Abstract

· Activation of mucosal T cells occurs in inflammatory bowel disease and is inhibited by various subsets of "regulatory" T cells, which can be functionally and phenotypically characterized · Regulatory T cells can be generated within the thymus or in peripheral tissues · In mice, a loss of regulatory T cell activity results in inflammatory bowel disease. Regulatory T cell activity has not been thoroughly studied in inflammatory bowel disease, but currently available data do not provide evidence for a loss of regulatory T cell activity in human inflammatory bowel disease · Regulatory T cells can be generated or activated in vivo and in vitro using a variety of approaches, including specific small molecules, cytokine-mediated activation, and gene therapy. These cells have therapeutic activity in the preclinical setting