Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
Cutting edge: CTLA-4--B7 interaction suppresses Th17 cell differentiation
Haiyan Ying1, Lifen Yang, Guilin Qiao
1Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Th cells that produce IL-17 (Th17 cells) are a distinct subset of Th cells implicated in several autoimmune diseases. Although CD28-B7 interaction has been shown to be involved in Th17 differentiation in vitro, the role of CTLA-4 in controlling Th17 development is completely unknown. We report in this paper that blocking the CTLA-4-B7 interaction potentiates Th17 cell differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, blocking CTLA-4-B7 interaction in vivo confers the susceptibility of experimental autoimmune myocarditis to CD28(-/-) mice or increases the severity of experimental autoimmune myocarditis in wild-type mice. The enhanced disease susceptibility is mediated by heightened Th17 responses. With these results, we are the first to demonstrate that CTLA-4-B7 interaction inhibits Th17 differentiation in vitro and in vivo and suppresses Th17-mediated autoimmunity.
Th cells that produce IL-17 (Th17 cells) are a distinct subset of Th cells implicated in several autoimmune diseases. Although CD28-B7 interaction has been shown to be involved in Th17 differentiation in vitro, the role of CTLA-4 in controlling Th17 development is completely unknown. We report in this paper that blocking the CTLA-4-B7 interaction potentiates Th17 cell differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, blocking CTLA-4-B7 interaction in vivo confers the susceptibility of experimental autoimmune myocarditis to CD28(-/-) mice or increases the severity of experimental autoimmune myocarditis in wild-type mice. The enhanced disease susceptibility is mediated by heightened Th17 responses. With these results, we are the first to demonstrate that CTLA-4-B7 interaction inhibits Th17 differentiation in vitro and in vivo and suppresses Th17-mediated autoimmunity.
Related Concept Videos
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
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...
Tumor Immunotherapy
