Abstract
Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells play a key role in B cell activation and differentiation. Within recent years, distinct subsets of follicular T cells, including regulatory and cytotoxic T cells, have been identified. Apart from classical Tfh cells in secondary lymphoid organs, Tfh-like cells are found in chronically inflamed nonlymphoid tissues. Here, we provide protocols to identify different follicular T cell subsets in murine and human tissues by flow cytometry. This chapter also contains an immunization protocol for the induction of large numbers of Tfh cells in mice.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Song W, Craft J (2019) T follicular helper cell heterogeneity: time, space, and function. Immunol Rev 288(1):85–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/imr.12740
Vinuesa CG, Linterman MA, Yu D, MacLennan IC (2016) Follicular helper T cells. Annu Rev Immunol 34:335–368. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-immunol-041015-055605
Luthje K, Kallies A, Shimohakamada Y, Belz GT, Light A, Tarlinton DM et al (2012) The development and fate of follicular helper T cells defined by an IL-21 reporter mouse. Nat Immunol 13(5):491–498. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2261
Weber JP, Fuhrmann F, Hutloff A (2012) T-follicular helper cells survive as long-term memory cells. Eur J Immunol 42(8):1981–1988. https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.201242540
Morita R, Schmitt N, Bentebibel SE, Ranganathan R, Bourdery L, Zurawski G et al (2011) Human blood CXCR5(+)CD4(+) T cells are counterparts of T follicular cells and contain specific subsets that differentially support antibody secretion. Immunity 34(1):108–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2010.12.012
Alexander CM, Tygrett LT, Boyden AW, Wolniak KL, Legge KL, Waldschmidt TJ (2011) T regulatory cells participate in the control of germinal centre reactions. Immunology 133(4):452–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2567.2011.03456.x
Chung Y, Tanaka S, Chu F, Nurieva RI, Martinez GJ, Rawal S et al (2011) Follicular regulatory T cells expressing Foxp3 and Bcl-6 suppress germinal center reactions. Nat Med 17(8):983–988. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2426
Linterman MA, Pierson W, Lee SK, Kallies A, Kawamoto S, Rayner TF et al (2011) Foxp3+ follicular regulatory T cells control the germinal center response. Nat Med 17(8):975–982. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2425
Wollenberg I, Agua-Doce A, Hernandez A, Almeida C, Oliveira VG, Faro J et al (2011) Regulation of the germinal center reaction by Foxp3+ follicular regulatory T cells. J Immunol 187(9):4553–4560. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1101328
He R, Hou S, Liu C, Zhang A, Bai Q, Han M et al (2016) Follicular CXCR5- expressing CD8(+) T cells curtail chronic viral infection. Nature 537(7620):412–428. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19317
Im SJ, Hashimoto M, Gerner MY, Lee J, Kissick HT, Burger MC et al (2016) Defining CD8+ T cells that provide the proliferative burst after PD-1 therapy. Nature 537(7620):417–421. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19330
Leong YA, Chen Y, Ong HS, Wu D, Man K, Deleage C et al (2016) CXCR5(+) follicular cytotoxic T cells control viral infection in B cell follicles. Nat Immunol 17(10):1187–1196. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.3543
Li S, Folkvord JM, Rakasz EG, Abdelaal HM, Wagstaff RK, Kovacs KJ et al (2016) Simian immunodeficiency virus-producing cells in follicles are partially suppressed by CD8+ cells in vivo. J Virol 90(24):11168–11180. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01332-16
Miles B, Miller SM, Folkvord JM, Levy DN, Rakasz EG, Skinner PJ et al (2016) Follicular regulatory CD8 T cells impair the germinal center response in SIV and ex vivo HIV infection. PLoS Pathog 12(10):e1005924. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005924
Chang PP, Barral P, Fitch J, Pratama A, Ma CS, Kallies A et al (2011) Identification of Bcl-6-dependent follicular helper NKT cells that provide cognate help for B cell responses. Nat Immunol 13(1):35–43. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2166
King IL, Fortier A, Tighe M, Dibble J, Watts GF, Veerapen N et al (2011) Invariant natural killer T cells direct B cell responses to cognate lipid antigen in an IL-21-dependent manner. Nat Immunol 13(1):44–50. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2172
Odegard JM, Marks BR, DiPlacido LD, Poholek AC, Kono DH, Dong C et al (2008) ICOS-dependent extrafollicular helper T cells elicit IgG production via IL-21 in systemic autoimmunity. J Exp Med 205(12):2873–2886. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20080840
Bentebibel SE, Schmitt N, Banchereau J, Ueno H (2011) Human tonsil B-cell lymphoma 6 (BCL6)-expressing CD4+ T-cell subset specialized for B-cell help outside germinal centers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(33):E488–E497. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100898108
Hutloff A, Buchner K, Reiter K, Baelde HJ, Odendahl M, Jacobi A et al (2004) Involvement of inducible costimulator in the exaggerated memory B cell and plasma cell generation in systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum 50(10):3211–3220. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.20519
