Particular subpopulations of T regulatory cells and its role in allergic diseases

CD4+ regulatory T cells represent a heterogeneous population of T lymphocytes which can be divided into a wide range of individual subpopulations by means of characteristic molecular markers and sites of origin. Regulatory T cells play a role in the majority of immune responses. One of their key functions is the provision of tolerance to potentially harmless environmental and food antigens. In individuals whose mechanism of tolerance failed and allergic disease has developed, impaired function and reduced proportion of regulatory T cells were demonstrated. Increasing prevalence of allergic diseases across the world population leads to the search for prognostic markers that point to an increased risk of allergic diseases development and whose early diagnosis would allow introduction of appropriate preventive measures. While such a prognostic marker appears to be a subpopulation of naturally occuring regulatory T cells, the subpopulation of induced regulatory T cells plays an irreplaceable role in specific allergen immunotherapy. Key words Regulatory T cells, allergic diseases, cord blood, FoxP3, specific allergen immunotherap