COMMENTARY

Colitis

T regulatory cell suppression of colitis: the role of TGF-ß

R Duchmann, M Zeitz

Medizinische Klinik I, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor R Duchmann
Medizinische Klinik I, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 30, D-12200 Berlin, Germany; rainer.duchmann@charite.de

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Transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) and interleukin 2 may be involved in IBD peripheral regulatory T cell pathophysiology, raising the possibility of therapeutic application of TGF-ß induced regulatory T cells in IBD patients

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Keywords: T regulatory cell; colitis; Foxp3; interleukin 2; transforming growth factor ß

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (T_reg) expressing the lineage marker Foxp3 control immune responses to self- and foreign antigens and are an intensely studied member of the heterogenous group of regulatory T cells. Although initially described as a population of suppressor T cells required to avoid organ specific autoimmunity, it has subsequently become clear that T_reg control immune responses in a much broader sense, including transplantation tolerance and immune responses to pathogens and tumours.^1–3 Relevant to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), T_reg prevent⁴ and treat established⁵ colitis in animal models of IBD and are numerically deficient in patients with active IBD.⁶ This underlines the fact that the immune dys-equilibrium characteristic of chronic inflammatory diseases involves concomitant disturbances in inflammatory and suppressive immune mechanisms and opens up novel approaches for IBD therapy by strengthening T_reg mediated suppression.

Currently, efforts in laboratories worldwide are addressing the central questions of T_reg immunology, resolution . . . [Full text of this article]

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