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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
The dichotomous nature of T helper 17 cells
Brigitta Stockinger1, Sara Omenetti1
1The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK.
Abstract:
T helper 17 (TH17) cells have been extensively studied since their discovery 10 years ago, primarily because of their known pathogenic role in many inflammatory diseases. Substantial progress has been made in understanding their development, regulation and functional activities, and genome-wide transcriptomic analysis has identified regulatory networks, nodes and interactions that provide vital clues for further studies. In this Review, we describe recent studies that have revealed the dichotomous nature of TH17 cells, which on the one hand allows these cells to be pathogenic drivers of inflammatory disorders and on the other hand allows them to support the integrity of the intestinal barrier in a non-inflammatory manner.
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