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In Vitro Differentiation of Effector CD4+ T Helper Cell Subsets

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Book cover Mouse Models of Innate Immunity

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1960))

Abstract

CD4+ T “helper” cells are key orchestrators of adaptive immune responses. Upon activation, naïve CD4+ T cells are capable of differentiating into a number of effector subsets that perform distinct immune functions. These subsets include T helper 1 (TH1), TH2, TH9, TH17, TH22, T follicular helper (TFH), and regulatory T cell (TREG) populations. The differentiation of these subsets is dependent, in large part, on the coordinated interplay between signals from the extracellular cytokine environment and downstream transcriptional networks. The use of in vitro T helper cell culture systems has been extensively employed to aid in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that govern the differentiation of each effector subset. Here, we provide a detailed summary of the differentiation conditions that are utilized to generate effector CD4+ T cell populations in vitro.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank members of the Oestreich Lab for thoughtful discussions and critical reading of the manuscript. We apologize to those whose work could not be adequately cited and discussed due to length restrictions. This work was supported by funds from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and by National Institutes of Health grants, R56AI127800 and R01AI134972.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, VA, USA

    Kaitlin A. Read, Michael D. Powell, Bharath K. Sreekumar & Kenneth J. Oestreich

  2. Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Michael D. Powell & Bharath K. Sreekumar

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Kenneth J. Oestreich

  4. Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA

    Kenneth J. Oestreich

Authors
  1. Kaitlin A. Read
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  2. Michael D. Powell
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  3. Bharath K. Sreekumar
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  4. Kenneth J. Oestreich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth J. Oestreich .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Irving C. Allen

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Read, K.A., Powell, M.D., Sreekumar, B.K., Oestreich, K.J. (2019). In Vitro Differentiation of Effector CD4+ T Helper Cell Subsets. In: Allen, I. (eds) Mouse Models of Innate Immunity. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1960. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9167-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9167-9_6

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9166-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9167-9

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