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T cell help in the autoreactive germinal center

Elliot H Akama-Garren1,2, Michael C Carroll1

  • 1Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Scandinavian Journal of Immunology
|May 19, 2022
PubMed

The germinal center serves as a site of B cell selection and affinity maturation, critical processes for productive adaptive immunity. In autoimmune disease tolerance is broken in the germinal center reaction, leading to production of autoreactive B cells that may propagate disease. Follicular T cells are crucial regulators of this process, providing signals necessary for B cell survival in the germinal center. Here, we review the emerging roles of follicular T cells in the autoreactive germinal center. Recent advances in immunological techniques have allowed study of the gene expression profiles and repertoire of follicular T cells at unprecedented resolution. These studies provide insight into the potential role follicular T cells play in preventing or facilitating germinal center loss of tolerance. Improved understanding of the mechanisms of T cell help in autoreactive germinal centers provides novel therapeutic targets for diseases of germinal center dysfunction.

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