Regulatory T cells are heterogeneous with sub-populations which differ from each other in their phenotype, immune inhibitory mechanisms and function. These cells are responsible for the regulation of the immune response and play a leading role in developing immune tolerance through active suppression. Suggested functions for regulatory T cells include: prevention of autoimmune diseases by maintaining self-tolerance, oral tolerance, and, moreover, suppression of allergy and pathogen-induced immunopathology.There are two general types of the regulatory lymphocytes: natural cells, which develop in the thymus, and induced cells, which are derived from naive lymphocytes in the periphery. These cells consist of heterogeneous subsets that include CD4⁺ cells, CD8⁺ cells, γδ⁺ T cells and NK cells. The first two types of cells can be subdivided into several phenotypic groups. The present review will characterize the human and murine CD4⁺ regulatory cells, i.e., natural (nTreg) and induced (iTreg) CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ cells, IL-10 secreting Tr1 cells and TGF-β secreting Th3 cells. This paper focuses mainly on aspects concerning the phenotypic markers, development and functional activities of these cells, as well as their immune inhibitory mechanisms.
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