T Regulatory Cells and Their Role in Autoimmune Disease Involving the Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

T regulatory (Treg) cells represent a unique subset of T lymphocytes. Although they represent a small fraction of circulating T cells ( ABBREVIATIONS:DC – dendritic cell, GI – gastrointestinal, IBD – inflammatory bowel disease, IL-2 - interleukin 2, IPEX - immunodysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, and enteropathy X-linked, iTreg - induced T regulatory cells, nTreg - naturally occurring T regulatory cells, PBMC – peripheral blood mononuclear cells, SCFA – short chain fatty acids, Th - T helper, TGF-β - transforming growth factor, Tr1 - type 1 regulatory cells, Treg – T regulatory cells.