+Immunol 2014 ; 44 (9): 2603-16 Nephropedia Template TP
Eur J Immunol 2014[Sep]; 44 (9): 2603-16 PMID24975127show ga
Regulatory T (Treg) cells and the programmed death-1/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway are both critical for maintaining peripheral tolerance to self antigens. A significant subset of Treg cells constitutively expresses PD-1, which prompted an investigation into the role of PD-1/PD-L1 interactions in Treg-cell development, function and induction in vivo. The phenotype and abundance of Treg cells was not significantly altered in PD-1-deficient mice. The thymic development of polyclonal and monospecific Treg cells was not negatively impacted by PD-1 deficiency. The suppressive function of PD-1?/? Treg cells was similar to their PD-1+/+ counterparts both in vitro and in vivo. However, in three different in vivo experimental settings, PD-1?/? conventional CD4+ T cells demonstrated a strikingly diminished tendency toward differentiation into peripherally induced Treg (pTreg) cells. Our results demonstrate that PD-1 is dispensable for thymic (tTreg) Treg-cell development and suppressive function, but is critical for the extrathymic differentiation of pTreg cells in vivo. These data suggest that antibody blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway may augment T-cell responses by acting directly on conventional T cells, and also by suppressing the differentiation of pTreg cells.