Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

TH-17: a giant step from TH1 and TH2

Nature Immunology volume 6, pages 1069–1070 (2005)Cite this article

CD4+ T cells have been classically separated into two dominant effector populations: T helper types 1 and 2. Two new studies suggest that T cells producing interleukin 17 constitute a previously unknown lineage of CD4+ T cells.

Expression of interleukin 17 (IL-17; also called IL-17A) has been linked to a growing list of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, asthma and allograft rejection1,2,3,4. Mechanistically, IL-17 is believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of these diseases by acting as a potent proinflammatory mediator5. Although studies have suggested IL-23-stimulated CD4+ T helper type 1 (TH1) cells are the main source of IL-17 (refs. 2,4), the molecular mechanisms that govern the development of IL-17-producing cells (called 'TH-17' cells) have remained unclear. It has also been uncertain at what point during the development of effector T cells TH-17 cells 'diverge' from the classic TH1 population. Two reports in this issue of Nature Immunology challenge the idea of a shared developmental pathway for TH-17 and TH1 orTH2 cells and instead provide convincing evidence that TH-17 cells are a completely separate and early lineage of effector CD4+ TH cells produced directly from naive CD4 T cells6,7.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Development of IL-17-producing effector CD4+ T cells (TH-17) by IL-23 is inhibited by IFN-γ and IL-4.

Katie Ris

References

  1. Murphy, C.A. et al. J. Exp. Med. 198, 1951–1657 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Langrish, C.L. et al. J. Exp. Med. 201, 233–240 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Aggarwal, S., Ghilardi, N., Xie, M.H., de Sauvage, F.J. & Gurney, A.L. J. Biol. Chem. 278, 1910–1914 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Cua, D.J. et al. Nature 421, 744–748 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kolls, J.K. & Linden, A. Immunity 21, 467–476 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Harrington, L.E. et al. Nat. Immunol. 6, 1123–1132 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Park, H. et al. Nat. Immunol. 6, 1133–1141 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nakae, S. et al. Immunity 17, 375–387 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Nakae, S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100, 5986–5990 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Oppmann, B. et al. Immunity 13, 715–725 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Parham, C. et al. J. Immunol. 168, 5699–5708 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Ye, P. et al. J. Exp. Med. 194, 519–527 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, Maryland, USA

    Thomas A Wynn

Authors
  1. Thomas A Wynn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wynn, T. TH-17: a giant step from TH1 and TH2. Nat Immunol 6, 1069–1070 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1105-1069

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1105-1069

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing