The involvement of regulatory T cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their therapeutic potential

Abstract

Neuroinflammation, meaning the establishment of a diffuse inflammatory condition in the CNS, is one of the main hallmarks of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Recently, a crucial role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in this disease has been outlined. Tregs are a T cell subpopulation with immunomodulatory properties. In this review, we discuss the physiology of Tregs and their role in ALS disease onset and progression. Evidence has demonstrated that in ALS patients Tregs are dramatically and progressively reduced in number and are less effective in promoting immune suppression. In addition, Tregs levels correlate with the rate of disease progression and patient survival. For this reason, Tregs are now considered a promising therapeutic target for neuroprotection in ALS. In this review, the clinical impact of these cells will be discussed and an overview of the current clinical trials targeting Tregs is also provided.

Keywords:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• neuroinflammation
• neuroimmunology
• regulatory T cells
• clinical trials

Declaration of interest

No conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Center (BRC) grant ref. NIHR-INF-0476. PJS and JK is supported by the MNDA grant ref. 974–797 and the European Union’s Horizon 220 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 633413. PJS is a NIHR Senior Investigator.