The Niche of Follicular Helper T Cells in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases / 한양의대학술지

ABSTRACT

Production of thymus-dependent antibodies by autoreactive B cells requires help from T cells. Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are a unique lineage of CD4+ T subsets present in the follicles of peripheral lymphoid tissues which functions primarily to provide help to cognate B cells. Within germinal centers Tfh cells stimulate germinal center B cells to undergo affinity maturation, Ig class switching, and differentiation to memory B cells and plasma cells. Proposals that activity of Tfh cells is crucial for long-lived humoral autoimmunity are supported by the correlation of numbers and/or functions of Tfh cells with disease activity in many autoimmune disorders. In this review, we discuss recent findings regarding Tfh cell development and function. In addition, we discuss putative roles of Tfh cells in the pathogenesis and highlight the potential of Tfh cells as therapeutic targets in autoimmune diseases.