Coexpression of Helios in Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells and Its Role in Human Disease

作者：Wenqing Yu, Ningfei Ji, Chengjing Gu, Yanli Wang, Mao Huang, Mingshun Zhang · 发表于：Disease Markers · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1155/2021/5574472 · 被引用次数：36 · 研究领域：T-cell and B-cell Immunology、Immune Cell Function and Interaction、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) expressing the Foxp3 transcription factor are indispensable for the maintenance of immune system homeostasis. Tregs may lose Foxp3 expression or be reprogrammed into cells that produce proinflammatory cytokines, for example, Th1-like Tregs, Th2-like Tregs, Th17-like Tregs, and Tfh-like Tregs. Accordingly, selective therapeutic molecules that manipulate Treg lineage stability and/or functional activity might have the potential to improve aberrant immune responses in human disorders. In particular, the transcription factor Helios has emerged as an important marker and modulator of Tregs. Therefore, the current review focuses on recent findings on the expression, function, and mechanisms of Helios, as well as the patterns of Foxp3+ Tregs coexpressing Helios in various human disorders, in order to explore the potential of Helios for the improvement of many immune-related diseases. The studies were selected from PubMed using the library of the Nanjing Medical University in this review. The findings of the included studies indicate that Helios expression stabilizes the phenotype and function of Foxp3+ Tregs in certain inflammatory environments. Further, Tregs coexpressing Helios and Foxp3 were identified as a specific phenotype of stronger suppressor immune cells in both humans and animal models. Importantly, there is ample evidence that Helios-expressing Foxp3+ Tregs are relevant to various human disorders, including connective tissue diseases, infectiou...