The mucosa-draining lymphoid tissue favors differentiation of inducible Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Adoptive transfer of T-cell receptor (TCR) transgenic (Tg) T cells is a powerful tool to study antigen-specific regulatory T-cell differentiation in lymphoid tissues in vivo. The kinetics and nature of the T-cell response largely depend on the route of antigen administration and degree of clonal competition. Here, we describe that adoptive transfer of CD4+ DO11.10 TCR Tg T cells can be used for monitoring Foxp3+ regulatory T-cell differentiation in the gut-draining lymph nodes. We describe two routes of mucosal antigen administration, e.g., the oral and intracolonic route known to induce T-cell responses in the small intestine-draining mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and distal colon-draining caudal and iliac lymph nodes (ILN), respectively. In particular, we discuss differences in frequency of inducible Foxp3+ regulatory T cells after adoptive transfer of variable numbers of Tg T cells and various amounts of orally gavaged ovalbumin (OVA), and explain how Foxp3+ regulatory T-cell differentiation can be modulated by coadministration of the adjuvant cholera toxin (CT) with OVA using this adoptive transfer system.
Keywords: Adoptive transfer; Clonal competition; Foxp3; Mucosal immune regulation; OT-II TCR transgenic; Small intestine and colon; Tregs; iTregs.