%0 Journal Article %J Cell Rep %D 2015 %T ABCB5 Identifies Immunoregulatory Dermal Cells. %A Schatton, Tobias %A Yang, Jun %A Kleffel, Sonja %A Uehara, Mayuko %A Barthel, Steven R %A Schlapbach, Christoph %A Zhan, Qian %A Dudeney, Stephen %A Mueller, Hansgeorg %A Lee, Nayoung %A de Vries, Juliane C %A Meier, Barbara %A Vander Beken, Seppe %A Kluth, Mark A %A Ganss, Christoph %A Sharpe, Arlene H %A Waaga-Gasser, Ana Maria %A Sayegh, Mohamed H %A Abdi, Reza %A Scharffetter-Kochanek, Karin %A Murphy, George F %A Kupper, Thomas S %A Frank, Natasha Y %A Frank, Markus H %X Cell-based strategies represent a new frontier in the treatment of immune-mediated disorders. However, the paucity of markers for isolation of molecularly defined immunomodulatory cell populations poses a barrier to this field. Here, we show that ATP-binding cassette member B5 (ABCB5) identifies dermal immunoregulatory cells (DIRCs) capable of exerting therapeutic immunoregulatory functions through engagement of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1). Purified Abcb5(+) DIRCs suppressed T cell proliferation, evaded immune rejection, homed to recipient immune tissues, and induced Tregs in vivo. In fully major-histocompatibility-complex-mismatched cardiac allotransplantation models, allogeneic DIRCs significantly prolonged allograft survival. Blockade of DIRC-expressed PD-1 reversed the inhibitory effects of DIRCs on T cell activation, inhibited DIRC-dependent Treg induction, and attenuated DIRC-induced prolongation of cardiac allograft survival, indicating that DIRC immunoregulatory function is mediated, at least in part, through PD-1. Our results identify ABCB5(+) DIRCs as a distinct immunoregulatory cell population and suggest promising roles of this expandable cell subset in cellular immunotherapy. %B Cell Rep %V 12 %P 1564-74 %8 2015 Sep 8 %G eng %N 10 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26321644?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.08.010