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Human In Vitro Suppression as Screening Tool for the Recognition of an Early State of Immune Imbalance
Published on: July 22, 2011
Mechanisms of suppression by suppressor T cells
1Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. harald_von_boehmer@dfci.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Mechanisms of immunosuppression by CD4(+)CD25(+) suppressor T cells have been addressed using many in vitro and in vivo conditions. However, those studies have not yielded a single mode of action. This review will discuss the mechanisms of suppression, which include the local secretion of cytokines such as TGF-beta and direct cell contact through binding of cell surface molecules such as CTLA-4 on suppressor T cells to CD80 and CD86 molecules on effector T cells. Suppression requires the appropriate colocalization of suppressor and effector T cells in different tissue and may involve the interference with T cell receptor signaling that triggers transcription factors important in regulating effector cell function.
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