IL-10-Producing Type 1 Regulatory T Cells and Allergy

As an important subset of regulatory T(Treg) cells,IL-10-producing type 1 regulatory T cells(Tr1) ,have some different features to thymic-derived naturally occurring CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells(nTreg cells) . Similar to nTreg cells,Tr1 also play important roles in the control of allergic inflammation in several ways. There is a fine balance between Tr1 and Th2 responses in healthy subjects. Skewing of allergic-specific effctor T cells to a Tr1 phenotype appears to be a critical event in successful allergen-specific immunotherapy and glucocorticoids and β2-agonists treatment. Tr1 suppress Th2 cells and effector cells of allergic inflammation,such as eosinophils,mast cells,basophils,through producing IL-10,and perhaps TGF-β. Understanding of Tr1 may be helpful in developing new strategies for treatment of allergic diseases.