title: The good, the bad and the ugly - TFH cells in human health and disease.
abstract: Antibody production is an important feature of the vertebrate immune system. Antibodies neutralize and clear pathogens, thereby protecting against infectious diseases. Such humoral immunity has great longevity, often persisting for the host's lifetime. Long-lived humoral immunity depends on help provided by CD4(+) T cells, namely T follicular helper (TFH) cells, which support the differentiation of antigen-specific B cells into memory and plasma cells. TFH cells are stringently regulated, as aberrant TFH cell activity is involved in immunopathologies such as autoimmunity, immunodeficiencies and lymphomas. The elucidation of the mechanisms that regulate TFH cell differentiation, function and fate should highlight targets for novel therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Immunology Research Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia. s.tangye@garvan.org.au
authors.forename: Stuart G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Tangye
authors.forename: Cindy S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brink
authors.forename: Elissa K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Deenick
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000276:immunology*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018448:Models, Immunological; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*