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      Regulatory T cells: how do they suppress immune responses?

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          Abstract

          Regulatory T cells (Tregs), either natural or induced, suppress a variety of physiological and pathological immune responses. One of the key issues for understanding Treg function is to determine how they suppress other lymphocytes at the molecular level in vivo and in vitro. Here we propose that there may be a key suppressive mechanism that is shared by every forkhead box p3 (Foxp3)(+) Treg in vivo and in vitro in mice and humans. When this central mechanism is abrogated, it causes a breach in self-tolerance and immune homeostasis. Other suppressive mechanisms may synergistically operate with this common mechanism depending on the environment and the type of an immune response. Further, Treg-mediated suppression is a multi-step process and impairment or augmentation of each step can alter the ultimate effectiveness of Treg-mediated suppression. These findings will help to design effective ways for controlling immune responses by targeting Treg suppressive functions.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Int Immunol
          International immunology
          Oxford University Press (OUP)
          1460-2377
          0953-8178
          Oct 2009
          : 21
          : 10
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Experimental Pathology, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan. shimon@frontier.kyoto-u.ac.jp
          Article
          dxp095
          10.1093/intimm/dxp095
          19737784
          9f57ac7a-333a-49bb-bc28-a8d28d18fac5
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