The role of regulatory T cells in controlling immunologic self-tolerance.
Accumulating evidence indicates that T cell-mediated dominant control of self-reactive T cells contributes to the maintenance of immunologic self-tolerance and its alternation may lead to development of autoimmune disease. Efforts to delineate such a regulatory T cell population have revealed that CD25+ cells within the CD4+ population in normal naive animals including humans possess the regulatory activity. The CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells are produced by the normal thymus as a functionally distinct subpopulation of T cells. They play critical roles not only in preventing autoimmunity but also in controlling various immune reactions.
Takahashi
Takeshi
T
Department of Experimental Pathology, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
Sakaguchi
Shimon
S
D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000276:immunology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology; D017634:Self Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2