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Safer, longer-lasting regulatory T cells with β-catenin

Nature Medicine volume 14, pages 118–119 (2008)Cite this article

Expressing a stabilized form of β-catenin extends the lifespan of regulatory T cells— one goal of therapies that take advantage of these cells (pages 162–169).

The vital role of regulatory T (Treg) cells in maintaining self-tolerance is exquisitely clear1. Defects in Treg cell development lead to systemic autoimmunity and early death in both mice and humans. Despite the importance of these cells in immune homeostasis, the intracellular events that control Treg cell activation and survival have not been elucidated—nor have the processes that control proliferative unresponsiveness in both Treg cells and anergic T cells. Anergic T cells are functionally inactivated after an antigen encounter, but remain alive in a hyporesponsive state.

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Figure 1: Potential role of Wnt signaling in Treg survival.

Katie Ris-Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jeffrey A. Bluestone and Matthias Hebrok are in the University of California–San Francisco Diabetes Center and Department of Medicine, University of California–San Francisco, Health Sciences West 1114, Box 0540, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94143, USA. jbluest@diabetes.ucsf.edu,

    Jeffrey A Bluestone & Matthias Hebrok

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  1. Jeffrey A Bluestone
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  2. Matthias Hebrok
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Bluestone, J., Hebrok, M. Safer, longer-lasting regulatory T cells with β-catenin. Nat Med 14, 118–119 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0208-118

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