Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Regulatory T cells: Therapeutic Potential for Treating Transplant Rejection and Type I Diabetes
Published on: August 20, 2007
Regulatory T cells, tumour immunity and immunotherapy
1Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0346, USA. wzou@umich.edu
None:
Tumours express a range of antigens, including self-antigens. Regulatory T cells are crucial for maintaining T-cell tolerance to self-antigens. Regulatory T cells are thought to dampen T-cell immunity to tumour-associated antigens and to be the main obstacle tempering successful immunotherapy and active vaccination. In this Review, I consider the nature and characteristics of regulatory T cells in the tumour microenvironment and their potential multiple suppressive mechanisms. Strategies for therapeutic targeting of regulatory T cells and the effect of regulatory T cells on current immunotherapeutic and vaccine regimens are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Tumor Immunotherapy
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
The Tumor Microenvironment
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
