Defective circulating CD4+LAP+ regulatory T cells in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

There has been increasing evidence that chronic immune activation plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of DCM. CD4(+) LAP(+) Tregs are a newly identified T cell subset with suppressive function on the immune response. This study was designed to investigate whether the circulating frequency and function of CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs would be impaired in patients with DCM. The results demonstrated that DCM patients had a significantly lower frequency of circulating CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs compared with control donors. CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs from DCM patients showed compromised function to suppress proliferation of CD4(+) LAP(-)CD25(int/low) T cells and proliferation and IgG production of B cells. Moreover, B cell proliferation and IgG subset production could be directly suppressed by CD4(+) LAP(+) Tregs. TGF-β and contact-dependent mechanisms were involved in CD4(+)LAP(+) Treg-mediated suppression. Correlation analysis suggested that CD4(+)LAP(+) Treg frequency was positively correlated with LVEF and negatively correlated with serum IgG3 and NT-proBNP concentration in patients with DCM. Our results are the first to demonstrate that the frequencies of CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs in patients with DCM are reduced and that their suppressive function is compromised. Defective CD4(+) LAP(+) Tregs may be an underlying mechanism of immune activation in DCM patients.