Regulatory T cells are found primarily in the CD4(+) CD25(+) fraction of T cells and play an important role in the prevention of autoimmunity. We examined CD4(+) CD25(+) T cells in 33 healthy children and adults and compared them to a population with an inherited form of thymic hypoplasia and a predisposition to autoimmune disease. Absolute numbers of CD4(+) CD25(+) T cells were markedly higher in healthy infants than in infants with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.
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Division of Immunologic and Infectious Diseases. Division of Clinical Genetics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.;
