CD4+CD25+CD127low regulatory T cell (Treg)

CD4+CD25+CD127low regulatory T cells, commonly known as Tregs, are a specialized subpopulation of T lymphocytes essential for maintaining immune homeostasis and self-tolerance [3, 13]. They are characterized by the high expression of the IL-2 receptor alpha chain (CD25) and low expression of the IL-7 receptor alpha chain (CD127), which correlates with the expression of the master transcription factor FoxP3 [5, 10, 11]. In healthy individuals, Tregs prevent autoimmune diseases by suppressing the activity of effector T cells and other immune components [2, 3]. However, in the context of cancer, Tregs often accumulate in the tumor microenvironment, where they facilitate immune evasion by inhibiting anti-tumor immune responses [1, 6, 9]. Consequently, they are targeted in oncology to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies through depletion or functional inhibition [9, 12]. Conversely, in autoimmune disorders and organ transplantation, therapeutic strategies aim to expand or enhance Treg function to restore tolerance and prevent tissue damage [2, 3, 7].

Other names

Regulatory T cellTregSuppressor T cellCD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cellNatural regulatory T cellInduced regulatory T cell

Drugs targeting these cells work by either depleting them to enhance anti-tumor immunity or expanding/activating them to suppress unwanted immune responses in autoimmunity and transplantation [2, 9, 12].