[HTML][HTML] An essential role for the IL-2 receptor in Treg cell function

T Chinen, AK Kannan, AG Levine, X Fan, U Klein… - Nature …, 2016 - nature.com
T Chinen, AK Kannan, AG Levine, X Fan, U Klein, Y Zheng, G Gasteiger, Y Feng
Nature immunology, 2016nature.com
Regulatory T cells (Treg cells), which have abundant expression of the interleukin 2 receptor
(IL-2R), are reliant on IL-2 produced by activated T cells. This feature indicates a key role for
a simple network based on the consumption of IL-2 by Treg cells in their suppressor
function. However, congenital deficiency in IL-2R results in reduced expression of the Treg
cell lineage–specification factor Foxp3, which has confounded experimental efforts to
understand the role of IL-2R expression and signaling in the suppressor function of Treg …
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Treg cells), which have abundant expression of the interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R), are reliant on IL-2 produced by activated T cells. This feature indicates a key role for a simple network based on the consumption of IL-2 by Treg cells in their suppressor function. However, congenital deficiency in IL-2R results in reduced expression of the Treg cell lineage–specification factor Foxp3, which has confounded experimental efforts to understand the role of IL-2R expression and signaling in the suppressor function of Treg cells. Using genetic gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we found that capture of IL-2 was dispensable for the control of CD4+ T cells but was important for limiting the activation of CD8+ T cells, and that IL-2R-dependent activation of the transcription factor STAT5 had an essential role in the suppressor function of Treg cells separable from signaling via the T cell antigen receptor.
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