Gene expression in TFH cells

After activation, CD4+ helper T (Th) cells differentiate into distinct effector subsets. Although chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 5-expressing T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are important in humoral immunity, their developmental regulation is unclear. Here we show that Tfh cells had a distinct gene expression profile and developed in vivo independently of the Th1 or Th2 cell lineages. Tfh cell generation was regulated by ICOS ligand (ICOSL) expressed on B cells and was dependent on interleukin-21 (IL-21), IL-6, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. However, unlike Th17 cells, differentiation of Tfh cells did not require transforming growth factor b (TGF-b) or Th17-specific orphan nuclear receptors RORa and RORg in vivo. Finally, naive T cells activated in vitro in the presence of IL-21 but not TGF-b signaling preferentially acquired Tfh gene expression and promoted germinal-center reactions in vivo. This study thus demonstrates that Tfh is a distinct Th cell lineage. Splenic CD4+CXCR5+ T cells were isolated from KLH-immunized mice and restimulated with anti-CD3 for 4 hours before total RNA preparation. Affymetrix gene chips were used to analyze their gene expression. Tfh, Th1, Th2, and Th17 examined