Treg impairment is not a sufficient cause of autoimmune liver inflammation

Background: The role of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in autoimmune hepatitis is controversial. Whereas some reports suggested that autoimmune hepatitis is caused by Treg impairment, other reports did not find such link. Here, we directly addressed this issue using a mouse model, in which tolerance to a defined autoantigen is induced in the liver through generation of antigen-specific Tregs. This model is characterised both by ectopic expression of the prototypical autoantigen myelin basic protein (MBP) in the liver and by the presence of autoreactive MBP-specific T cells, due to a transgenic T cell receptor…