AUTHOR=Tian Wen , Jiang Shirley Y. , Jiang Xinguo , Tamosiuniene Rasa , Kim Dongeon , Guan Torrey , Arsalane Siham , Pasupneti Shravani , Voelkel Norbert F. , Tang Qizhi , Nicolls Mark R. 

TITLE=The Role of Regulatory T Cells in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.684657

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.684657

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic, incurable condition characterized by pulmonary vascular remodeling, perivascular inflammation, and right heart failure. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) stave off autoimmunity, and there is increasing evidence for their compromised activity in the inflammatory milieu of PAH. Abnormal Treg function is strongly correlated with a predisposition to PAH in animals and patients. Athymic Treg-depleted rats treated with SU5416, an agent causing pulmonary vascular injury, develop PAH, which is prevented by infusing missing CD4<sup>+</sup>CD25<sup>high</sup>FOXP3<sup>+</sup> Tregs. Abnormal Treg activity may also explain why PAH disproportionately affects women more than men. This mini review focuses on the role of Tregs in PAH with a special view to sexual dimorphism and the future promise of Treg therapy.</p>