z-logo
Premium
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.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here