Method for identification of Tr1 lymphocytes regulators by the presence and over-expression of specific molecules and application thereof

A method for quantification of Tr1-regulatory lymphocytes present in a biological sample comprising lymphocytes, comprising:

• (a) determining a simultaneous presence of expression products of genes encoding the CD4 molecule and all of the molecules of group A by said lymphocytes, wherein said group A is selected from the group consisting of A) CD18 and CD11a, and CD19b molecules, B) CD18 and CD19b molecules and C) CD11a and CD19b;
• (b) identifying, as the Tr1-regulatory lymphocytes, the lymphocytes that simultaneously express the genes;
• (c) determining the proportion of the Tr1-regulatory lymphocytes with respect to the total amount of the lymphocytes or a particular fraction of the lymphocytes, present in said biological sample.

A method for enrichment of Tr1-regulatory lymphocytes present in a biological sample comprising lymphocytes, comprising:

• (a) determining a simultaneous presence of expression products of genes encoding the CD4 molecule and all of the molecules of group A by said lymphocytes, wherein said group A is selected from the group consisting of A) CD18 and CD11a, and CD19b molecules, B) CD18 and CD19b molecules and C) CD11a and CD19b;
• (b) identifying, as the Tr1-regulatory lymphocytes, the lymphocytes that simultaneously express the genes;
• (c) removing lymphocytes that do not simultaneously express said molecules from said sample to obtain an enrichment of Tr1-regulatory lymphocytes.