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The life of regulatory T cells
Author(s) -
Gratz Iris K.,
Rosenblum Michael D.,
Abbas Abul K.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.12011
Subject(s) - antigen , immunology , foxp3 , effector , biology , population , cytotoxic t cell , antigen presenting cell , t cell , il 2 receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , immune system , in vitro , genetics , environmental health
Foxp3 + regulatory T (T reg ) cells are essential for maintaining self‐tolerance and preventing autoimmune reactions. T reg cells arise as a consequence of self‐antigen recognition during the maturation of cells in the thymus, and also following self‐antigen recognition in the periphery. Both thymic and peripherally generated T reg cells respond to antigen recognition by expanding in number, increasing their suppressive activity, and accumulating in the tissue where the antigen is located. A fraction of these activated “effector” T reg cells survive even in the absence of antigen expression and continue to control inflammatory reaction in the tissues, thus functioning as a population of “memory” T reg cells. Antigen exposure and the presence of IL‐2 are key determinants in the generation of memory T reg cells. These results provide a foundation for studying the role of memory T reg cells in controlling and treating autoimmune disorders and for testing the hypothesis that defects in the generation and maintenance of these cells underlie chronic, relapsing inflammatory diseases.