Hofbauer

Fakultäten » Medizinische Fakultät » Dermatologische Klinik » PD Dr. Günther Hofbauer » Hofbauer

Completed research project

Title / Titel	Early events in regulation of Tregs following specific immunotherapy
PDF	Abstract (PDF, 14 KB)
Summary / Zusammenfassung	Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is known to induce regulatory T-cells, restoring peripheral tolerance against allergens. However the mechanisms, which underlie and precede the induction of Tregs are unknown. We therefore investigated expression of transcription factors and cytokines before, 18 hours, 7 and 28 days after ultra-RUSH induction of hymenoptera specific immunotherapy. To avoid culture artefacts, PBMC were lysed immediately after separation of blood cells and subject to RT-realtime PCR. Surprisingly, FOXP3 expression, but not t-bet or GATA-3 was increased 7 days following SIT. Some patients showed increased IL-10 levels, which correlated with increased FOXP3 expression on day 7. In contrast TGFbeta and IL-2 did not show any significant differences, however a clear tendency of decreased IL-2 levels was observed as early as 18 hours following initiation of SIT. These data demonstrate that SIT induces increased FOXP3 expression while leaving Th1- and Th2-decisive signals t-bet and GATA-3 untouched. The decrease of IL-2 in many patients suggests that SIT is accompanied by a phase of general immune suppression or the immediate activation of FOXP3-negative Tregs. Ongoing studies are now focusing on the role of innate immune components which associate with successful Treg induction
Keywords / Suchbegriffe	regulatory T-cells, specific immunotherapy, bee venom allergy, wasp venom allergy, ultrarush induction protocol
Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte	PD Dr. PD Dr. med. Günther Hofbauer (Project Leader) Hofbauer@usz.ch
Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch	Universität Zürich (position pursuing an academic career), Foundation
In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit	Privatdozent Dr. Carsten Schmidt Weber Schweizerisches Institut für Allergie und Asthmaforschung Obere Straße 22 7270 Davos Platz Switzerland
Duration of Project / Projektdauer	Oct 2004 to Jan 2010