LPS-activated monocytes suppress T-cell immune responses and induce FOXP3+ T cells through a COX-2-PGE2-dependent

Tone Bryn1, Sheraz Yaqub, Milada Mahic

  • 1Biotechnology Centre of Oslo, Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Nordic EMBL Partnership, University of Oslo, N-0317 Oslo, Norway.

International Immunology
|December 25, 2007
PubMed

Monocytes initiate innate immune responses and interact with T cells to induce antigen-specific immune responses by antigen presentation and secretion of humoral factors. We have previously shown that adaptive regulatory T cells inhibit T-cell effector functions in a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2))-dependent manner and that PGE(2) converts resting CD4+CD25- T cells into FOXP3+ T cells with a suppressive phenotype. Here, we demonstrate that stimulation of monocytes with LPS leads to suppression of T-cell immune responses by a COX-2-PGE(2)-dependent mechanism that is reversible with COX-2 inhibitors as well as PGE(2)-neutralizing antibody and cAMP antagonist. Furthermore, we show that LPS-activated monocytes induce FOXP3 expression in resting CD4+CD25- T cells by the same pathway. These results suggest that monocytes are able to efficiently suppress T-cell immune responses in a regulatory manner and elicit an inhibitory immune profile.