Natural regulatory T cells in autoimmunity

Abstract

The suppressive/immunomodulatory function of CD4⁺CD25⁺FOXP3⁺ regulatory T (Treg) cells is crucial for the maintenance of immune homeostasis, which helps to prevent autoimmunity and reduce the inflammation induced by pathogens and environmental insults. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the types and mechanisms of action of Treg cells and their role in the immune tolerance to self-antigens, with a particular focus on naturally occurring Treg cells.

Keywords::

• Tregs
• CD4⁺CD25⁺FOXP3⁺ T cells
• natural Tregs
• autoimmunity

Declaration of interest: A.L.C. is supported by the grant AR53239 from the National Institutes of Health and the Arthritis Foundation Southern California Chapter. E.V.L. is supported by a grant from the Arthritis National Research Foundation. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.