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Thymus exosomes-like particles induce regulatory T cells

Gui-Jun Wang1, Yuelong Liu, Aijian Qin

  • 1Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.

Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
|October 4, 2008
PubMed

Exosomes released from different types of cells have been proposed to contribute to intercellular communication. We report that thymic exosome-like particles (ELPs) released from cells of the thymus can induce the development of Foxp3(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells in the lung and liver. Thymic ELPs also induce the conversion of thymic CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells into Tregs. Tregs induced by thymic ELPs suppress the proliferation of CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells in vitro and in vivo. We further show that neutralization of TGF-beta in ELPs partially reverses thymic ELP-mediated induction of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) T cells in the lung and liver. This study demonstrates that thymic ELPs participate in the induction of Foxp3(+) Tregs. Also, TGF-beta of thymic ELPs might be required for the generation of Tregs in the peripheral tissues.

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