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Updated: May 27, 2026

Evaluation of T Follicular Helper Cells and Germinal Center Response During Influenza A Virus Infection in Mice
Published on: June 27, 2020
How T cells earn the follicular rite of passage
Carola G Vinuesa1, Jason G Cyster
1Department of Pathogens and Immunity, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. carola.vinuesa@anu.edu.au
Abstract:
The discovery that Bcl-6 was the transcriptional regulator of follicular helper T (Tfh) cells completed the recognition of this population as an effector subset specialized in the provision of help to B cells. Improved reagents and recent models that allow tracking of Bcl-6-expressing T cells have revealed that the decision to become a Tfh cell occurs soon after T cells are primed by dendritic cells and start dividing, before interaction with B cells. The latter are important for sustaining Bcl-6 expression. Bcl-6 coordinates a signaling program that changes expression or function of multiple guidance receptors, leading to Tfh cell localization within germinal centers. This program is not unique to CD4(+) helper T cells; FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells and NKT cells co-opt the follicular differentiation pathway to enter the follicle and become specialized follicular cells. This review will focus on recent insights into the early events that determine Tfh cell differentiation.
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