FoxP3 deficiency causes no inflammation or neurodegeneration in the murine brain

Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Treg) maintain immunological self-tolerance and their functional or numerical deficits are associated with progression of several neurological diseases. We examined the effects of Treg absence on the structure and integrity of the unchallenged murine brain. When compared to control, Treg-deficient FoxP3^sf mutant mice showed no differences in brain size, myelin amount and oligodendrocyte numbers. FoxP3^sf strain displayed no variations in quantity of neurons and astrocytes, whereas microglia numbers were slightly reduced. We demonstrate lack of neuroinflammation and parenchymal responses in the brains of Treg-deficient mice, suggesting a minor Treg role in absence of blood-brain barrier breakdown.

Keywords: Corpus callosum; Cortex; Microglia; Myelin; Regulatory T cells; Scurfy.