Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Skeletal Phenotype Analysis of a Conditional Stat3 Deletion Mouse Model
Published on: July 3, 2020
Epigenetic Modification Mediates the Increase of LAG-3+ T Cells in Chronic Osteomyelitis
Yicun Wang1, Jun Wang1, Jia Meng1
1Orthopaedic Department of Jinling Hospital, 305# East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
Immune suppression plays critical roles in the development of chronic osteomyelitis, and the mechanisms underlying the development of immune suppression in chronic osteomyelitis have attracted much attention. LAG-3 is an important suppressor of T cell activation, but the role of LAG-3 in the immune regulation of chronic osteomyelitis is currently unknown. We sought to demonstrate if LAG-3 plays crucial roles in chronic osteomyelitis progression and has effects on immune suppression and exhausting of T cells, and what is the mechanism underlying LAG-3 deregulation in chronic osteomyelitis. We examined the expression of LAG-3 in the T cells of peripheral blood of 50 healthy controls and 50 patients with chronic osteomyelitis by flow cytometry. Clinical data were analyzed to determine the correlation between inflammation index and LAG-3 expression. Moreover, we isolated the CD4+ T cells from healthy controls and chronic osteomyelitis patients to compare cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were utilized to analyze the epigenetic modification on LAG-3 expression in T cells. We found that LAG-3 was significantly increased in the T cells of peripheral blood from chronic osteomyelitis patients. Subsequently, clinical data analysis suggested that the higher expression of LAG-3 was associated with severer inflammation situation. Consistently, LAG-3+CD4+ T cells exhibited impaired cell proliferation and IFN-γ secretion. Deregulation of histone methylation mediated the increase of LAG-3+ T cells during chronic osteomyelitis. Taken together, our study demonstrates the increase of LAG-3+ T cells and its immune regulatory roles in chronic osteomyelitis progression, suggesting new mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for chronic osteomyelitis.
Immune suppression plays critical roles in the development of chronic osteomyelitis, and the mechanisms underlying the development of immune suppression in chronic osteomyelitis have attracted much attention. LAG-3 is an important suppressor of T cell activation, but the role of LAG-3 in the immune regulation of chronic osteomyelitis is currently unknown. We sought to demonstrate if LAG-3 plays crucial roles in chronic osteomyelitis progression and has effects on immune suppression and exhausting of T cells, and what is the mechanism underlying LAG-3 deregulation in chronic osteomyelitis. We examined the expression of LAG-3 in the T cells of peripheral blood of 50 healthy controls and 50 patients with chronic osteomyelitis by flow cytometry. Clinical data were analyzed to determine the correlation between inflammation index and LAG-3 expression. Moreover, we isolated the CD4+ T cells from healthy controls and chronic osteomyelitis patients to compare cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were utilized to analyze the epigenetic modification on LAG-3 expression in T cells. We found that LAG-3 was significantly increased in the T cells of peripheral blood from chronic osteomyelitis patients. Subsequently, clinical data analysis suggested that the higher expression of LAG-3 was associated with severer inflammation situation. Consistently, LAG-3+CD4+ T cells exhibited impaired cell proliferation and IFN-γ secretion. Deregulation of histone methylation mediated the increase of LAG-3+ T cells during chronic osteomyelitis. Taken together, our study demonstrates the increase of LAG-3+ T cells and its immune regulatory roles in chronic osteomyelitis progression, suggesting new mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for chronic osteomyelitis.
