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Type 1 regulatory T cells: a new mechanism of peripheral immune tolerance

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 12, pages 566–571 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The lack of immune response to an antigen, a process known as immune tolerance, is essential for the preservation of immune homeostasis. To date, two mechanisms that drive immune tolerance have been described extensively: central tolerance and peripheral tolerance. Under the new nomenclature, thymus-derived regulatory T (tTreg) cells are the major mediators of central immune tolerance, whereas peripherally derived regulatory T (pTreg) cells function to regulate peripheral immune tolerance. A third type of Treg cells, termed iTreg, represents only the in vitro-induced Treg cells1. Depending on whether the cells stably express Foxp3, pTreg, and iTreg cells may be divided into two subsets: the classical CD4+Foxp3+ Treg cells and the CD4+Foxp3− type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells2. This review focuses on the discovery, associated biomarkers, regulatory functions, methods of induction, association with disease, and clinical trials of Tr1 cells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31070749 and 91442108)

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  1. Department of Immunology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China

    Hanyu Zeng, Rong Zhang, Boquan Jin & Lihua Chen

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Zeng, H., Zhang, R., Jin, B. et al. Type 1 regulatory T cells: a new mechanism of peripheral immune tolerance. Cell Mol Immunol 12, 566–571 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2015.44

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