Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
J Exp Med. 2012 Sep 24;209(10):1841-52, S1-24. doi: 10.1084/jem.20120219. Epub 2012 Sep 17.
T follicular helper cells (Tfh cells) play a pivotal role in germinal center reactions, which require B cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl6) transcription factor. To analyze their relationships with other effector T cell lineages and their stability in vivo, we developed and analyzed a new Bcl6 reporter mouse alone or together with other lineage reporter systems. Assisted with genome-wide transcriptome analysis, we show substantial plasticity of T cell differentiation in the early phase of immune response. At this stage, CXCR5 appears to be expressed in a Bcl6-independent manner. Once Bcl6 is highly expressed, Tfh cells can persist in vivo and some of them develop into memory cells. Together, our results indicate Bcl6 as a bona fide marker for Tfh polarized program.
滤泡辅助性 T 细胞（Tfh 细胞）在生发中心反应中发挥关键作用，生发中心反应需要 B 细胞淋巴瘤 6（Bcl6）转录因子。为了分析它们与其他效应 T 细胞谱系的关系及其在体内的稳定性，我们单独或与其他谱系报告系统一起开发和分析了一种新的 Bcl6 报告小鼠。通过全基因组转录组分析，我们显示了免疫反应早期 T 细胞分化的巨大可塑性。在这个阶段，CXCR5 似乎以 Bcl6 独立的方式表达。一旦 Bcl6 高度表达，Tfh 细胞就可以在体内持续存在，其中一些细胞发育成记忆细胞。总之，我们的结果表明 Bcl6 是 Tfh 极化程序的真正标志物。
