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The dynamic co-evolution of memory and regulatory CD4+ T cells in the periphery

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 7, pages 231–237 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Whereas memory T cells are required to maintain immunity, regulatory T cells have to keep the immune system in check to prevent excessive inflammation and/or autoimmunity. Both cell types must be present during the lifetime of the organism. However, it is not clear whether both subsets are regulated in tandem or independently of each other, especially because thymic involution severely restricts the production of T-cell populations during ageing. In this Opinion article, we discuss recent evidence in both mice and humans that supports the hypothesis that some CD4+CD25+FOXP3+regulatory T cells can differentiate from rapidly proliferating memory T cells in the periphery.

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Figure 1: Possible mechanisms for the origin and maintenance of human CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in vivo.
Figure 2: A model of regulatory T-cell homeostasis derived from deuterium-labelled glucose measurements of in vivo proliferation.
Figure 3: A model that links the duration and intensity of immune stimulation to regulatory T-cell generation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Soares for help preparing the original figures. This work was financed by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the British Skin Foundation, Dermatrust and the Sir Jules Thorne Charitable Trust and Research into Ageing.

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  1. Arne N. Akbar and Milica Vukmanovic-Stejic are at the Department of Immunology and Molecular Pathology, Division of Infection and Immunity, Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences, University College London, London W1T 4JF, UK.,

    Arne N. Akbar & Milica Vukmanovic-Stejic

  2. Leonie S. Taams is at the Department of Immunobiology, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK.,

    Leonie S. Taams

  3. Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Derek C. Macallan is at the Centre for Infection, St George's University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK.,

    Derek C. Macallan

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Akbar, A., Vukmanovic-Stejic, M., Taams, L. et al. The dynamic co-evolution of memory and regulatory CD4+ T cells in the periphery. Nat Rev Immunol 7, 231–237 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2037

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