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Nature Immunology 9, 223–225 (1 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/ni0308-223

Basophils: in the spotlight at last

Booki Min & William E Paul

Since the discovery more than 20 years ago that CD4+ effector T cells can be categorized as T helper type 1 (TH1) and TH2 cells, defining the differentiation pathways leading to those and the interleukin 17 (IL-17)–producing T helper cell (TH-17 cell) and induced regulatory T cell fates has been a chief goal for immunologists, particularly because of the central function of these populations in response to microbial pathogens and in autoimmunity. Early studies demonstrated that IL-4, the 'signature' cytokine produced by TH2 cells, can potently induce the TH2 differentiation of stimulated naive CD4+ T cells.