Investigation of new products expressed by Treg cells for immune homeostasis

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21514
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 49:Pathology, infection/immunology, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Takaba Hiroyuki 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科(医学部), 助教 (50637444)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 胸腺 / 制御性T細胞 / がん免疫 / 自己免疫疾患

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Regulatory T cells are an important population of immune cells that establish autoimmune tolerance. This population is primarily generated in the thymus and differentiates from self-responsive T cells by recognizing self-antigens. Regulatory T cells are involved in immunosuppression in the lymphoid tissues and in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis in peripheral tissues. However, the molecular basis of how regulatory T cells function remains unclear. Therefore, we established an experimental system to comprehensively analyze the humoral molecules secreted from regulatory T cells and identified several factors. By focusing on the molecules whose functions are unknown among the identified factors, we could elucidate a fundamental molecular mechanism of regulatory T cells.

Free Research Field

免疫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

制御性T細胞は、胸腺でCD4ヘルパーT細胞から分化して、脾臓などの二次リンパ組織において免疫抑制機能を持ち、また、末梢組織においては組織恒常性の維持に寄与している。制御性T細胞がどのように機能するのかはまだ不明な部分が大きく、その分子基盤の解明は自己免疫寛容の理解といった基礎免疫学の礎になるのみならず、自己免疫疾患やがん治療に役立つ。申請者らは、独自に制御性T細胞から分泌される液性因子を網羅的に解析する実験系を確立し、いくつかの重要因子を同定した。同定された因子のうち、特に機能未知の分子に着目することで、制御性T細胞のもつ未知の機能を明らかにすることができた。