Differentiation and tolerance of CD4+ T lymphocytes
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Updated: Nov 5, 2026

Adenoviral Transduction of Naive CD4 T Cells to Study Treg Differentiation
Published on: August 13, 2013
A K Abbas1, V L Perez, L Van Parijs
1Department of Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
The development of effector and memory populations of T lymphocytes is determined by antigen-induced growth and differentiation of naive T cells, and it is regulated by antigen-induced functional tolerance and cell death. CD4+ helper T lymphocytes that vary in their profiles of cytokine production and in effector functions also show distinct responses to antigens and co-stimulatory signals, and they differ in their sensitivity to tolerance induction. Thus, stimuli that trigger T cell growth and differentiation, as well as mechanisms that inhibit T cell expansion, determine both the magnitude and the nature of T cell-dependent immune responses to protein antigens.
The development of effector and memory populations of T lymphocytes is determined by antigen-induced growth and differentiation of naive T cells, and it is regulated by antigen-induced functional tolerance and cell death. CD4+ helper T lymphocytes that vary in their profiles of cytokine production and in effector functions also show distinct responses to antigens and co-stimulatory signals, and they differ in their sensitivity to tolerance induction. Thus, stimuli that trigger T cell growth and differentiation, as well as mechanisms that inhibit T cell expansion, determine both the magnitude and the nature of T cell-dependent immune responses to protein antigens.
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