{"database":"GEO","file_versions":[{"headers":{"Content-Type":["application/json"]},"body":{"files":{"Other":["ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE320nnn/GSE320556/"]},"type":"primary"},"statusCode":"OK","statusCodeValue":200}],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Transcriptomics"],"species":["Homo sapiens"],"gds_type":["Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE320556"],"repository":["GEO"],"entry_type":["GSE"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"TGF-beta promotes human T follicular helper cell stemness properties at the expense of effector function","description":"Follicular helper T (TFH) cells are essential for germinal center reactions and the maintenance of long-lived humoral immunity. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a multifunctional cytokine implicated in immune regulation, T-cell differentiation, and the maintenance of cellular stemness. Prior studies have shown that TGF-β promotes stemness across a wide range of cell types and facilitates the differentiation of naïve CD4⁺ T cells into various T helper cell subsets. However, its precise effects on TFH effector function and stem-like properties remain poorly understood. Here, the dual regulatory roles of TGF-β1 in modulating TFH effector functions and stem-like properties were investigated. We found that TGF-β1 treatment in vitro promoted human naïve CD4+ T cells differentiation into CXCR3⁺ TFH, but significantly attenuated their effector molecule expression and TFH-mediated memory B-cell differentiation and antibody production, whereas it enhanced the expression of stemness-associated molecules in TFH cells both differentiated in vitro from naïve CD4+ T cells and isolated from blood. Notably, TGF-β1 promoted proliferation and reduced apoptosis of naïve-derived TFH cells in vitro, but suppressed proliferation and increased early apoptosis in blood-derived mature TFH cells. Collectively, these findings indicate that TGF-β1 tunes the balance between TFH effector function and stem-like properties, and show differential regulations of the early phase of TFH differentiation and mature TFH cells, which may have implications for TFH-driven immune pathology and disease.","dates":{"publication":"2026/04/15"},"accession":"GSE320556","cross_references":{"GSM":["GSM9545671","GSM9545672","GSM9545680","GSM9545670","GSM9545675","GSM9545676","GSM9545673","GSM9545674","GSM9545679","GSM9545669","GSM9545677","GSM9545678"],"GPL":["16791"],"GSE":["320556"],"taxon":["Homo sapiens"],"PMID":["[41958642]"]}}