Thymic-derived CD25Recent reports have shown that Tregs proliferate and retain their antigen-dependent suppressive functions when the APCs are antigen-loaded mature dendritic cells (DCs) (16-18). When Tregs specific for a pancreatic islet  cell antigen are stimulated by DCs together with IL-2, the expanded antigen-specific T cells regulate the development of autoimmune diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice and do so much more effectively than polyclonal populations (18). From the perspective of suppressing unwanted immune reactions, preferential expansion of antigen-specific Tregs will also avoid complications likely to be incurred if therapeutic T cells were contaminated with Tregs that suppress resistance to infections and tumors.We will show here that DCs expand alloantigen-specific Tregs from polyclonal starting populations, which initially have little specific suppressive activity. The DCs prove to be much more effective than a standard source of spleen APCs in expanding Tregs and maintaining high Foxp3 expression. When function is tested, DC-expanded Tregs exert more potent and antigenspecific suppression of transplantation immunity.
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