Haematologica, Vol 91, Issue 4, 566-569
Copyright © 2006 by Ferrata Storti Foundation
Expression of the putatively regulatory T-cell marker FOXP3 by CD4(+)CD25+ T cells after pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
MG Seidel,
U Ernst,
D Printz,
B Juergens,
J Pichler,
A Attarbaschi,
G Fritsch,
H Gadner,
and
A Heitger
St. Anna Children's Hospital, Children Cancer Research Institute, Kinderspitalgasse 6, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
FOXP3 has been proposed to be critical for the regulatory function of CD4(+)CD25+ T cells and it has been reported that its expression correlates with protection from graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Here, by monitoring 28 pediatric HSCT recipients, we found that the levels of FOXP3-mRNA expression in highly enriched CD4(+)CD25+ cells were identical to those in healthy controls irrespective of GvHD status. Moreover, FOXP3-mRNA was abundant in recently in vitro stimulated CD4(+)CD25+ cells that lacked regulatory function. Together these findings suggest that FOXP3-mRNA expression primarily reflects CD4(+)CD25+ cell frequency rather than defining the regulatory potential of CD4(+)CD25+ T cells and GvHD risk after HSCT.
