| abstract |
Compositions and methods are provided for isolating, manipulating and using for therapeutic and other purposes, mammalian, MHC Class I restricted, antigen-specific regulatory T cells. The regulatory T cells can be characterized as CD8+ cells that specifically suppress the responses of self-reactive and/or pathogenic CD4+ T cells by cytotoxic mechanisms including, without limitation, perforin, other components of the perforin/granzyme apoptosis pathway, etc. The regulatory T cells are antigen-specific, but are not activated by the same antigen as the self-reactive and/or pathogenic CD4+ T cells. In humans the regulatory T cells express inhibitory KIR proteins, e.g. one or more of KIR2DL2, KIR2DL3, and KIR3DL1. |