Research Unit for Immune Homeostasis
Unit Leader
Shohei HORI (Ph.D.)
A small subpopulation of T lymphocytes called regulatory T (Treg) cells play a central role in preventing pathological immune responses including autoimmunity, inflammation and allergy, thereby ensuring self-tolerance and immune homeostasis. This has been well illustrated by the findings that the development and function of Treg cells is controlled by the transcription factor Foxp3 and that defective generation of functional Treg cells underlies the catastrophic autoimmune pathology that develops in Foxp3-mutant mice and humans. The identification of Foxp3 as a critical regulator of Treg cell differentiation and function has provided a key to a number of outstanding unresolved questions concerning their role in tolerance and immune regulation, the mechanisms controlling their development and function, and their antigen specificity. Resolving these issues is the goal of this laboratory.
- Molecular mechansims of Foxp3-dependent program of regulatory T cell differentiation and function
- Stability and plasticity of the regulatory T cell lineage
- Shaping of the regulatory T cell repertoire
- March 13, 2009
- Elucidation of a new immune regulation mechanism for discrimination of foreign bodies in intestinal immunity balance, including differentiation of immune inhibitory T-cells to immune responsive helper T-cells
- Hori S.
"Regulatory T cell plasticity: beyond the controversies"
Trends in Immunology, in press - Atarashi K, Tanoue T, Shima T, Imaoka A, Kuwahara T, Momose Y, Cheng G, Yamasaki S, Saito T, Ohba Y, Taniguchi T, Takeda K, Hori S, Ivanov II, Umesaki Y, Itoh K, Honda K.
"Induction of colonic regulatory T cells by indigenous Clostridium species."
Science 331(6015): 337-341 (2011) - Hori S.
"Developmental plasticity of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells."
Curr Opin Immunol 22(5): 575-582 (2010) - Tomura M, Honda T, Tanizaki H, Otsuka A, Egawa G, Tokura Y, Waldmann H, Hori S, Cyster JG, Watanabe T, Miyachi Y, Kanagawa O, Kabashima K.
"Activated regulatory T cells are the major T cell type emigrating from the skin during a cutaneous immune response in mice."
J Clin Invest 120(3): 883-893 (2010) - Tsuji M, Komatsu N, Kawamoto S, Suzuki K, Kanagawa O, Honjo T, Hori S*, Fagarasan S* (corresponding and senior authors)
"Preferential generation of follicular B helper T cells from Foxp3+ T cells in gut Peyer's patches."
Science 323(5920): 1488-1492 (2009) - Komatsu N, Mariotti-Ferrandiz ME, Wang Y, Malissen B, Waldmann H, Hori S.
"Heterogeneity of natural Foxp3+ T cells: a committed regulatory T-cell lineage and an uncommitted minor population retaining plasticity."
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(6):1903-1908 (2009) - Hori S.
"Re-thinking the molecular definition of regulatory T cells."
Eur J Immunol 38(4): 928-930 (2008) - Komatsu, N., and Hori, S.:
"Full restoration of peripheral Foxp3+ regulatory T cell pool by radioresistant host cells in scurfy bone marrow chimeras."
PNAS 104: 8959-8964, (2007). - Setoguchi, R., Hori, S., Takahashi, T., and Sakaguchi, S.:
"Homeostatic maintenance of natural Foxp3+CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells by IL-2 and induction of autoimmune disease by IL-2 neutralization."
J. Exp. Med. 201: 723-735, (2005). - Hori, S., Nomura, T., and Sakaguchi, S.:
"Control of regulatory T cell development by the transcription factor Foxp3."
Science 299: 1057-1061, (2003).
Principal Investigator
- Shohei HORI
- Unit Leader
Members
- Maria Encarnacion FERRANDIZ ROMERO
- Norihito HAYATSU
- Takahisa MIYAO
- Ruka SETOGUCHI
- Visiting Scientist
- Kuniko KAMIYA