Department of Cardiology, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China.
Department of Cardiology, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2024 Apr;173:116359. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116359. Epub 2024 Mar 2.
Inflammatory responses are linked to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in various forms. Tregs, members of CD4 T cells, play important roles in regulating immune system and suppressing inflammatory response, thus contributing to maintaining immune homeostasis. However, Tregs exert their powerful suppressive function relying on the stable phenotype and function. The stability of Tregs primarily depends on the FOXP3 (Forkhead box P3) expression and epigenetic regulation. Although Tregs are quite stable under physiological conditions, prolonged exposure to inflammatory cues, Tregs may lose suppressive function and require proinflammatory phenotype, namely plastic Tregs or ex-Tregs. There are extensive researches have established the beneficial role of Tregs in CVDs. Nevertheless, the potential risks of dysfunctional Tregs lack deep research. Anti-inflammatory and immunological modulation have been hotspots in the treatment of CVDs. Tregs are appealing because of their crucial role in resolving inflammation and promoting tissue repair. If alleviating inflammatory response through modulating Tregs could be a new therapeutic strategy for CVDs, the next step to consider is how to prevent the formation of dysfunctional Tregs or reverse detrimental Tregs to normal phenotype.
炎症反应以各种形式与心血管疾病（CVDs）相关联。调节性 T 细胞（Tregs）是 CD4 T 细胞的成员，在调节免疫系统和抑制炎症反应方面发挥着重要作用，有助于维持免疫稳态。然而，Tregs 依赖于稳定的表型和功能发挥其强大的抑制作用。Tregs 的稳定性主要取决于 FOXP3（叉头框 P3）的表达和表观遗传调控。尽管 Tregs 在生理条件下相当稳定，但长期暴露于炎症信号下，Tregs 可能会失去抑制功能，需要促炎表型，即可塑性 Tregs 或已分化的 Tregs。大量研究已经证实了 Tregs 在 CVDs 中的有益作用。然而，功能失调的 Tregs 的潜在风险缺乏深入研究。抗炎和免疫调节一直是 CVDs 治疗的热点。Tregs 因其在解决炎症和促进组织修复方面的关键作用而备受关注。如果通过调节 Tregs 减轻炎症反应可以成为 CVDs 的一种新的治疗策略，那么下一步需要考虑的是如何防止功能失调的 Tregs 的形成或使有害的 Tregs 恢复到正常表型。
