| First Author | Weinstein JS | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 192 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 3166-79 |
| PubMed ID | 24610013 | Mgi Jnum | J:210243 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5569857 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.1302617 |
| Citation | Weinstein JS, et al. (2014) B cells in T follicular helper cell development and function: separable roles in delivery of ICOS ligand and antigen. J Immunol 192(7):3166-79 |
| abstractText | B cells are required for follicular Th (Tfh) cell development, as is the ICOS ligand (ICOS-L); however, the separable contributions of Ag and ICOS-L delivery by cognate B cells to Tfh cell development and function are unknown. We find that Tfh cell and germinal center differentiation are dependent on cognate B cell display of ICOS-L, but only when Ag presentation by the latter is limiting, with the requirement for B cell expression of ICOS-L overcome by robust Ag delivery. These findings demonstrate that Ag-specific B cells provide different, yet compensatory, signals for Tfh cell differentiation, while reconciling conflicting data indicating a requirement for ICOS-L expression on cognate B cells for Tfh cell development with those demonstrating that the latter requirement could be bypassed in lieu of that tendered by noncognate B cells. Our findings clarify the separable roles of delivery of Ag and ICOS-L by cognate B cells for Tfh cell maturation and function, and have implications for using therapeutic ICOS blockade in settings of abundantly available Ag, such as in systemic autoimmunity. |