Manzo A, Vitolo B, Humby F, Caporali R, Jarrossay D, Dell’accio F et al (2008) Mature antigen-experienced T helper cells synthesize and secrete the B cell chemoattractant CXCL13 in the inflammatory environment of the rheumatoid joint. Arthritis Rheum 58(11):3377–3387. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.23966
Rao DA, Gurish MF, Marshall JL, Slowikowski K, Fonseka CY, Liu Y et al (2017) Pathologically expanded peripheral T helper cell subset drives B cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Nature 542(7639):110–114. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20810
Gu-Trantien C, Migliori E, Buisseret L, de Wind A, Brohee S, Garaud S et al (2017) CXCL13-producing TFH cells link immune suppression and adaptive memory in human breast cancer. JCI Insight 2(11):e91487. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.91487
Christophersen A, Lund EG, Snir O, Sola E, Kanduri C, Dahal-Koirala S et al (2019) Distinct phenotype of CD4(+) T cells driving celiac disease identified in multiple autoimmune conditions. Nat Med 25(5):734–737. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0403-9
Caielli S, Veiga DT, Balasubramanian P, Athale S, Domic B, Murat E et al (2019) A CD4(+) T cell population expanded in lupus blood provides B cell help through interleukin-10 and succinate. Nat Med 25(1):75–81. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-018-0254-9
Vu Van D, Beier KC, Pietzke LJ, Al Baz MS, Feist RK, Gurka S et al (2016) Local T/B cooperation in inflamed tissues is supported by T follicular helper-like cells. Nat Commun 7:10875. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10875
Iyer SS, Latner DR, Zilliox MJ, McCausland M, Akondy RS, Penaloza-Macmaster P et al (2013) Identification of novel markers for mouse CD4(+) T follicular helper cells. Eur J Immunol 43(12):3219–3232. https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.201343469
Hutloff A (2018) T follicular helper-like cells in inflamed non-lymphoid tissues. Front Immunol 9:1707. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01707
Oxenius A, Bachmann MF, Zinkernagel RM, Hengartner H (1998) Virus-specific MHC-class II-restricted TCR-transgenic mice: effects on humoral and cellular immune responses after viral infection. Eur J Immunol 28(1):390–400
Perfetto SP, Chattopadhyay PK, Lamoreaux L, Nguyen R, Ambrozak D, Koup RA et al (2006) Amine reactive dyes: an effective tool to discriminate live and dead cells in polychromatic flow cytometry. J Immunol Methods 313(1–2):199–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jim.2006.04.007
Shulman Z, Gitlin AD, Weinstein JS, Lainez B, Esplugues E, Flavell RA et al (2014) Dynamic signaling by T follicular helper cells during germinal center B cell selection. Science 345(6200):1058–1062. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1257861
Weinstein JS, Herman EI, Lainez B, Licona-Limon P, Esplugues E, Flavell R et al (2016) TFH cells progressively differentiate to regulate the germinal center response. Nat Immunol 17(10):1197–1205. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.3554
Barnden MJ, Allison J, Heath WR, Carbone FR (1998) Defective TCR expression in transgenic mice constructed using cDNA-based alpha- and beta-chain genes under the control of heterologous regulatory elements. Immunol Cell Biol 76(1):34–40. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1711.1998.00709.x
Fink PJ, Swan K, Turk G, Moore MW, Carbone FR (1992) Both intrathymic and peripheral selection modulate the differential expression of V beta 5 among CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. J Exp Med 176(6):1733–1738. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.176.6.1733
Deenick EK, Chan A, Ma CS, Gatto D, Schwartzberg PL, Brink R et al (2010) Follicular helper T cell differentiation requires continuous antigen presentation that is independent of unique B cell signaling. Immunity 33(2):241–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2010.07.015
Weber JP, Fuhrmann F, Feist RK, Lahmann A, Al Baz MS, Gentz LJ et al (2015) ICOS maintains the T follicular helper cell phenotype by down-regulating Kruppel-like factor 2. J Exp Med 212(2):217–233. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20141432
He J, Tsai LM, Leong YA, Hu X, Ma CS, Chevalier N et al (2013) Circulating precursor CCR7(lo)PD-1(hi) CXCR5(+) CD4(+) T cells indicate Tfh cell activity and promote antibody responses upon antigen reexposure. Immunity 39(4):770–781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2013.09.007
Locci M, Havenar-Daughton C, Landais E, Wu J, Kroenke MA, Arlehamn CL et al (2013) Human circulating PD-1+CXCR3-CXCR5+ memory Tfh cells are highly functional and correlate with broadly neutralizing HIV antibody responses. Immunity 39(4):758–769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2013.08.031
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Lahmann, A., Bauer, L., Hutloff, A. (2021). Identification of Follicular T-Cell Subsets in Murine and Human Tissues. In: Annunziato, F., Maggi, L., Mazzoni, A. (eds) T-Helper Cells. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2285. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1311-5_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1311-5_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1310-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1311-5
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols