Regulatory T cells articles from across Nature Portfolio

Graft-versus-Host disease is a major complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and is ameliorated by adoptively transferred donor regulatory T cells. Here, the authors apply transcriptomic and TCR profiling to assess regulatory T cell organ-specific adaptation in murine bone marrow transplantation models.

Loss of function mutation studies has provided insights into regulatory T-cell biology. Here Cardinez et al explore the effects of a murine Ikbkb (IKK2) gain of function model and show IKK2 activity results in the expansion of regulatory T cells with partial effector function and suggest an IKK2 dose-dependent relation between psoriatic immunopathology and psoriatic arthritis.

Antibodies stimulating the T cell co-activator 4-1BB (CD137) do enhance anti-tumour T cell function, but their utility is hampered by on target, off tumor toxicity. Here authors show that anchoring anti-4-1BB to tumours via fusion with the collagen binding protein LAIR diminishes systemic dissemination of the drug, and they demonstrate a curative effect in a triple-combination-therapy that relieves regulatory T cell immunosuppression in a mouse model of cancer.

Periodontitis is closely linked with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and may have overlapping characteristics. Here the authors show that a periodontal pathogen P. gingivalis promotes intestinal inflammation by affecting the microbiome metabolite linoleic acid and Th17/Treg cell balance in the intestine.

Regulatory T cell (T_reg) maintenance and function require IL-2, yet this cytokine is only present in low levels in vivo. In this study, the authors demonstrate that that T_reg use heparanase to access IL-2 bound to heparan sulfate proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix of inflamed brain tissue in mice.

Here, the authors target intratumoral T_reg cells to enhance antitumor immunity without affecting systemic T_reg cell function and identify JMJD1C as a critical epigenetic regulator of tumor T_reg cell fitness.

Visceral adipose tissue hosts at least two populations of mature FOXP3⁺ regulatory T cells, which together can preserve systemic metabolism and control inflammation.

Intratumoral regulatory T (T_reg) cells can suppress antitumor immunity. Unlike in splenic T_reg cells, the H3K9me2 demethylase JMDJ1 seems to be induced, and is required for this function, in the tumor microenvironment, and targeting it with a small-molecule inhibitor can suppress tumor growth in mice.

Regulatory T cells have pathological roles in driving fibrosis and insulin resistance in the setting of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.