Negative co-receptors on lymphocytes

Rebecca J Greenwald1, Yvette E Latchman, Arlene H Sharpe

  • 1Immunology Research Division, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. rgreenwald@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

The past year has seen significant advances in our understanding of critical roles of negative immunoregulatory signals delivered through the B7-CD28 superfamily in regulating T cell activation and tolerance. Structural data on CTLA-4 have provided novel insights into the inhibitory functions of CTLA-4. Initial characterization of the PD-1-PD-1-ligand pathway has revealed that this pathway can downregulate TCR- and CD28-mediated signals. Recent studies indicate that ICOS exerts distinct effects at different phases of an immune response: ICOS can inhibit as well as stimulate T cell responses.

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