Resumo

CHAVEZ SANCHEZ, Francisco Raúl; ROJAS-LEMUS, Marcela; FORTOUL VAN DER GOES, Teresa I.  e  TENORIO ZUMARRAGA, Eda Patricia. Thymic regulatory T cells: origins, role and their importance in illnes and health. Rev. Fac. Med. (Méx.) [online]. 2017, vol.60, n.5, pp.36-44. ISSN 2448-4865.

Regulatory Т cells (Tregs) are key mediators of the immune response; they have a collection of suppressive mechanisms that allow them to control both, self-reactive lymphocytes and conventional T cell clones. Although this population corresponds only to 5-10% of the CD4Tcells compartment, their absence has been related to the development of autoimmunity, the worsening of proinflammatory conditions and even abortions. Tregs can originate at the thymus or the periphery, however thymic Tregs are characterized by their stable phenotype and their capacity to recognize auto-antigens. In this review, we aim to provide a general understanding of the characteristics of Tregs and their importance within pathologies with a special focus on thymic Tregs; we offer herein a general picture of T cell ontogeny emphasizing the mechanisms and molecules involved in Treg generation.

Palavras-chave : Autoimmunity; tolerance; thymus; CD4 T lymphocytes ҒохрЗ.