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Updated: Apr 9, 2026
Evaluation of T Follicular Helper Cells and Germinal Center Response During Influenza A Virus Infection in Mice
Published on: June 27, 2020
CD8α(-) Dendritic Cells Induce Antigen-Specific T Follicular Helper Cells Generating Efficient Humoral Immune
Changsik Shin1, Jae-A Han1, Hyein Koh2
1School of Life Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Recent studies on T follicular helper (Tfh) cells have significantly advanced our understanding of T cell-dependent B cell responses. However, little is known about the early stage of Tfh cell commitment by dendritic cells (DCs), particularly by the conventional CD8α(+) and CD8α(-) DC subsets. We show that CD8α(-) DCs localized at the interfollicular zone play a pivotal role in the induction of antigen-specific Tfh cells by upregulating the expression of Icosl and Ox40l through the non-canonical NF-κB signaling pathway. Tfh cells induced by CD8α(-) DCs function as true B cell helpers, resulting in significantly increased humoral immune responses against various human pathogenic antigens, including Yersinia pestis LcrV, HIV Gag, and hepatitis B surface antigen. Our findings uncover a mechanistic role of CD8α(-) DCs in the initiation of Tfh cell differentiation and thereby provide a rationale for investigating CD8α(-) DCs in enhancing antigen-specific humoral immune responses for improving vaccines and therapeutics.
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