Germinal Center T follicular helper (GC-Tfh) cell impairment in chronic HIV infection involves c-Maf signaling.

ABSTRACT: We have recently demonstrated that the function of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells from lymph nodes (LN) of HIV-infected individuals is impaired. We found that these cells were unable to provide proper help to germinal center (GC)-B cells, as observed by altered and inefficient anti-HIV antibody response and premature death of memory B cells. The underlying molecular mechanisms of this dysfunction remain poorly defined. Herein, we have used a unique transcriptional approach to identify these molecular defects. We consequently determined the transcriptional profiles of LN GC-Tfh cells following their interactions with LN GC-B cells from HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected individuals, rather than analyzing resting ex-vivo GC-Tfh cells. We observed that proliferating GC-Tfh cells from HIV-infect

SUBMITTER: Chakhtoura M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8289045 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature