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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Characterization of Thymus-dependent and Thymus-independent Immunoglobulin Isotype Responses in Mice Using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay
Published on: September 7, 2018
TIM-3 and its regulatory role in immune responses
Chen Zhu1, Ana C Anderson, Vijay K Kuchroo
1Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Abstract:
T cell immunoglobulin mucin-(TIM)-3 was first identified as a molecule specifically expressed on IFN-γ-secreting CD4(+) T helper 1 (Th1) and CD8(+) T cytotoxic (Tc1) cells in both mice and humans. TIM-3 acts as a negative regulator of Th1/Tc1 cell function by triggering cell death upon interaction with its ligand, galectin-9. This negative regulatory function of TIM-3 has now been expanded to include its involvement in establishing and/or maintaining a state of T cell dysfunction or "exhaustion" observed in chronic viral diseases. In addition, it is now appreciated that TIM-3 has other ligands and is expressed on other cell types, where it may function differently. Given that an increasing body of data support an important role for TIM-3 in both autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases in humans, deciphering the function of TIM-3 on different cell types during different immune conditions and how these can be regulated will be critical for harnessing the therapeutic potential of TIM-3 for the treatment of disease.
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