Dying to protect: cell death and the control of T ‐cell homeostasis

Summary T cells play a critical role in immune responses as they specifically recognize peptide/MHC complexes with their T‐cell receptors and initiate adaptive immune responses. While T cells are critical for performing appropriate effector functions and maintaining immune memory, they also can cause autoimmunity or neoplasia if misdirected or dysregulated. Thus, T cells must be tightly regulated from their development onward. Maintenance of appropriate T‐cell homeostasis is essential to promote protective immunity and limit autoimmunity and neoplasia. This review will focus on the role of cell death in maintenance of T‐cell homeostasis and outline novel therapeutic strategies tailored to manipulate cell death to limit T‐cell survival (eg, autoimmunity and transplantation) or enhance T‐cell survival (eg, vaccination and immune deficiency).
Source: Immunological Reviews - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: INVITED REVIEW Source Type: research