Immune Netw.  2008 Dec;8(4):107-123. 10.4110/in.2008.8.4.107.

Regulatory T Cell Therapy for Autoimmune Disease

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Immunology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Chonbuk, Korea. tyha77@yahoo.com

Abstract

It has now been well documented in a variety of models that T regulatory T cells (Treg cells) play a pivotal role in the maintenance of self-tolerance, T cell homeostasis, tumor, allergy, autoimmunity, allograft transplantation and control of microbial infection. Recently, Treg cell are isolated and can be expanded in vitro and in vivo, and their role is the subject of intensive investigation, particularly on the possible Treg cell therapy for various immune-mediated diseases. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that Treg cells can prevent or even cure a wide range of diseases, including tumor, allergic and autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection, graft-versus-host disease. Currently, a large body of data in the literature has been emerging and provided evidence that clear understanding of Treg cell work will present definite opportunities for successful Treg cell immunotherapy for the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases. In this Review, I briefly discuss the biology of Treg cells, and summarize efforts to exploit Treg cell therapy for autoimmune diseases. This article also explores recent observations on pharmaceutical agents that abrogate or enhance the function of Treg cells for manipulation of Treg cells for therapeutic purpose.

Keyword

autoimmune diseases; rapamycin; regulatory T cells; superantigen; suppressor T cells

MeSH Terms

Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmunity
Biology
Graft Rejection
Graft vs Host Disease
Homeostasis
Hypersensitivity
Immunotherapy
Sirolimus
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory
Tissue Therapy
Transplantation, Homologous
Transplants
Sirolimus

Cited by  3 articles

MicroRNAs in Human Diseases: From Autoimmune Diseases to Skin, Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Tai-You Ha
Immune Netw. 2011;11(5):227-244.    doi: 10.4110/in.2011.11.5.227.

The Role of Regulatory T Cells in Cancer
Tai-You Ha
Immune Netw. 2009;9(6):209-235.    doi: 10.4110/in.2009.9.6.209.

The Role of MicroRNAs in Regulatory T Cells and in the Immune Response
Tai-You Ha
Immune Netw. 2011;11(1):11-41.    doi: 10.4110/in.2011.11.1.11.

Full Text Links
  • IN
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr