TY  - JOUR
AU  - Yang, Zhi-Zhang 
AU  - Ansell, Stephen M. 
PY  - 2009
TI  - The Role of Treg Cells in the Cancer Immunological Response
JF  - American Journal of Immunology
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
DO  - 10.3844/ajisp.2009.17.28
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajisp.2009.17.28
AB  - Problem statement: T cell-mediated immunosuppression has been 
observed for decades without clarification as to which factor was responsible 
for this observation. The identification of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells 
represents a milestone in the filed of immunology and provides an explanation 
for T-cell-mediated immunosuppression. Although Treg cells were originally identified 
for their ability to prevent organ-specific autoimmune disease in mice, emerging 
evidence suggests that Treg cells play a pivotal role in tumor immunity and contribute 
to tumor growth and progression, thereby having an important impact on the outcome 
of cancer patients. Approach: This article reviewed the medical 
literature to describe how Treg cells affect anti-tumor immunity. Results: 
Treg cells suppressed anti-tumor immunity by inhibiting the effector functions 
of tumor-specific T cells and NK cells. Importantly, tumor cells played an active 
role in recruiting and generating Treg cells and creating a suppressive tumor 
microenvironment. Strategies to deplete Treg cells or inhibit their function had 
yielded promising results by enhancing anti-tumor immunity in experimental studies 
as well as clinical practice. Conclusion: A better understanding 
of the pathophysiology of Treg cells not only increased our knowledge in a variety 
of aspects of immunology but also potentially benefited cancer patients.