title: TCR signal quantity and quality in CD4+T cell differentiation.
abstract: The adaptive immune system protects its host from a myriad of pathogens. This ability stems from a vast set of lymphocytes, each with a different antigen receptor, a small number of which will bind to antigens derived from a given pathogen. Although the cells within any antigen-specific population appear to be relatively homogenous before antigenic encounter, recent work on T cells indicates that individual cells within the population differentiate in very different ways after exposure to the antigen. We focus here on studies of CD4+T cells and review evidence indicating that variable differentiation of effector cells from single naïve cells is caused by both cell-extrinsic stochastic factors and cell-intrinsic factors related to T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signal quantity and quality.
authors.affiliation: Center for Immunology, Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Noah J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Tubo
authors.affiliation: Center for Immunology, Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: jenki002@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Marc K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jenkins
keywords: T cell differentiation; TCR signal strength; polyclonal