| First Author | Lu KT | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | Immunity | Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 622-32 |
| PubMed ID | 22018472 | Mgi Jnum | J:177860 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5296411 | Doi | 10.1016/j.immuni.2011.07.015 |
| Citation | Lu KT, et al. (2011) Functional and epigenetic studies reveal multistep differentiation and plasticity of in vitro-generated and in vivo-derived follicular T helper cells. Immunity 35(4):622-32 |
| abstractText | Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells provide critical help to B cells for germinal center (GC) formation. Mutations affecting SLAM-associated protein (SAP) prevent GC formation because of defective T cell-B cell interactions, yet effects on Tfh cell differentiation remain unclear. We describe the in vitro differentiation of functionally competent "Tfh-like" cells that expressed interleukin-21, Tfh cell markers, and Bcl6 and rescued GC formation in SAP-deficient hosts better than other T helper (Th) cells. SAP-deficient Tfh-like cells appeared virtually indistinguishable from wild-type, yet failed to support GCs in vivo. Interestingly, both Tfh-like and in vivo-derived Tfh cells could produce effector cytokines in response to polarizing conditions. Moreover, Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells could be reprogrammed to obtain Tfh cell characteristics. ChIP-Seq analyses revealed positive epigenetic markings on Tbx21, Gata3, and Rorc in Tfh-like and ex vivo Tfh cells and on Bcl6 in non-Tfh cells, supporting the concept of plasticity between Tfh and other Th cell populations. |
