What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Review. Population: Cardiovascular diseases.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This review aims to explore the role of regulatory T cells in cardiovascular diseases and the potential for therapeutic interventions.

March 30, 2026Frontiers in Immunology1 citationsOpen Access

Regulatory T cells and peripheral immune tolerance: key mechanisms and therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular diseases

MLMengna LinLanzhou University Second Hospital WLW. X. LiGansu Agricultural University YWYawen WuLanzhou University Second Hospital

Key Result

Regulatory T cell dysfunction and Th17/Treg imbalance drive cardiovascular disease pathogenesis, highlighting Treg-targeted therapies as a strategy to actively restore immune homeostasis.

Key Points

This review aims to explore the role of regulatory T cells in cardiovascular diseases and the potential for therapeutic interventions.
Comprehensive overview of Tregs biology and dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases.
Analysis of current therapeutic strategies targeting Tregs.
Discussion of future directions for restoring immune homeostasis.
Identified the importance of functional heterogeneity and cellular dysfunction in CVD pathogenesis.
Highlighted current therapeutic strategies aimed at Tregs.
Proposed a shift from merely delaying disease progression to enhancing immune homeostasis.

PICO

Population

Cardiovascular diseases

Limitations

Inherent species differences between animal models and humans limit direct extrapolation of findings.
Controlled experimental conditions in preclinical models lack the comorbidity burden seen in human disease.
Short in vivo survival time of infused Tregs in human clinical studies.
Treg plasticity allows them to adopt pro-inflammatory phenotypes in specific inflammatory microenvironments.

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading global cause of disability and mortality, with chronic immune inflammation as their central pathological mechanism. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and the peripheral immune tolerance they mediate hold a pivotal position and therapeutic potential in CVDs. This review provides a comprehensive overview of Tregs biology, their dysfunction in major CVDs, current therapeutic strategies targeting Tregs, and future directions for achieving immune homeostasis. By moving beyond the traditional focus on numerical deficiency, we highlight the critical role of functional heterogeneity and cellular dysfunction in CVDs pathogenesis, and discuss the emerging therapeutic concept of moving from delaying disease progression to restoring immune homeostasis.

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