| First Author | Xia Y | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Immunity | Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 1200-1215.e6 |
| PubMed ID | 35637103 | Mgi Jnum | J:327502 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7327004 | Doi | 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.05.003 |
| Citation | Xia Y, et al. (2022) BCL6-dependent TCF-1(+) progenitor cells maintain effector and helper CD4(+) T cell responses to persistent antigen. Immunity 55(7):1200-1215.e6 |
| abstractText | Soon after activation, CD4(+) T cells are segregated into BCL6(+) follicular helper (Tfh) and BCL6(-) effector (Teff) T cells. Here, we explored how these subsets are maintained during chronic antigen stimulation using the mouse chronic LCMV infection model. Using single cell-transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses, we identified a population of PD-1(+) TCF-1(+) CD4(+) T cells with memory-like features. TCR clonal tracing and adoptive transfer experiments demonstrated that these cells have self-renewal capacity and continue to give rise to both Teff and Tfh cells, thus functioning as progenitor cells. Conditional deletion experiments showed Bcl6-dependent development of these progenitors, which were essential for sustaining antigen-specific CD4(+) T cell responses to chronic infection. An analogous CD4(+) T cell population developed in draining lymph nodes in response to tumors. Our study reveals the heterogeneity and plasticity of CD4(+) T cells during persistent antigen exposure and highlights their population dynamics through a stable, bipotent intermediate state. |
