Review
Nature Reviews Immunology 2, 933-944 (December 2002) | doi:10.1038/nri954
Focus on: Decision making in the immune system
The lineage decisions of helper T cells
Kenneth M. Murphy1 & Steven L. Reiner2 About the authors
Abstract
After encountering antigen, helper T (TH) cells undergo differentiation to effector cells, which can secrete high levels of interferon-
, interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10 and other immunomodulators. How TH cells acquire, and remember, new patterns of gene expression is an area of intensive investigation. The process is remarkably plastic, with cytokines being key regulators. Extrinsic signals seem to be integrated into cell-intrinsic programming, in what is becoming an intriguing story of regulated development. We summarize the latest insights into mechanisms that govern the lineage choices that are made during TH-cell responses to foreign pathogens.
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Author affiliations
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
Correspondence to: Kenneth M. Murphy1 Email: murphy@pathbox.wustl.edu
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