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. 2022 Mar 3;18(1):2035117. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2022.2035117

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© 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

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Figure 1. — Classification, phenotypes, functional characteristics, and balance of Treg cells in the immune response. (a) Differentiation of naive CD4 + T cells into Tregs or effector T cells. The selection of naïve CD4 + T cells and natural Tregs occurs in the thymus. Naïve CD4 + T cells, subsequently, can differentiate into various different T cell subsets: Th1, Th2, Th17, induced Tregs (iTregs), in the periphery, all heralding distinct immunological functions. These differentiation programs are regulated by different cytokines. The transcription factors T-bet and Runx3, GATA3, or RORγt, are required to differentiate naive T cells into Th1, Th2, or Th17 cells, respectively. For example: T-bet (Th1 cells), GATA3 (Th2 cells), RORγt (Th17 cells), FOXP3 (Tregs). (b) In a healthy individual, the immune system is under regular homeostasis, can suppress autoreactive effector T cells and control a fine balance (left). Aberrant Treg plasticity, quantitative and functional deficiencies of Treg impair immune homeostasis and result in autoimmune diseases (right). Abbreviations: nTreg: natural Treg; iTreg: induced Treg; FOXP3: forkhead Box P3; RA: retinoic acid; CD: cluster of differentiation; IFN: interferon; IL: interleukin; RORγt: retinoid related orphan receptor γ; T-bet: T box transcription factor; TCR: T cell receptor; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-β; Th: T helper cell; GATA3: GATA-binding factor 3; Tfh: follicular helper T cells; Bcl: B-cell lymphoma 2. Figure was designed by Biorender.com program (https://biorender.com/). Accessed on 13 April 2021.