DEVELOPMENT OF METHOD FOR SCREENING OF COMPOUND CAPABLE OF IMPROVING THE PRODUCTION OF REGULATORY T CELL, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCTION OF REGULATORY T CELL USING IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE MACROLIDE ANTIBIOTIC

摘要

Disclosed is a method for screening a compound capable of inducing a regulatory T cell. The method comprises the steps of: (1) cultivating a naive phenotype CD4⁺ T cell in the presence of a compound of interest and isolating a T cell from the culture; (2) evaluating the T cell isolated in the step (1) with respect to an immunosuppressing ability; and (3) providing the compound as a compound capable of inducing a regulatory T cell when the T cell isolated in the step (1) is determined to have an immunosuppressing ability based on the result given in the step (2). Also disclosed is a method for production of a regulatory T cell. The method comprises the step of cultivating a naive phenotype CD4⁺ T cell in the presence of a rapamycin compound to give a regulatory T cell. The regulatory T cell produced by the method is useful as an immunomodulator for use in the prevention/treatment of organ transplantation rejection, an allergic disease, an autoimmune disease, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), infertility and the like.