Here, we report the identification of the ubiquitin-like gene UBD as a downstream element of FOXP3 in human activated regulatory CD4 þ CD25 hi T cells (T reg ). Retroviral transduction of UBD in human allo-reactive effector CD4 þ T helper (T h ) cells upregulates CD25 and mediates downregulation of IL4 and IL5 expression similar to overexpression of FOXP3. Moreover, UBD impairs T h cell proliferation without upregulation of FOXP3 and impairs calcium mobilization. In the presence of ionomycin, overexpression of UBD in T h cells leads to the induction of IL1R2 that resemble FOXP3-transduced T h cells and naturally derived T reg cells. A comparison of the transcriptome of FOXP3-and UBD-transduced T h cells with T reg cells allowed the identification of the gene LGALS3. However, high levels of LGALS3 protein expression were observed only in human CD4 þ CD25 hi derived T reg cells and FOXP3-transduced T h cells, whereas little was induced in UBD-transduced T h cells. Thus, UBD contributes to the anergic phenotype of human regulatory T cells and acts downstream in FOXP3 induced regulatory signaling pathways, including regulation of LGALS3 expression. High levels of LGALS3 expression represent a FOXP3-signature of human antigen-stimulated CD4 þ CD25 hi derived regulatory T cells.