Effector T cells

The Effector T cell describes a group of cells that includes several T cell types that actively respond to a stimulus, such as co-stimulation. It includes CD4+, CD8+, Treg cells.

Regulatory T cells

Regulatory T (T_reg) cells (suppressor T cells) are essential for the maintenance of immune tolerance. Their main role is to stop T cell-mediated immune response at the end of an immune reaction. A second major task is to suppress auto-reactive T cells that escaped the process of negative selection in the thymus.

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Helper T cells

T helper cells (T_h cells) help other leukocytes in immunologic processes, including maturation of B cells into plasma cells and memory B cells.

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Cytotoxic T cells

Cytotoxic T cells (T_c cells, CTLs, T-killer cells, killer T cells) destroy virus-infected cells and tumor cells, and are also implicated in transplant rejection.

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