Expansion and suppressive capacity of regulatory T cells isolated from patients across the leprosy spectrum: a pilot study

Publication date: Available online 16 December 2019Source: Microbes and InfectionAuthor(s): Carol Cardona, Ana P. Vieira, João Avancini, Alberto J.S. Duarte, Maria Angela B. Trindade, Gil BenardAbstractKnowledge of the role of Tregs in the immunopathogenesis of the different clinical outcomes within the leprosy spectrum remains limited due to the lack of studies directly assessing their suppression capacity. We thus tested a protocol to expand Tregs from the peripheral blood of patients across the leprosy spectrum and analyzed their suppressive capacity in autologous TCD4+ responses. Results of these pilot assays show that Tregs can be expanded and exert suppressive capacity, but also that their rate of expansion and suppressive capacity are influenced by the patient’s clinical classification, suggesting that they possibly retain some in vivo characteristics.
Source: Microbes and Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research