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- Title
Cytokine-secreting follicular T cells shape the antibody repertoire.
- Authors
Reinhardt, R Lee; Liang, Hong-Erh; Locksley, Richard M
- Abstract
High-affinity antibodies are critical for host protection and underlie successful vaccines. The generation of such antibodies requires T cell–dependent help, which mediates germinal center reactions in which mutation and selection of B cells occurs. Using an interleukin 4–reporter system, we show here that CD4+ follicular helper T cells constituted essentially all of the cytokine-secreting T cells in lymph nodes and were functionally distinct from T cells secreting the same cytokine in peripheral tissues. Follicular helper T cells with different cytokine profiles could be isolated as conjugates with B cells undergoing cytokine-specific immunoglobulin class switching with evidence of somatic hypermutation. Our findings support a model in which B cells compete for cytokines produced by follicular helper T cells that shape the affinity and isotype of the antibody response.
- Publication
Nature Immunology, 2009, Vol 10, Issue 4, p385
- ISSN
1529-2908
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/ni.1715