R-Ras is a member of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases, which are regulators of various cellular processes including adhesion, survival, proliferation, trafficking and cytokine production. R-Ras is expressed by immune cells and has been shown to modulate DC function in vitro and has been associated with liver autoimmunity. We used Rras-deficient mice to study the mechanism whereby R-Ras contributes to autoimmunity using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of the CNS autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). We found that a lack of R-Ras in peripheral immune cells resulted in attenuated EAE disease. Further investigation revealed that during EAE, absence of R-Ras promoted the formation of MHC IIlo DC concomitant with a significant increase in proliferation of natural T regulatory cells (nTreg) resulting in an increase in their cell numbers in the periphery. Our study suggests a novel role for R-Ras in promoting autoimmunity through negative regulation of nTreg numbers by inhibiting the development of MHCIIlo DC with tolerogenic potential.