The Blood Center of Southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201-2178, USA;Immunology Research Division, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Abstract:
The past year has seen significant advances in our understanding of the role of the B7-CD28/CTLA-4 pathway in T cell activation and self-tolerance. Recent studies have demonstrated that CTLA-4 is a critical negative regulator of T cell activation and autoreactivity, revealing a previously unsuspected means by which costimulation is involved in the maintenance and breakdown of self-tolerance. Manipulation of this costimulatory pathway in animal models of autoimmunity has shown an important role for this pathway in both the initiation and progression of autoimmune diseases.