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

TITLE=Regulatory T cells regulate blastemal proliferation during zebrafish caudal fin regeneration

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.981000

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.981000

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>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 <italic>igf2a</italic> and <italic>igf2b</italic>, 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.</p>