Treg cells in autoimmunity: from identification to Treg-based therapies

• Published in: Seminars in immunopathology Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 301 - 314
• Main Authors: Göschl, Lisa, Scheinecker, Clemens, Bonelli, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Autoimmune diseases; Autoimmune Diseases - etiology; Autoimmune Diseases - immunology; Autoimmune Diseases - metabolism; Autoimmune Diseases - therapy; Autoimmunity; Binding sites; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cell Differentiation - immunology; Cell lineage; Cell Plasticity - immunology; Clinical trials; Disease; DNA methylation; Effector cells; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenetics; Foxp3 protein; Gene expression; Homeostasis; Humans; Immunological tolerance; Immunology; Immunomodulation; Immunotherapy, Adoptive; Internal Medicine; Kinases; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Review; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - metabolism; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - metabolism; Thymus gland; Autoimmunity; Foxp3; Regulatory T cells
• ISSN: 1863-2297; 1863-2300; 1863-2300
• DOI: 10.1007/s00281-019-00741-8

Regulatory (Treg) cells are key regulators of inflammation and important for immune tolerance and homeostasis. A major progress has been made in the identification and classification of Treg cells. Due to technological advances, we have gained deep insights in the epigenetic regulation of Treg cells. The use of fate reporter mice allowed addressing the functional consequences of loss of Foxp3 expression. Depending on the environment Treg cells gain effector functions upon loss of Foxp3 expression. However, the traditional view that Treg cells become necessarily pathogenic by gaining effector functions was challenged by recent findings and supports the notion of Treg cell lineage plasticity. Treg cell stability is also a major issue for Treg cell therapies. Clinical trials are designed to use polyclonal Treg cells as therapeutic tools. Here, we summarize the role of Treg cells in selected autoimmune diseases and recent advances in the field of Treg targeted therapies.