Affiliation:
1. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analysis, and Drug Information, Research Group Experimental Pharmacology, Center for Neurosciences Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels Belgium
2. Department of Neurology and Bru‐BRAIN Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel Brussels Belgium
3. NEUR Research Group, Center of Neurosciences Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels Belgium
4. Instituto de Investigação e Inovação Em Saúde Porto Portugal
Abstract
AbstractEpilepsy is a complex chronic brain disorder with diverse clinical features that can be caused by various triggering events, such as infections, head trauma, or stroke. During epileptogenesis, various abnormalities are observed, such as altered cellular homeostasis, imbalance of neurotransmitters, tissue changes, and the release of inflammatory mediators, which in combination lead to spontaneous recurrent seizures. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a subtype of CD4+Foxp3+ T cells, best known for their key function in immune suppression, also seem to play a role in attenuating neurodegeneration and suppressing pathological inflammation in several brain disease states. Considering that epilepsy is also highly associated with neuronal damage and neuroinflammation, modulation of Tregs may be an interesting way to modify the disease course of epilepsy and needs further investigation. In this review, we will describe the currently available information on Tregs in epilepsy.