Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 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 follicular helper cells and the germinal centre response change with age
1Lymphocyte signalling and development, Babraham Institute, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract:
Normal ageing is accompanied by a decline in the function of the immune system that causes an increased susceptibility to infections and an impaired response to vaccination in older individuals. This results in an increased disease burden in the aged population, even with good immunisation programmes in place. The decreased response to vaccination is partly due to the diminution of the germinal centre response with age, caused by impaired T-cell help to B cells. Within the germinal centre, T-cell help is provided by a specialised subset of CD4(+) T cells; T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. Tfh cells provide survival and selection signals to germinal centre B cells, allowing them to egress from the germinal centre and become long-live plasma cells or memory B cells, and provide life-long protection against subsequent infection. This review will discuss the cellular and molecular changes in both Tfh cells and germinal centre B cells that occur with advancing age, which result in a smaller germinal centre response and a less effective response to immunisation.
More Related Videos
07:39Isolation of CD4+ T-cells and Analysis of Circulating T-follicular Helper cTfh Cell Subsets from Peripheral Blood Using 6-color Flow Cytometry
Published on: January 7, 2019
08:25Unraveling Key Players of Humoral Immunity: Advanced and Optimized Lymphocyte Isolation Protocol from Murine Peyer's Patches
Published on: November 21, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response
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...
Primary Lymphoid Organs
The red bone marrow is a soft, spongy tissue nestled in the interior of long bones such as the humerus and femur. It is the site...
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell