Unusual CD4⁺CD28⁻ T Cells and Their Pathogenic Role in Chronic Inflammatory Disorders.
- Author:
Ga Hye LEE
1
;
Won Woo LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: CD28; Co-stimulatory receptor; CD4⁺CD28⁻ T cells; Chronic inflammatory diseases; Cytotoxic potential
- MeSH: Cell Aging; Cytokines; Humans; Memory; T-Lymphocytes*
- From:Immune Network 2016;16(6):322-329
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: CD28 is a primary co-stimulatory receptor that is essential for successful T cell activation, proliferation, and survival. While ubiquitously expressed on naive T cells, the level of CD28 expression on memory T cells is largely dependent on the T-cell differentiation stage in humans. Expansion of circulating T cells lacking CD28 was originally considered a hallmark of age-associated immunological changes in humans, with a progressive loss of CD28 following replicative senescence with advancing age. However, an increasing body of evidence has revealed that there is a significant age-inappropriate expansion of CD4⁺CD28⁻ T cells in patients with a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases, suggesting that these cells play a role in their pathogenesis. In fact, expanded CD4⁺CD28⁻ T cells can produce large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α and also have cytotoxic potential, which may cause tissue damage and development of pathogenesis in many inflammatory disorders. Here we review the characteristics of CD4⁺CD28⁻ T cells as well as the recent advances highlighting the contribution of these cells to several disease conditions.
