title: Sliding set-points of immune responses for therapy of autoimmunity.
abstract: Although recent developments in the treatment of autoimmune disease have dramatically improved patient outcomes, these medications are not curative. Two studies in this issue demonstrate the feasibility of curing spontaneous autoimmunity in animal models via short-term enhancement of naturally arising regulatory T (T reg) cells, a subset of CD4+ T cells needed for maintaining self-tolerance. Importantly, these therapies seemed to generate a new equilibrium, or "set-point," at which self-tissue damage no longer occurred long after the drug was eliminated from the body.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. chsieh@wustl.edu
authors.forename: Chyi-Song
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Jhoanne Lynne
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bautista
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D000939:Epitopes; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D017634:Self Tolerance; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes
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