With regard to a putative role of pTreg cells in the control of autoimmune responses, previous studies in the NOD model showed that dendritic cell (DC)-targeted self-antigen can encourage highly diabetogenic CD4+Foxp3– T cells to acquire a Foxp3+ pTreg cell phenotype (30, 31), and that naturally induced, β cell-reactive pTreg cells are superior to tTreg cells with the same T cell receptor (TCR) specificity in constraining the manifestation of overt diabetes in a NOD.Rag1–/– adoptive transfer model (32). The gene discussed is FOXP3; the disease is diabetes mellitus.