T cell-directed therapies: lessons learned and future prospects

Agents interfering with T cell function are therapeutic mainstays for various autoimmune diseases and for transplant approaches to organ failure. The understanding of T cell biology has blossomed since the development of most agents now in use. Here we discuss T cell - specific agents now in use, others recently added to the therapeutic armamentarium and promising agents being investigated in clinical and preclinical studies. In addition, we reflect on the risks and benefits involved in the testing of such agents clinically, with examples of agents that have successfully been used in the clinic and agents that failed to reach therapeutic use.