Immunologie in de medische praktijk. XXII. T-cellen en tolerantiestrategieën

- Up to the present, aspecific immunosuppressive medication is still required to prevent rejection of transplanted allogeneic tissues and to treat autoimmune disorders. These drugs are associated with numerous adverse effects. Therefore, alternative forms of immunomodulation are being extensively studied.

- T-cells play a central role in regulating the immune system. Expanding insight into the cellular mechanisms involved in immune recognition and activation led to the development of new tolerance-inducing strategies.

- Potential sites for tolerance induction are situated centrally in the thymus as well as in the peripheral T-cell population.

- Explicitly mentioned tolerance strategies are (a) allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and intrathymic tolerance induction (central tolerance induction), (b) peripheral T-cell clonal deletion, induction of anergy and immune deviation (all three are examples of peripheral tolerance induction).