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REVIEW ARTICLE

Regulatory mechanisms of the hypoxia microenvironment on the function and stability of regulatory T cells in autoimmune diseases

Dian Liang1,2,3 Song Guo Zheng1,2,3*
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1 Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
2 Department of Immunology, School of Cell and Gene Therapy, Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Innovative Immunotherapy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Received: 29 December 2025 | Revised: 8 April 2026 | Accepted: 13 April 2026 | Published online: 5 June 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Hypoxia is a common metabolic characteristic in inflammatory tissues, which regulates the phenotype and function of immune cells mainly through hypoxia-inducible factors. Hypoxia-related immunoregulation is critical in the pathogenesis and development of various diseases, especially in autoimmune diseases. Continuous imbalance of oxygen supply and demand can promote vascular dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and tissue damage. Accumulating evidence shows that hypoxia is not merely a passive result of inflammation, but an active microenvironmental factor that can drive immune reprogramming. Therefore, research on hypoxia-mediated immunoregulation has expanded from an early focus on angiogenesis and inflammatory mediators to a systematic one on the phenotypic and functional stability of immune cells. In autoimmune diseases, hypoxia mostly induces metabolic reprogramming in immune cells. It significantly alters their phenotype, metabolic pathways, and cell function, skewing them toward a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory phenotype. Based on experimental data, targeting the hypoxia signaling pathway and the related immune metabolism axis represents a promising treatment strategy. This review focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the hypoxic microenvironment influences regulatory T cells (Tregs). We also discuss how hypoxia-related pathways affect the differentiation, stability, metabolism, and function of Tregs, and summarize their role in typical autoimmune diseases. Finally, we discuss the focus on the potential treatment targets and strategies emerging in this field. A deep understanding of the mechanism of their interaction may provide a theoretical basis for the development of targeted treatments for autoimmune diseases.

Keywords
Autoimmune diseases
Hypoxia
Treg
Inflammation
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
Song Guo Zheng serves as an Associate Editor of this journal but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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