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. 2017 Jun;9(6):a022236. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a022236

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Regulation of T cells by transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). (A) TGF-β promotes the thymic development of multiple T-cell lineages. TGF-β supports the survival of thymus-derived Treg (tTreg), invariant natural killer T (iNKT), and CD8αα+ T-cell precursors, and thus promotes the development of T-cell populations that are induced by strong agonist ligands. TGF-β also supports the development of conventional CD8+ T cells by promoting thymocyte expression of interleukin (IL)-7Rα. (B) TGF-β regulates peripheral T-cell homeostasis by promoting IL-7-dependent survival of low-affinity T cells, through its control of thymocyte IL-7Rα expression, and by (C) inhibiting T-cell receptor (TCR)-driven activation of autoreactive or high-affinity T cells. (D) In early stages of CD8+ T-cell differentiation, TGF-β inhibits cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) development. However, TGF-β also promotes the apoptosis of short-lived effector cells (SLECs) and the differentiation of CD103-expressing tissue resident memory (TRM) cells. (E) Whereas TGF-β inhibits T helper 1 (Th1)- and Th2-cell differentiation, TGF-β (in concert with other factors) promotes the development of peripheral Treg (pTreg), Th17, Th9, and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells.