Journal
CURRENT MOLECULAR MEDICINE
Volume 12, Issue 10, Pages 1261-1272Publisher
BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.2174/156652412803833634
Keywords
Autoimmunity; effector T cells; regulatory T cells; Teffs; Tregs; Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01 DK083583, T32DK065549]
- Merck Co., Inc.
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease resulting in islet beta cell destruction, hypoinsulinemia, and severely altered glucose homeostasis. T1DM has classically been attributed to the pathogenic actions of auto-reactive effector T cells(Teffs) on the beta cell. Recent literature now suggests that a failure of a second T cell subtype, known as regulatory T cells (Tregs), plays a critical role in the development of T1DM. During immune homeostasis, Tregs counterbalance the actions of autoreactive Teff cells, thereby participating in peripheral tolerance. An imbalance in the activity between Teff and Tregs may be crucial in the breakdown of peripheral tolerance, leading to the development of T1DM. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of Treg function in health and in T1DM, and examine the effect of experimental therapies for T1DM on Treg cell number and function in both mice and humans.
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