The 259D/C7 monoclonal antibody specifically recognizes human Forkhead box protein P3 (FoxP3) that is also known as Scurfin
FoxP3 is encoded by FOXP3 (Forkhead box P3), likewise known as IPEX (Immune Dysregulation, Polyendocrinopathy, Enteropathy, X-Linked) and JM2, that belongs to the forkhead/winged-helix family of transcriptional regulators
FoxP3 is expressed in CD4+ regulatory T cells (Treg) and represents a specific marker for these cells
Flow cytometric analyses have shown that FoxP3 is expressed by the majority of CD4+CD25+high T cells in peripheral blood while less than half of the CD4+CD25+intermediate cell population are FoxP3 positive
Approximately 5-10% of peripheral CD4+ cells are CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells
T regulatory cells are thought to play a critical role in the regulation of T cell-mediated immunity and to protect against autoimmunity by suppressing the proliferation and cytokine production of other T cells
In support of this hypothesis, it has been found that Foxp3 is mutated in Scurfy (sf) mice that have defective T cell tolerance leading to an X-linked lymphoproliferative disease
The 259D/C7 antibody recognizes all currently-identified isoforms of human FoxP3 and is crossreactive with FoxP3 from Cynomolgus, Rhesus and Baboon primates.