Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome 00168, Italy.
Mediators Inflamm. 2009;2009:132028. doi: 10.1155/2009/132028. Epub 2010 Feb 8.
Human lymphocyte subpopulations were originally classified as T- and B-cells in the 70s. Later, with the development of monoclonal antibodies, it became possible to recognize, within the T-cells, functional populations: CD4(+) and CD8(+). These populations were usually referred to as "helper" and "suppressor" cells, respectively. However several investigations within the CD8 cells failed to detect a true suppressor activity. Therefore the term suppressor was neglected because it generated confusion. Much later, true suppressor activity was recognized in a subpopulation of CD4 cells characterized by high levels of CD25. The novel population is usually referred to as T regulatory cells (Tregs) and it is characterized by the expression of FoxP3. The heterogeneity of CD4 cells was further expanded by the recent description of a novel subpopulation characterized by production of IL-17. These cells are generally referred to as T(H)17. They contribute to regulate the overall immune response together with other cytokine-producing populations. Treg and T(H)17 cells are related because they could derive from a common progenitor, depending on the presence of certain cytokines. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent findings of the role of these novel populations in the field of human gastroenterological disease.
人类淋巴细胞亚群最初在 70 年代被分为 T 细胞和 B 细胞。后来，随着单克隆抗体的发展，人们可以识别 T 细胞中的功能性群体：CD4(+)和 CD8(+)。这些群体通常被称为“辅助”和“抑制”细胞。然而，在 CD8 细胞中的几项研究未能检测到真正的抑制活性。因此，由于它引起了混淆，抑制这个术语被忽视了。很久以后，在高水平表达 CD25 的 CD4 细胞亚群中发现了真正的抑制活性。这个新的群体通常被称为调节性 T 细胞（Tregs），其特征是表达 FoxP3。最近描述的一种新型亚群，其特征是产生白细胞介素 17（IL-17），进一步扩大了 CD4 细胞的异质性。这些细胞通常被称为辅助性 T 细胞 17（T(H)17）。它们与 Tregs 一起通过产生细胞因子来调节整体免疫反应。Treg 和 T(H)17 细胞是相关的，因为它们可以来自共同的祖细胞，这取决于某些细胞因子的存在。本综述的目的是总结这些新型群体在人类胃肠病学领域的作用的最新发现。
