The control of immune responses against self and nonharmful environmental antigens is of critical importance to the immune homeostasis. Regulatory T (Treg) cells are the key players of such immune regulation and their deficiency and dysfunction are associated with various immune disorders, such as autoimmunity and allergy. It is therefore essential to understand the molecular mechanisms that make up Treg cell characteristics; that is, how their unique gene expression profile is regulated at transcriptional and epigenetic levels. In this chapter, we focus on the components of molecular features of Treg cells and discuss how they are introduced during their development.
Keywords: DNA methylation; Epigenetic modification; Foxp3; Transcription factors; Treg cell development.
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