| First Author | King IL | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 185 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 6138-45 |
| PubMed ID | 20926797 | Mgi Jnum | J:165648 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4837965 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.1001703 |
| Citation | King IL, et al. (2010) A Nonredundant Role for IL-21 Receptor Signaling in Plasma Cell Differentiation and Protective Type 2 Immunity against Gastrointestinal Helminth Infection. J Immunol 185(10):6138-45 |
| abstractText | Pathogen-specific Ab production following infection with the gut-dwelling roundworm Heligmosomoides polygyrus is critical for protective immunity against reinfection. However, the factors required for productive T cell-B cell interactions in the context of a type 2-dominated immune response are not well defined. In the present study, we identify IL-21R signaling as a critical factor in driving pathogen-specific plasma cell differentiation and protective immunity against H. polygyrus in mice. We show that B cells require direct IL-21R signals to differentiate into CD138(+) plasma cells. In contrast, IL-21R signaling is dispensable for germinal center formation, isotype class switching, and Th2 and T follicular helper cell differentiation. Our studies demonstrate a selective role for IL-21 in plasma cell differentiation in the context of protective antiparasitic type 2 immunity. |
