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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
CD137 and CD137L signals are main drivers of type 1, cell-mediated immune responses
Bhushan Dharmadhikari1, Meihui Wu1, Nur Sharalyn Abdullah1
1Department of Physiology, and Immunology Programme, National University of Singapore , Singapore.
Abstract:
CD137 is expressed on activated T cells and NK cells, among others, and is a potent co-stimulator of antitumor immune responses. CD137 ligand (CD137L) is expressed by antigen presenting cells (APC), and CD137L reverse signaling into APC enhances their activity. CD137-CD137L interactions as main driver of type 1, cell-mediated immune responses explains the puzzling observation that CD137 agonists which enhance antitumor immune responses also ameliorate autoimmune diseases. Upon co-stimulation by CD137, Th1 CD4+ T cells together with Tc1 CD8+ T cells and NK cells inhibit other T cell subsets, thereby promoting antitumor responses and mitigating non-type 1 auto-immune diseases.
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