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Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Retroviral Transduction of T-cell Receptors in Mouse T-cells
Published on: October 22, 2010
Dual CD8 and TCR editing in regulatory T cells mediates HLA-A2-restricted tissue-specific homing
Raphaël Porret1, Fanny Lebreton2, Eleonora Pace3
1Division of Immunology and Allergy, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland; Centre for Human Immunology Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is marked by the overexpression of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens in pancreatic islets, which are targeted by islet-specific CD8+ T cells. Here, we aimed to improve regulatory T cell (Treg) infiltration into pancreatic islets by redirecting their specificity toward class I-restricted islet antigens. We functionally validated two islet-specific HLA-A2 (∗02:01)-restricted T cell receptors (TCRs), one specific for ZnT8186-194 (clone D222D) and the second for IGRP265-273 (clone 32), by dual-locus (TRAC/CD4) homology-directed editing. Clone D222D was peptide specific and CD8αβ dependent, while clone 32 exhibited antigen promiscuity and showed CD8α dependency. Engineered CD4to8 TCR Tregs maintained stable phenotypes, in vitro suppressive function compared to their polyclonal counterparts, and showed co-receptor-dependent migration in vivo. This approach demonstrates that TCR specificity, reflected by its functional activity, is crucial for tissue-specific trafficking, paving the way to improve the efficacy of Treg therapies for T1D.
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