title: Germinal center B and follicular helper  T cells: siblings, cousins or just good friends?
abstract: Humoral immunity requires interaction between specialized populations of B cells and CD4(+) T cells, called follicular helper T cells (T(FH) cells), in the germinal center (GC) to produce memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells. Molecular crosstalk between GC B cells and T(FH) cells influences the survival, proliferation and differentiation of each cell type. This pairing of GC B cells and T(FH) cells also occurs at the transcriptional level as the Bcl-6–IRF4–Blimp-1 axis, which is crucial for B cell differentiation, is also essential for the T(FH) cell identity. Less is known about the memory B cells that arise from the GC pool, as they seem to be distinctly 'programmed' on the basis of their antigen receptor affinity to enter the long-lived memory pool.
authors: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. nutt@wehi.edu.au
authors: Stephen L
authors: SL
authors: Nutt
authors: David M
authors: DM
authors: Tarlinton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D060889:Inducible T-Cell Co-Stimulator Protein; D018448:Models, Immunological; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; C556692:ICOS protein, human; D060889:Inducible T-Cell Co-Stimulator Protein