When it comes to the body’s natural defenses, is it possible to have “too much of a good thing”? Absolutely. To spare the host, the immune system needs to distinguish it from the real enemy –infectious agents. Autoimmune disorders occur when this recognition frays and the body’s own cells and tissues are damaged.
That’s where regulatory T cells, or Tregs, come in.
Tregs
Tregs put on the brakes as necessary. After the immune system successfully checks an invader, Tregs are crucial to subduing these cellular soldiers to return the body to its pre-battle state. Evidence suggests that particular pathogens and cancers may manipulate Tregs, using them to promote immunosuppression, which benefits their own survival. Tregs are associated with solid tumors, and high numbers in some contexts have been tied to a poor prognosis.
Clearly, then, these types of T cells are worthy of vibrant study. Working with them, however, presents difficulties. For one, they tend to be a small population – just 1-10% among CD4+T cells. Moreover, there is no known biomarker specific for Tregs; other relevant biomarkers are established, but none are exclusive to this cell type.
Thanks to the efforts of their own research group, HemaCare are proud to announce the development of enriched T regulatory cells. For those of you that know your cell surface molecules, you may be glad to read that this enriched product has over 2 million viable CD4+CD3+CD45+ T cells per vial. The Tregs are CD25+, CD127 dim, and FoxP3+.
Applications
There are many applications for HemaCare’s enriched Tregs. Using enriched Tregs facilitates the manufacture of highly pure product by flow cytometer sorting. The Tregs can be directly added to inhibitory assays to study the impact of compounds, antibodies, and drugs on Tregs and effector cells. They are also available as internal cell controls for phenotyping and genomic profiling studies. Last but not least, these Tregs may be employed in the study of various diseases including cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Enriched Tregs
We are pleased to announce that researchers across Europe can now access enriched Tregs, to benefit their own research projects. If you’re interested, contact us for the latest inventory report. We’re also running custom productions based on specific requirements, so don’t hesitate!
