Author/Editor		Jeras, Matjaž; Švajger, Urban
Title		Imunska toleranca
Translated title		Immune tolerance
Type		članek
Source		Zdrav Vestn
Vol. and No.		Letnik 80, št. 12
Publication year		2011
Volume		str. 944-56
Language		slo
Abstract		Background: Regulation ofhuman immune system through mechanisms of immune tolerance is an exceptionalIy important part of the homeostasis that protects the integrity of our organism. Whenever we talk about immune responses, we primarily consider them as an efficient activation of numerous factors enabling our celI ul ar and humoral immunity to protect us against nocive effects of various forms of pathogens. However, each of these activation processes must be adequately regulated by appropriate immunosuppressive mechanisms, thereby providing a rational extent of immune reactivity without exhausting the organism and at the same time assuring a rather quick reestablishment of normal physiological conditions, which is a basic task of immune homeostasis. Such natural and dynamic 'yin/yang' balance, being crucial for the welIbeing of each individual, can only be provided by well orchestrated specific interactions between activated effector immune cells, such as Thr, Th2 and Th17 CD4+ lymphocytes, CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, natural killer celIs (NK) and other activating factors on one side, and the oppositely functioning immunoregulatory effectors, such as regulatory CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, tolerogenic antigen-presenting celIs (APC) and other immunosuppressive factors, on the other. In the case of a colapse or an imbalance of this system, there are serious consequences that are reflected in the occurrence of autoimmune diseases, in which case the immune system is unsuccessfulIy suppressing the reactivity against self-antigens or the outburst of cancer cells, due to the excessive negative regulatory immune mechanisms that are actively protecting tumors. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters).
Descriptors		IMMUNE TOLERANCE DENDRITIC CELLS T-LYMPHOCYTES B-LYMPHOCYTES