Authors:
Yeonseok Chung, Shinya Tanaka, Fuliang Chu, Roza I Nurieva, Gustavo J Martinez, Seema Rawal, Yi-Hong Wang, Hoyong Lim, Joseph M Reynolds, Xiao-hui Zhou, Hui-min Fan, Zhong-ming Liu, Sattva S Neelapu, & Chen Dong
Summary:
Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells suppress different types of immune responses to help maintain homeostasis in the body. How Treg cells regulate humoral immunity, including germinal center reactions, is unclear. Here we identify a subset of Treg cells expressing CXCR5 and Bcl-6 that localize to the germinal centers in mice and humans. The expression of CXCR5 on Treg cells depends on Bcl-6. These CXCR5+Bcl-6+ Treg cells are absent in the thymus but can be generated de novo from CXCR5−Foxp3+ natural Treg precursors. A lack of CXCR5+ Treg cells leads to greater germinal center reactions including germinal center B cells, affinity maturation of antibodies and the differentiation of plasma cells. These results unveil a Bcl-6-CXCR5 axis in Treg cells that drives the development of follicular regulatory T (TFR) cells that function to inhibit the germinal center reactions.
Source:
Nature Medicine; 17, 983-988 (07/24/11)