T Cells in Autoimmune Diseases

Abstract In a healthy body, self-reactive T cells are deleted or inactivated in the thymus. Aberrant T cell responses, however, are key in driving autoimmunity, supporting the notion that these autoreactive T cells appear to escape thymic selection. Different subsets of T cells have been implicated in mediating many aspects of autoimmune inflammation. This chapter reviews the characteristics and the main molecular pathways that participate in the development of autoreactive T cells.