Antigen and cytokine receptor signals act in synergy to direct the differentiation of CD4+ T cells. These signals initiate reciprocal activation and silencing of the interferon- (IFN-) and interleukin 4 (IL-4) cytokine gene loci, changes that are heritably maintained in the resulting T helper type 1 (TH1) or TH2 cells and their progeny. Early, unpolarized transcription and chromatin remodeling of the poised cytokine genes of naive T cells is followed by consolidation and spreading of epigenetic changes and the establishment of self-reinforcing transcription factor networks. Recent studies have begun to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that establish and maintain polarized cytokine gene expression, and thus the cellular identity of differentiated helper T cells.
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