AUTHOR=Ng T.H. Sky , Britton Graham J., Hill Elaine V., Verhagen Johan , Burton Bronwen R., Wraith David C.

TITLE=Regulation of Adaptive Immunity; The Role of Interleukin-10

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2013.00129

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2013.00129

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Since the discovery of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the 1980s, a large body of work has led to its recognition as a pleiotropic immunomodulatory cytokine that affects both the innate and adaptive immune systems. IL-10 is produced by a wide range of cell types, but for the purposes of this review we shall focus on IL-10 secreted by CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells. Here we describe the importance of IL-10 as a mediator of suppression used by both FoxP3<sup>+</sup> and FoxP3<sup>−</sup> T regulatory cells. Moreover, we discuss the molecular events leading to the induction of IL-10 secretion in T helper cell subsets, where it acts as a pivotal negative feedback mechanism. Finally we discuss how a greater understanding of this principle has allowed for the design of more efficient, antigen-specific immunotherapy strategies to exploit this natural phenomenon clinically.</p>