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Foxp3 and Treg cells in HIV-1 infection and immuno-pathogenesis

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Abstract

FoxP3+CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are implicated in a number of pathologic processes including elevated levels in cancers and infectious diseases, and reduced levels in autoimmune diseases. Treg cells are activated to modulate immune responses to avoid over-reactive immunity. However, conflicting findings are reported regarding relative levels of Treg cells during HIV-1 infection and disease progression. The role of Treg cells in HIV-1 diseases (aberrant immune activation) is poorly understood due to lack of a robust model. We summarize here the regulation and function of Foxp3 in Treg cells and in modulating HIV-1 replication. Based on recent findings from SIV/monkey and HIV/humanized mouse models, a model of the dual role of Treg cells in HIV-1 infection and immuno-pathogenesis is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our colleagues whose work we have discussed here and apologize to those whose work is not included due to the limited space. We are grateful to members of the Su lab for discussion. The projects in our group were supported by grants from NIH (AI077454, AI41356, AI048407 to L. S.) and from amfAR (106693-39-RFMT to L. Z.). The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7295, USA

    Derek Holmes, Qi Jiang, Liguo Zhang & Lishan Su

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  1. Derek Holmes
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  2. Qi Jiang
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  4. Lishan Su
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Correspondence to Lishan Su.

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Holmes, D., Jiang, Q., Zhang, L. et al. Foxp3 and Treg cells in HIV-1 infection and immuno-pathogenesis. Immunol Res 41, 248–266 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-008-8037-x

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