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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Generation of T Follicular Helper Cells Is Mediated by Interleukin-21 but Independent of T Helper 1, 2, or 17 Cell Lineages

Anton M. JettenLi MaChen DongStephanie S. WatowichQiang TianYeonseok ChungDaehee HwangHong Soon KangYi Hong WangRoza NurievaXuexian O. Yang

subject

STAT3 Transcription FactorAdoptive cell transferCellular differentiationCellImmunologyGene ExpressionLymphocyte ActivationCXCR5ArticleInducible T-Cell Co-Stimulator LigandMiceInterleukin 21T-Lymphocyte SubsetsTransforming Growth Factor betaFollicular phasemedicineAnimalsCytotoxic T cellImmunology and AllergyCell LineageMOLIMMUNOOligonucleotide Array Sequence AnalysisB-LymphocytesT follicular helper cell differentiationbiologyInterleukin-6Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionGene Expression ProfilingInterleukinsInterleukin-17ProteinsGerminal centerCell DifferentiationT-Lymphocytes Helper-InducerTransforming growth factor betaFlow CytometryGerminal CenterAdoptive TransferImmunohistochemistryMolecular biologyMice Mutant Strainsmedicine.anatomical_structureInfectious DiseasesT helper 1CELLIMMUNOImmunologybiology.proteinInterleukin 17Signal Transduction

description

After activation, CD4(+) helper T (Th) cells differentiate into distinct effector subsets. Although chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 5-expressing T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are important in humoral immunity, their developmental regulation is unclear. Here we show that Tfh cells had a distinct gene expression profile and developed in vivo independently of the Th1 or Th2 cell lineages. Tfh cell generation was regulated by ICOS ligand (ICOSL) expressed on B cells and was dependent on interleukin-21 (IL-21), IL-6, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). However, unlike Th17 cells, differentiation of Tfh cells did not require transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) or Th17-specific orphan nuclear receptors RORalpha and RORgamma in vivo. Finally, naive T cells activated in vitro in the presence of IL-21 but not TGF-beta signaling preferentially acquired Tfh gene expression and promoted germinal-center reactions in vivo. This study thus demonstrates that Tfh is a distinct Th cell lineage.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2008-07-01Immunity
10.1016/j.immuni.2008.07.010http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2008.07.010