Another deficit in the immune response of MSers

Dhaeze T, Peelen E, Hombrouck A, Peeters L, Van Wijmeersch B, Lemkens N, Lemkens P, Somers V, Lucas S, Broux B, Stinissen P, Hellings N. Circulating Follicular Regulatory T Cells Are Defective in Multiple Sclerosis. J Immunol. 2015 Jun 12. pii: 1500759. [Epub ahead of print]

Follicular regulatory T cells (TFR) have been extensively characterized in mice and participate in germinal center responses by regulating the maturation of B cells and production of (auto)antibodies. We report that circulating TFR are phenotypically distinct from tonsil-derived TFR in humans. They have a lower expression of follicular markers, and display a memory phenotype and lack of high expression of B cell lymphoma 6 and ICOS. However, the suppressive function, expression of regulatory markers, and FOXP3 methylation status of blood TFR is comparable with tonsil-derived TFR. Moreover, we show that circulating TFR frequencies increase after influenza vaccination and correlate with anti-flu Ab responses, indicating a fully functional population. Multiple sclerosis (MS) was used as a model for autoimmune disease to investigate alterations in circulating TFR. MS patients had a significantly lower frequency of circulating TFR compared with healthy control subjects. Furthermore, the circulating TFR compartment of MS patients displayed an increased proportion of Th17-like TFR. Finally, TFR of MS patients had a strongly reduced suppressive function compared with healthy control subjects. We conclude that circulating TFR are a circulating memory population derived from lymphoid resident TFR, making them a valid alternative to investigate alterations in germinal center responses in the context of autoimmune diseases, and TFR impairment is prominent in MS.


Follicles are where B cells are produced in lymph glands an there are T cells found in these follicles in this study they look at regulatory T cells that reside in such follicles an find that there are fewer of them in the blood of MSers and that they are also less effective at regulating. So another T reg population to target.

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