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Regulatory T cells

IDO — influencing dendritic-cell options

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 3, page 928 (2003)Cite this article

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) regulates transcription of the gene encoding indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) — the enzyme that catalyses the initial step of tryptophan degradation. IDO activity has an immunosuppressive effect that has been linked with tolerance induction during pregnancy, transplantation and autoimmunity.

Fallarino et al. observed that human Jurkat T cells that were transfected with mouse CTLA4 induced IFN-γ production, upregulation of IDO expression and tryptophan degradation by mouse DCs. They then showed that regulatory T cells also induced IFN-γ production and tryptophan degradation by DCs and that this was inhibited by CTLA4-specific neutralizing antibodies. Activation of regulatory T cells with CD3-specific antibodies enhanced their ability to induce IFN-γ production and tryptophan degradation by DCs and this depended on their increased expression of CTLA4.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Fallarino, F. et al. Modulation of tryptophan catabolism by regulatory T cells Nature Immunol. 26 October 2003 (doi: 10.1038/ni1003)

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Authors
  1. Karen Honey
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Honey, K. IDO — influencing dendritic-cell options. Nat Rev Immunol 3, 928 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1262

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1262

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