Limited internodal migration of T follicular helper cells after peripheral infection with herpes simplex virus-1

Abstract

The ability of CD4 T cells to give rise to specialized T follicular helper cells (TFH) critical to initiating appropriate Ab responses is regulated by environmental cues in lymphoid tissues draining the site of infection. In this study, we used a skin infection with HSV-1 characterized by the successive involvement of interconnected but distinct lymph nodes (LNs), to investigate the anatomical diversification of virus-specific CD4 T cell responses and the migratory capacity of TFH or their precursors. Whereas Th1 effector CD4 T cells expressing peripheral-targeting migration molecules readily migrated from primary to secondary reactive LNs, Bcl6+ CXCR5+ PD1hi TFH were largely retained at the..