Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is a heme-containing intracellular dioxygenase catalyzing the degradation of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan to N?formyl?kynurenine (1). This degradation is the first and rate-limiting step of the L-kynurenine pathway (2). IDO is widely expressed in dendritic cells, macrophages, microglia, eosinophils, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and most tumor cells. In immune cells, its expression is mainly induced by cytokines such as IFN? gamma, IFN? alpha, IFN? beta, and IL?10. IDO has an antimicrobial function due to its decreasing the availability of the essential amino acid tryptophan in inflammatory environments (3). Recent studies have demonstrated that IDO induces immunosuppression during infection, pregnancy, transplantation, autoimmunity, and neoplasia (3?5).