title: Effector T cell plasticity: flexibility in the face of changing circumstances.
abstract: As more states of CD4 T cell differentiation are uncovered, their flexibility is also beginning to be recognized. Components that control the plasticity of CD4 T cell populations include cellular conditions, clonality, transcriptional circuitry and chromatin modifications. Appearance of cellular flexibility may arise from truly flexible genetic programs or, alternatively, from heterogeneous populations. New tools will be needed to define the rules that allow or prohibit cellular transitions.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. kmurphy@pathology.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Brigitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stockinger
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D014157:Transcription Factors