Depleting anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (GK1.5) treatment: influence on regulatory CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells in mice

BACKGROUND: CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells are often essential for the maintenance of immunologic self-tolerance and transplant tolerance in some cases. The effects of depleting anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (GK1.5), which was used in transplant tolerance induction, on CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells have not been investigated. METHODS: Three weeks after BALB/c mice were injected with GK1.5 or phosphate-buffered saline, the levels, phenotype and immunosuppressive function of CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells in these mice were detected. RESULTS: The numbers of CD4 and CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells in the periphery were markedly decreased in GK1.5-treated mice. However, GK1.5 treatment significantly enhanced the ratios of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells or CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3 T cells to CD4(+) T cells in the periphery (P<0.01). Compared with the control mice, more CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells in GK1.5-treated mice showed CD45RB and CD62L phenotype. Furthermore, enriched CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells in GK1.5-treated mice show immunosuppressive ability on the immune response of T effector cells to alloantigens or mitogen as efficiently as those from the control mice in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: GK1.5 could significantly enhance the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) Treg cells in the periphery while keeping these cells functional, indicating that GK1.5 might affect the potential induction of immune tolerance by different influences on CD4(+)CD25(+)Treg cells and CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells in periphery.