Heterogeneity and plasticity of T helper cells

By Jinfang Zhu, W. E. Paul. Cell Research, 2009

618 citations recorded by the source corpus.

CD4 T helper (Th) cells play critical roles in adaptive immune responses. They recruit and activate other immune cells including B cells, CD8 T cells, macrophages, mast cells, neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. Based on their functions, their pattern of cytokine secretion and their expression of specific transcription factors, Th cells, differentiated from naïve CD4 T cells, are classified into four major lineages, Th1, Th2, Th17 and T regulatory (Treg) cells, although other Th lineages may exist. Subsets of the same lineage may express different effector cytokines, reside at different locations or give rise to cells with different fates, whereas cells from different lineages may secrete common cytokines, such as IL-2, IL-9 and IL-10, resulting in massive heterogeneity of the Th cell population. In addition, the pattern of cytokine secretion may switch from that of one lineage toward another under certain circumstances, suggesting that Th cells are plastic. Tregs are also more heterogeneous and plastic than were originally thought. In this review, we summarize recent reports on heterogeneity and plasticity of Th cells, and discuss potential mechanisms and implications of such features that Th cells display.

Subfields: Immunology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/537a49de7de4c36e058893e7fa43d76a56df0423

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In Immunology

1. S. Gordon
2. F. Martínez
3. Michael Thomas Wong
4. Evan W. Newell
5. A. Mantovani
6. A. Sica
7. Tamás Rőszer
8. TA Wynn

Citations in the corpus

• The M1 and M2 paradigm of macrophage activation: time for reassessment (2014, background): “Disclosures Conclusions Today, we know that, in addition to Th1 and Th2 cells, Treg cells and Th17 cells participate in the pathogenesis and resolution of disease and that these cells are able to display shades of activation within the general categories [91].”
• Mapping the Diversity of Follicular Helper T Cells in Human Blood and Tonsils Using High-Dimensional Mass Cytometry Analysis. (2015, background): “CD4+ TH cells are extremely heterogeneous, possessing the ability to differentiate into numerous subsets depending on the cellular microenvironment (Yamane and Paul, 2013; Zhu and Paul, 2010).”