Frontiers in Immunology (Aug 2022)

Regulatory T cells regulate blastemal proliferation during zebrafish caudal fin regeneration

  • Subhra P. Hui,
  • Subhra P. Hui,
  • Kotaro Sugimoto,
  • Kotaro Sugimoto,
  • Delicia Z. Sheng,
  • Kazu Kikuchi,
  • Kazu Kikuchi,
  • Kazu Kikuchi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.981000
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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The role of T cells in appendage regeneration remains unclear. In this study, we revealed an important role for regulatory T cells (Tregs), a subset of T cells that regulate tolerance and tissue repair, in the epimorphic regeneration of zebrafish caudal fin tissue. Upon amputation, fin tissue-resident Tregs infiltrate into the blastema, a population of progenitor cells that produce new fin tissues. Conditional genetic ablation of Tregs attenuates blastemal cell proliferation during fin regeneration. Blastema-infiltrating Tregs upregulate the expression of igf2a and igf2b, and pharmacological activation of IGF signaling restores blastemal proliferation in Treg-ablated zebrafish. These findings further extend our understandings of Treg function in tissue regeneration and repair.

Keywords