Cytokine-secreting Follicular T Cells Shape the Antibody Repertoire

Overview

Journal Nat Immunol

Date 2009 Mar 3

PMID 19252490

Citations 438

Authors

R Lee Reinhardt

Hong-Erh Liang

Richard M Locksley

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

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.

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