RA Mediated T-reg Differentiation: Difference between revisions

T-regulatory cells (T-regs)  are a small subset of CD4+ T-cells that exhibit strong down regulation of immune system activity in their local environment. They are distinguished from other CD4+ T-cells by the expression of FOXP3, a gene regulator. <ref> PMID: 19410687 </ref> These cells have been shown to differentiate from CD4+ T-helper cells upon exposure to the following cytokines: tumor growth factor β (TGF-β), Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and retinoic acid (RA). <ref> PMID: 21839265  </ref> Both TGF-β and IL-2 are used in other immune system differentiation, however, RA has been shown to bias T-cells to the T-reg phenotype. <ref> PMID: 21839265  </ref> When acting upon T-reg cells, RA acts as the ligand for the Retinoic Acid Receptor-α (RARα) / Retinoid X Receptor-α (RXRα) heterodimer. This heterodimer is of the nuclear receptor family, and each chain consists of the same three part structure: a Ligand binding domain (LBD), a DNA binding domain (DBD), and a hinge region connecting the two binding domains. <ref> PMID: 10406480 </ref>