Molecular Mechanisms Regulating T Helper 1 versus T Follicular Helper Cell Differentiation in Humans

• T-bet promotes CXCR5 expression by human CD4+ T cells
• T-bet does not strongly affect Bcl-6 or Blimp-1 expression in human CD4+ T cells
• T-bet regulates the helper functions of IL-12-stimulated human CD4+ T cells
• IRF4 seems to tip the balance of Tfh and Th1 differentiation toward Tfh

SummaryIL-12 is important for the differentiation of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, as well as Th1 cells in humans. Still, how IL-12 signals regulate Tfh versus Th1 cell differentiation remains poorly characterized. Here we aimed to determine the molecular mechanisms that regulate the differentiation and the function of IL-12-stimulated human naive CD4+ T cells. We found that T-bet promoted the expression of CXCR5 in human CD4+ T cells. We provide evidence that T-bet does not strongly inhibit the Tfh cell differentiation program per se but diminishes the functions to provide help to B cells. This study also suggests that IRF4 plays an important role in driving the early differentiation of IL-12-stimulated CD4+ T cells toward Tfh and away from Th1 by inhibiting the expression of Eomesodermin. Thus, the fate of IL-12-stimulated CD4+ T cells is determined through interplay of multiple transcription factors at early stages.

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