Subsets of CD4 T cells and B cell activation.
All helper T cells recognise foreign protein antigens presented by class II molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and express the cell surface molecule CD4. However, not all CD4 T cells behave as helper T cells when assayed for their ability to activate B cells to produce antigen specific antibody. In this review, after discussing the background information about CD4 T cell subsets, a series of questions will be asked: whether selective activation of distinct functional subsets of CD4 T cell accounts for the difference between humoral and cell-mediated immunity; whether the same subsets exist in all mammalian species studied to date, or whether there are major species differences; whether cells belonging to distinct functional subsets can be distinguished on the basis of a subset-specific cell surface molecule; what models of subset development can account for existing data; and whether or not the subsets defined to date are all comparable in their ability to activate B cells?
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Section of Immunobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D010641:Phenotype; D013045:Species Specificity; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology