logo
AAT Bioquest

What are the types of regulatory T cells?

Posted August 18, 2023


Answer

Regulatory T cells or Tregs are white blood cells that are involved in regulating the body’s immune response and preventing it from over-reacting to harmful invaders known as antigens. There are two types of regulatory T cells – natural Tregs and Induced Tregs. 

Natural Tregs: 

  • Develop in the thymus during T cell maturation 
  • Target self-antigens and help to control autoimmune inflammation

Induced Tregs

  • Are derived from naïve CD4+ T cells in the periphery
  • Target foreign antigens and neoantigens 
  • Get activated on receiving signals from small proteins called cytokines
Additional resources

The Development and Function of Regulatory T Cells

CD4 (Leu3, T4)

iFluor® 488 Anti-human CD4 Antibody *OKT-4*