Pillars article: Immunologic self-tolerance maintained by activated T cells expressing IL-2 receptor alpha-chains (CD25). Breakdown of a single mechanism of self-tolerance causes various autoimmune diseases. J. Immunol. 1995. 155: 1151-1164.

摘要

The studies of Nishizuka and Sakakura (4) were ignored by most immunologists, and subsequent studies from this group concentrated on die characterization of die immunopadiology of the different autoimmune diseases generated after d3Tx and ignored characterization of the suppressor cell populations. The only other studies that supported the relation of suppressor T cells and the development of autoimmunity were a series of insightful experiments by Penhale and cow-orkers in the 1970s (10, 11). They demonstrated that spontaneous thyroiditis developed in 60% of rats after the partial depletion of T cells by adult Tx followed by irradiation. Autoimmune disease could be prevented if the Tx-irradiated mice were reconstituted with lymphoid cells from normal donors on die last day of irradiation. These studies demonstrated that suppression was not unique to die neonate, and tliat suppressor cells also exist in the normal adult animals that are capable of preventing the activation of autoreactive effector T cells. Further characterization of tiie suppressor popu-s lation was not performed.