Abstract
Type I diabetes (T1D) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease that targets on the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β cells. Many strategies, including immunosuppressive and antigen-specific immunoregulatory therapies, have been per- formed in animal models and in the clinic to prevent and treat T1D. Among them, induction of regulatory T cells (Treg) specific to β cell-associated autoantigens (BAA) for T1D therapy provides several advantages, including specificity and lasting effica- cy in controlling unrestricted autoimmunity. In this review, we discuss the progression of applying autoantigen-specific Treg cells in treating T1D, hoping to provide some useful information for future clinicians to develop more effective and safe antigen- specific immunoregulatory therapies on T1D treatment.
Keywords: Autoantigen, β Cell, immunoregulatory therapies, organ-specific autoimmune disease, T regulatory cells, type I diabetes.
Graphical Abstract
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