Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Retroviral Transduction of Helper T Cells as a Genetic Approach to Study Mechanisms Controlling their Differentiation and Function
Published on: November 4, 2016
Differential expression of nuclear receptors in T helper cells
Soo Suk Hwang1, Young Uk Kim, Wonyong Lee
1Department of Life Science, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Korea.
Abstract:
Steroid hormones have long been known to have a profound influence on the immune system. Although the functions of these nuclear receptors in the development of T cells are fairly well studied, the differential expression of these receptors in T helper cells is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the differential expression of nuclear receptors and coregulators in Th1 and Th2 cells by genomewide microarray analysis. The result showed that several nuclear receptors and coregulators are differentially expressed in these cells. The result was confirmed by RT-PCR. The result showed that RXRalpha is highly expressed in Th2 cells. Overexpression of RXRalpha in a Jurkat human T cell line induced IL4 but not IFN-gamma gene expression, suggesting that RXRalpha plays a selective role in Th1 and Th2 differentiation. In summary, these results suggest that Th1/Th2 differentiation may be influenced by differential regulation of nuclear receptors and coregulators.
Related Concept Videos
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Diversity of Antigen Receptors
Before encountering any antigen, lymphocytes express these receptors. On B cells, the antigen receptor is a membrane-bound antibody molecule called BCR; on T cells, it is a T cell receptor or TCR. B and T cell receptors are composed of two...
B Cell Activation and Differentiation
When naive B cells encounter a specific antigen that can bind to the B cell receptor (BCR) on their surface, they undergo sensitization to respond to the antigen's presence. Sensitization begins with...
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
Signal Transduction: Overview
Typically, signal transduction involves three...

