Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
15:33
Adenoviral Transduction of Naive CD4 T Cells to Study Treg Differentiation
Published on: August 13, 2013
Treg control of antimicrobial T cell responses
1Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0845, USA.
Current Opinion in Immunology
|April 18, 2006
Summary
Regulatory T cells (Treg) play a dual role in microbial immunity, sometimes causing dysfunction and other times protecting against tissue damage. Manipulating Treg responses may lead to better vaccines.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Immunity to microbes involves complex interactions between various immune cells and their products.
- Regulatory T cells (Treg) are crucial immune cells with a significant impact on host responses to microbial infections.
- The precise role of Treg in microbial infections is a subject of ongoing research and debate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the multifaceted role of regulatory T cells (Treg) in the context of microbial infections.
- To discuss the circumstances under which Treg activity influences protective versus tissue-damaging T cell responses to microbes.
- To highlight the potential for manipulating Treg responses for therapeutic benefit.
Main Methods:
- Review and synthesis of existing literature on Treg function in microbial infections.
- Analysis of the balance between immune-mediated protection and pathology influenced by Treg.
- Discussion of unresolved questions regarding Treg's impact on host-microbe interactions.
Main Results:
- Treg responses can contribute to immune dysfunction or minimize tissue damage during microbial infections.
- In parasitic infections, Treg often maintain a state of equilibrium, promoting parasite persistence, limiting tissue damage, and enabling immunity to reinfection.
- The specific context of the microbial interaction significantly influences the outcome of Treg activity.
Conclusions:
- Regulatory T cells (Treg) exhibit a complex and context-dependent role in microbial immunity.
- Understanding and manipulating Treg activity holds promise for developing more effective vaccines and immunomodulatory therapies.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms by which Treg influence host defense and pathology in various infections.
Related Concept Videos
01:24T Cell Types and Functions
When T cells with CD4 markers are activated, they give rise to two types of effector cells: helper T cells and regulatory T cells. Meanwhile, T cells with CD8 markers differentiate into effector cytotoxic T cells. The differentiation of CD4 T cells into helper T cell subsets, such as Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells, is dependent on the antigen type, antigen-presenting cell, and regulatory cytokines.
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
01:22T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
T cells are integral to our adaptive immune system, recognizing and effectively responding to foreign antigens. T cell activation and clonal selection are pivotal in orchestrating this immune response. This article elucidates these mechanisms, detailing the roles of cluster of differentiation (CD) markers, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, costimulatory signals, and the process of clonal selection.
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
01:40Cell-mediated Immune Responses
Overview
01:27Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
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...
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...
01:27Tumor Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
01:31Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens
The human immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against bacterial infections. It consists of various immune cells, each playing a specific role in the defense mechanism.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...