Products for Regulatory T Cell Research

R&D Systems has recently introduced several new products for regulatory T (Treg) cell research, including a MagCellect™ Rat CD4⁺CD25⁺ Regulatory T Cell Selection Kit (Catalog # MAGR304),* and Human, Mouse, and Rat Regulatory T Cell Multi-Color Flow Cytometry Kits (Catalog # FMC013, FMC014, FMC015, respectively). The Treg cell selection kit is designed to isolate rat CD4⁺CD25⁺ Treg cells from a splenocyte suspension using a two-step procedure that combines both negative and positive selection techniques. CD4⁺ cells are initially enriched by negative se­lection, whereby unwanted cells are tagged and magnetically removed. CD25⁺ cells are sub­sequently isolated from the enriched CD4⁺ population by positive selection. Using this kit, the purity of the isolated CD4⁺CD25⁺ population is typically between 75-85%. For identification of Treg cells by flow cytometry, we also now offer Treg Multi-Color Flow Cytometry Kits for several different species. These kits include fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies against CD4, CD25, and FoxP3 that can be used together for single-step staining of human, mouse, or rat Treg cells. In addition, several new proteins and fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies (Table 1) add to a growing list of reagents that are available for functional studies on Treg cells. For a complete listing of Treg-related products, please visit our website at Regulatory T Cells (Tregs) Molecule Listing.

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Isolation of Rat CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells using the MagCellect Kit. CD4+ T cells (Step 1) and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Step 2) were isolated from rat splenocytes using the two-step negative/positive selection protocol from the MagCellect Rat CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cell Isolation Kit (Catalog # MAGR304). Following the first and the second isolation steps, the cells were stained with the indicated antibodies and detected by flow cytometry. CD25+ T cells are typically a heterogeneous population that expresses different levels of CD25. Both CD25dim and CD25high cells are isolated with this kit.

* Human and Mouse CD4⁺CD25⁺ Regulatory T Cell Selection Kits (Catalog # MAGH104 & MAGM208, respectively) are also available.

Table 1. New Proteins & Antibodies for Treg Cell Research

** These antibodies, along with R&D Systems Mouse Anti-Human/Mouse IL-12/IL-35 p35 Monoclonal Antibody
(Catalog # MAB1570), were cited in the most highly ranked article in immunology from the Faculty of 1000 Post-Publication Peer Review published by The Scientist.^{1, 2}

1. Zielinska, E. (2011) The Scientist [Epub Feb. 8].
2. Collison, L.W. et al. (2010) Nat. Immunol. 11:1093.

This symbol denotes references that cite the use of R&D Systems products.

MagCellect is a registered trademark of R&D Systems, Inc. Alexa Fluor is a registered trademark of Life Technologies.