Are Follicular Regulatory T Cells Involved in Autoimmune Diseases?

Yonglu Gong1,2, Jia Tong2, Shengjun Wang1,2

  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated People's Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.

Frontiers in Immunology
|January 10, 2018
PubMed

In the germinal center (GC), follicular helper T (TFH) cells interact with B cells and undergo a series of GC reactions to ultimately produce high-affinity antibodies and memory plasma cells. Recent studies have found a subpopulation of regulatory T cells called follicular regulatory T (TFR) cells. TFR cells can inhibit TFH cells and/or B cells in a variety of ways to specifically regulate GC reactions. Dysfunction of TFR cells may lead to immune disorders and a variety of autoimmune diseases. In this review, we summarize the differentiation and function of TFR cells and provide an overview of TFR cells in autoimmune diseases.

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