The expansion in lymphoid organs of IL-4⁺ BATF⁺ T follicular helper cells is linked to IgG4 class switching in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Distinct T follicular helper (T_FH) subsets that influence specific class-switching events are assumed to exist, but the accumulation of isotype-specific T_FH subsets in secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs) and tertiary lymphoid organs has not been hitherto demonstrated. IL-4-expressing T_FH cells are surprisingly sparse in human SLOs. In contrast, in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), a disorder characterized by polarized Ig class switching, most T_FH cells in tertiary and SLOs make IL-4. Human IL-4⁺ T_FH cells do not express GATA-3 but express nuclear BATF, and the transcriptomes of IL-4-secreting T_FH cells differ from both PD1^hi T_FH cells that do not secrete IL-4 and IL-4-secreting non-T_FH

SUBMITTER: Maehara T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6034714 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature