14,15 Yet, whereas all of these studies clearly confer on CD8+ T cells an important role in intestinal inflammation, none of these studies has been focused on the induction of truly CD8+ regulatory

T cells that express forkhead box P3 (Foxp3). In a previous study we demonstrated that the intestinal expression of a self-antigen leads to the induction of antigen-specific CD8+ Foxp3+ T cells in vivo.16 Furthermore, we have demonstrated that in vitro stimulation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in the presence of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and retinoic acid (RA) induced a robust population of CD8+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells.17 As the intestine is characterized by abundant production of TGF-β and RA it might therefore be prone to the Selleckchem Caspase inhibitor induction of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. As these cells might play an as yet underestimated role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, we have investigated CD8+ Foxp3+ T cells generated by TGF-β and RA by analysing the function and phenotype in humans and mice. Our study shows that TGF-β/RA-converted CD8+ Foxp3+ T cells share all the major features of conventional CD4+

regulatory T cells, i.e. suppressive function in vitro. Furthermore, these subsets of regulatory T cells also resemble each other at the molecular level as determined by gene expression studies. The fact that this conversion by TGF-β and RA also works with human CD8+ T cells CT99021 cell line is of particular interest because we demonstrate in this study that the frequency of CD8+ Foxp3+ T cells is reduced in the peripheral blood of patients with intestinal inflammation. Hence, our study illustrates a previously unappreciated critical role of CD8+ Foxp3+ T cells in controlling potentially dangerous T cells. Foxp3/GFP mice express both the Foxp3 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the endogenous regulatory sequence of the Foxp3 locus and were obtained from the Charles River Laboratories (Sulzfeld,

Germany). BALB/c mice and C57BL/6 mice were obtained from Harlan Laboratories (Harlan Winkelmann GmbH, Borchen, Germany). Granzyme B (GzmB) -deficient C57BL/6 mice were kindly provided by Prof. Dr U. Dittmer (Department of Virology, University Duisburg-Essen). Blood samples Thymidylate synthase were obtained from 12 patients (five men, seven women; age range, 32–72 years) with active ulcerative colitis (UC) and from 18 healthy blood donors (eight men, ten women; age range, 22–87 years), who were used as control group. To assess disease activity, the clinical activity index (CAI) according to Rachmilewitz’s criteria and the ulcerative colitis disease activity index (UCDAI) according to Sutherland’s criteria, including a grading of clinical and endoscopic signs, were determined. Patients were classified as having acute UC with a CAI > 4. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from heparin-treated blood by Bicoll density gradient centrifugation (Biochrom AG, Berlin, Germany).