A New Type of Regulatory T Cells May Prevent Autoimmune Disease

Scientists from Stanford University School of Medicine identify a new type of regulatory T cells that can help suppress autoimmune disease. They report their findings in a recent publication  titled “KIR⁺CD8⁺ T cells suppress pathogenic T cells and are active in autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.”

This regulatory T cell is a type of CD8⁺ T cell known for killing infected or cancerous cells. While scientists have found that CD8⁺ T cells bearing a Ly49 receptor are involved in curbing autoimmune responses in mice, they have not been able to find a human counterpart until now. 

The team of scientists found that human CD8⁺ T cells have KIR proteins which are similar to the Ly49 receptor found in mice. In patients with autoimmune diseases, they found that these T cells were more common in the blood compared to healthy people. These cells were also more abundant in tissues where autoimmune damage occurred.

Further research into the role of KIR⁺CD8⁺ T cells could help scientists develop new therapeutics to suppress autoimmunity.

Citation:

Li, J., et al. (2022). Kir+cd8+T cells suppress pathogenic T cells and are active in autoimmune diseases and covid-19. Science, 376(6590). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi9591