TGF-? regulation of T cells in multiple sclerosis #MMPMID28102541
Lee PW; Severin ME; Lovett-Racke AE
Eur J Immunol 2017[Mar]; 47 (3): 446-53 PMID28102541show ga
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-?) is a pleiotrophic cytokine that has been shown to influence the differentiation and function of T cells. As such, the role that TGF-? plays in immune-mediated disease, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), has become a major area of investigation since CD4 T cells appear to be a major mediator of the autoimmunity. This review analysis the literature on the role that TGF-? plays in the generation and regulation of encephalitogenic T cells in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model of MS, as well as T cells of MS patients. Since TGF-? plays a major role in the development and function of CD4 regulatory T cells, which are defective in MS patients, recent studies have found potential mechanisms to explain the basis for these regulatory T cell defects to establish a foundation for potentially modulating TGF-? signaling to restore normal T cell function in MS patients.