The development and fate of follicular helper T cells defined by an IL-21 reporter mouse
- Author(s)
- Luthje, K; Kallies, A; Shimohakamada, Y; Belz, GT; Light, A; Tarlinton, DM; Nutt, SL;
- Details
- Publication Year 2012-05,Volume 13,Issue #5,Page 491-498
- Journal Title
- NATURE IMMUNOLOGY
- Publication Type
- Journal Article
- Abstract
- Germinal centers require CD4(+) follicular helper T cells (T-FH cells), whose hallmark is expression of the transcriptional repressor Bcl-6, the chemokine receptor CXCR5 and interleukin 21 (IL-21). To track the development and fate of T-FH cells, we generated an IL-21 reporter mouse by introducing sequence encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) into the Il21 locus; these mice had expression of IL-21-GFP in CD4(+)CXCR5(+)PD-1(+)T(FH) cells. IL-21-GFP(+) T-FH cells were multifunctional helper cells that coexpressed several cytokines, including interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-2 and IL-4. T-FH cells proliferated and gave rise to transferrable memory cells with plasticity, which differentiated after recall into conventional effector helper T cells and T-FH cells. Thus, we demonstrated that T-FH cells were not terminally differentiated but instead retained the flexibility to be recruited into other helper T cell subsets and nonlymphoid tissues.
- Publisher
- NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
- Keywords
- GERMINAL CENTER B; IMMUNOGLOBULIN PRODUCTION; TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR; BCL-6 EXPRESSION; TRANSGENIC MICE; EFFECTOR; DIFFERENTIATION; ACTIVATION; GENERATION; INDUCTION
- Research Division(s)
- Immunology; Molecular Immunology
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2261
- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- © 2012 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Creation Date: 2012-05-01 12:00:00