Short Communication: Tracking Tregs: Translocation of CD49b/LAG-3+ Type 1 T Regulatory Cells to the Gut-Associated Lymphoid Tissue of HIV+ Patients.

The gastrointestinal mucosa [gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)] represents the largest site of chronic immune activation and HIV replication. Important cellular agents in the immunopathogenesis of an HIV infection are, in particular, CD49b/LAG-3+ type 1 T regulatory cells (Tr1), which secrete large amounts of IL-10 (interleukin-10), and plasmacytoid dendritic cells, the main producers of IFN-α (interferon-alpha). However, the distribution of CD49b/LAG-3+ Tr1 cells along the GALT is unknown.