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Regulatory T cells: Therapeutic Potential for Treating Transplant Rejection and Type I Diabetes
Published on: August 20, 2007
Harnessing memory adaptive regulatory T cells to control autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes
Cheng-Rui Li1, Bas J G Baaten, Linda M Bradley
1Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract:
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreatic islets. There is an immediate need to restore both β-cell function and immune tolerance to control disease progression and ultimately cure T1D. Currently, there is no effective treatment strategy to restore glucose regulation in patients with T1D. FoxP3-expressing CD4(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) are potential candidates to control autoimmunity because they play a central role in maintaining self-tolerance. However, deficiencies in either naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs) themselves and/or their ability to control pathogenic effector T cells have been associated with T1D. Here, we hypothesize that nTregs can be replaced by FoxP3(+) adaptive Tregs (aTregs), which are uniquely equipped to combat autoreactivity in T1D. Unlike nTregs, aTregs are stable and provide long-lived protection. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of aTregs and their potential for use as an immunological intervention to treat T1D.
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