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Review
. 2013 Jun;13(6):412-26.
doi: 10.1038/nri3447. Epub 2013 May 17.

The good, the bad and the ugly - TFH cells in human health and disease

Stuart G Tangye  1 , Cindy S Ma, Robert Brink, Elissa K Deenick
Affiliations
Review

The good, the bad and the ugly - TFH cells in human health and disease

Stuart G Tangye et al. Nat Rev Immunol. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Antibody production is an important feature of the vertebrate immune system. Antibodies neutralize and clear pathogens, thereby protecting against infectious diseases. Such humoral immunity has great longevity, often persisting for the host's lifetime. Long-lived humoral immunity depends on help provided by CD4(+) T cells, namely T follicular helper (TFH) cells, which support the differentiation of antigen-specific B cells into memory and plasma cells. TFH cells are stringently regulated, as aberrant TFH cell activity is involved in immunopathologies such as autoimmunity, immunodeficiencies and lymphomas. The elucidation of the mechanisms that regulate TFH cell differentiation, function and fate should highlight targets for novel therapeutics.

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