Journal article

Opposing Development of Cytotoxic and Follicular Helper CD4 T Cells Controlled by the TCF-1-Bcl6 Nexus

T Donnarumma, GR Young, J Merkenschlager, U Eksmond, N Bongard, SL Nutt, C Boyer, U Dittmer, VTK Le-Trilling, M Trilling, W Bayer, G Kassiotis

Cell Reports | CELL PRESS | Published : 2016

Abstract

CD4+ T cells develop distinct and often contrasting helper, regulatory, or cytotoxic activities. Typically a property of CD8+ T cells, granzyme-mediated cytotoxic T cell (CTL) potential is also exerted by CD4+ T cells. However, the conditions that induce CD4+ CTLs are not entirely understood. Using single-cell transcriptional profiling, we uncover a unique signature of Granzyme B (GzmB)+ CD4+ CTLs, which distinguishes them from other CD4+ T helper (Th) cells, including Th1 cells, and strongly contrasts with the follicular helper T (Tfh) cell signature. The balance between CD4+ CTL and Tfh differentiation heavily depends on the class of infecting virus and is jointly regulated by the Tfh-rela..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Francis Crick Institute


Funding Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Dr. Toshitada Takemori for the conditional Bcl6 mice. We are grateful for assistance from the Flow Cytometry and Advanced Sequencing Facilities at the Francis Crick Institute. This work was supported by the Francis Crick Institute, which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001099), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001099), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001099); and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG-TRR60 and DFG-GRK 1949).