title: Identification of follicular T helper cells in tissue sections.
abstract: Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells are a critical population of CD4 T helper cells that are primarily localized in the germinal centers (GCs) to help B cell maturation and antibody production. Tfh cells can be identified in tissue sections based on the expression of a panel of classical Tfh surface makers, transcription marker(s), and effector-function cytokines, as well as by their unique anatomic proximity to other GC cells, including follicular dendritic cells (FDC) and GC B cells. Here, we describe an immunofluorescence staining method for visualization of GC Tfh cells in frozen spleen tissue sections of the autoimmune BXD2 mouse using a confocal imaging strategy. Tfh cells were characterized based on the expression of CD4, CXCR5, Bcl6, IL-21, and IL-17.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, SHEL 337, 1825 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Yanna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mountz
authors.forename: Hui-Chen
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D005629:Frozen Sections; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000166:cytology*