Extracorporeal Photopheresis Enhances the Frequency and Function of Highly Suppressive FoxP3 + Treg Subsets in Heart...

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has emerged as a prophylactic and therapeutic immunomodulatory option for managing acute rejection in heart transplants (HTx). The underlying mechanisms through which ECP exerts its immunomodulatory effects remain under investigation. Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a heterogeneous subset of immune lymphocytes that ensure the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, avoiding graft rejection. The transcription factor forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3) is an essential molecular marker of Treg, acting as a "master regulator" of their genesis, stability, and functions. No study has investigated whether ECP impacts FoxP3 expression and its highly suppressive variants containing the exon 2 (FoxP3-E2), particularly in HTx.

In the current study, we recruited 14 HTx participants who had undergone ECP therapy. We explored the effect of in vivo ECP on CD4 + FoxP3 + Treg frequency and in vitro suppressive function in 8 HTx participants before (T0) and after 3 (T1), 6 (T2), and 12 (T3) mo of treatment. As a control group, we included 4 HTx individuals who had not undergone ECP therapy.

We found that ECP increases the frequency of CD4 + FoxP3 + Treg subset with highly suppressive phenotype, including CD4 + FoxP3-E2 + Treg. At functional levels, we observed that ECP treatment in HTx individuals effectively improves Treg suppressive ability in controlling the proliferation of autologous conventional CD4 + T lymphocytes.

Our findings collectively suggest that ECP exerts its immunomodulatory effects in HTx individuals by positively impacting the frequency and regulatory function of the FoxP3 + Treg compartment.