Flow cytometric profiling of mature and developing regulatory T cells in the thymus

Methods Mol Biol. 2011:707:55-69. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61737-979-6_5.

Abstract

Natural Regulatory T (Treg) cells are a subset of CD4(+) T cells characterized by expression of the transcription factor Foxp3 and the ability to suppress immune responses. Treg cells develop in the thymus in response to highly specific interactions between the T cell receptor (TCR) and self-antigens. These processes can be recapitulated in antigen-specific systems using transgenic mice that coexpress a TCR with its cognate peptide as a neoself-antigen. Here, we describe a method for using such a system to establish a flow cytometric profile of phenotype markers expressed by developing and mature Treg cells in the thymus. Our approach is to compare antigen-specific thymocytes developing in the presence or absence of Treg cell-selecting ligands to identify phenotypic changes that characterize thymocytes undergoing selection into the Treg cell lineage.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens / immunology
  • Flow Cytometry / methods*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / cytology*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology
  • Thymus Gland / cytology*
  • Thymus Gland / immunology

Substances

  • Antigens