Identification of murine antigen-specific T follicular helper cells using an activation-induced marker assay

Abstract

Protective antibody (Ab) responses induced by natural infection or vaccination play a central role in defense against invasive pathogens. Germinal centers (GCs) are the sites of Ab affinity maturation and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a critical factor for driving GC formation and B cell selection. Therefore characterization of antigen (Ag)-specific Tfh cells is increasingly essential to define the mechanistic basis of protective antibody responses. However, since Tfh are weak producers of cytokines it is difficult to detect Ag-specific Tfh cells using conventional intracellular cytokine staining (ICS). Here, we report an assay identifying mouse Ag-specific Tfh cells by assessing the u..