Gene expression profile of FoxP3+ CD4+ follicular regulatory T cells

Follicular regulatory T cells (TFR) are a major cellular source of negative regulation of GC antibody responses. Blimp1 is expressed by the majority of TFR cells within B cell follicles during immune responses, as well as by other tissue-specific subsets of effector Treg (eTreg). However, the potential impact of FoxP3-specific Blimp1 deletion on TFR differentiation and suppressive activity has not been evaluated. To better understand the role of Blimp1 in regulation of TFR differentiation and function, we profiled the differential gene expression in Blimp1-deficient TFR cells compared to WT control TFR cells. PD1+CXCR5+YFP+(FoxP3+)CD4+ TFR cells and CXCR5-YFP+(FoxP3+)CD4+ non-TFR cells were FACS-sorted from Prdm1fl/flFoxP3YFP-Cre (KO) and FoxP3YFP-Cre (WT) mice 7 days after immunization with NP-OVA in CFA. RNA was prepared, amplified, labeled and hybridized to Mouse Gene 2.0 ST Array (Affymetrix).