IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 6 / DOI: 10.2741/2840

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
The characterization and role of regulatory T cells in immune reactions
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1 Department of Gynecological Surgery, Polish Mother’s Health Center Research Institute, Lodz, Poland
2 3rd Chair and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University, Lodz, Poland
3 Department of Surgical and Endoscopic Gynecology, Polish Mother’s Health Center Research Institute, Lodz, Poland
4 Medical and Environmental Pregnancy Health Hazards Unit, Department of Perinatology, 1st Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical University, Lodz, Poland

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(6), 2266–2274; https://doi.org/10.2741/2840
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) having CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ or CD4+IL-10+ (Tr1) phenotype and capable of inducing anergy towards self- and alloantigens play an important role in autoimmunity, as well as in tolerance of allografts, pregnancy and cancer. Both thymus-derived T CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ natural cells and peripherally-induced T CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells prevent migration of effector immunocytes to target organs and inhibit their cooperation with antigen-presenting cells. The suppressive function of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs depends on interactions between stimulatory (IL-2, CTLA-4) and inhibitory (GITR, CD28) signals, on stimulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activity in dendritic cells via CD80/CD86 molecules, and finally on cell-cell inhibition of effector cells by membrane-bound TGF-beta. Anergy of effector cells caused by Tregs could provoke them to secretion of IL-10/TGF-beta in mechanism of "bystander suppression". Tr1 cells constitute the distinctive Tregs population which originates from IL-10-primed naïve T cells or from T cells induced by tolerogenic IL-10/TGF-beta-expressing dendritic cells. The suppressive activity of Tr1 cells is based on local IL-10/TGF-beta secretion in the peripheral tissues. Tregs have a privileged place in the net of immunological interactions which makes them a possible common target for therapeutic interventions in different diseases.

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