CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells: from basic research to potential therapeutic use

Christian Mottet1, Dela Golshayan

  • 1Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland. christian.mottet@chuv.ch

Swiss Medical Weekly
|November 21, 2007
PubMed

Regulatory T cells control immune responses to self- and foreign-antigens and play a major role in maintaining the balance between immunity and tolerance. This article reviews recent key developments in the field of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T (TREG) cells. It presents their characteristics and describes their range of activity and mechanisms of action. Some models of diseases triggered by the imbalance between TREG cells and effector pathogenic T cells are described and their potential therapeutic applications in humans are outlined.