Monitoring Regulatory T-Cell Activity with the FOXP3 Gene

The FoxP3 gene is currently the most reliable marker of suppressor regulatory T-cell activity. FoxP3 is a gene very specific to these cells. Regulatory T-cells are a sub-population of cells that have been shown to be capable of limiting immune responses to self-antigens, playing an essential role in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethnicity & disease 2007-09, Vol.17 (4), p.S5-56
Main Authors: Ramcharran, Luana, Haslett, Patrick A, Worley, Jason, Shrestha, Niraj, Pallin, Maria, Sharpe, Ishmael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Genetics
Health and Medicine
Medical research
Medical science
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Summary:The FoxP3 gene is currently the most reliable marker of suppressor regulatory T-cell activity. FoxP3 is a gene very specific to these cells. Regulatory T-cells are a sub-population of cells that have been shown to be capable of limiting immune responses to self-antigens, playing an essential role in preventing auto-immune diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that they also serve a role in controlling many other immune responses, including inflammation, infection, allergy, graft vs host disease, organ transplantation, tumor immunity, and immunodeficiency. It is believed that this cell population may exert a ''quality control'' effect in a balanced immune response. In our studies, FoxP3 gene expression was measured with Real-Time PCR to assess regulatory T-cell activity. For any Real-Time PCR work, an endogenous control gene, often called a 'housekeeping' gene, must first be established. The ideal control should maintain a constant level of expression in experiments to give an accurate measure of the changes in the gene of interest. In our studies, ß-Actin proved to be the most stable and abundantly expressed housekeeping gene. Using this technique, regulatory T-cell activity was monitored in patients diagnosed with ENL (erythema nodosom leprosum). It was proposed that the medicine the patients were being treated with, known as thalidomide, was an antiinflammatory drug therefore aiding the body's own natural defense mechanisms against the bacteria in the infection. It was discovered that the patient's immune system would call more regulatory T-cells in response to the foreign antigens threatening the body's health - proving that this hypothesis was indeed true. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1049-510X