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Molecular Mechanisms of T Helper Cell Differentiation and Functional Specialization

  • Received : 2022.11.30
  • Accepted : 2023.01.29
  • Published : 2023.02.28
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Abstract

Th cells, which orchestrate immune responses to various pathogens, differentiate from naive CD4 T cells into several subsets that stimulate and regulate immune responses against various types of pathogens, as well as a variety of immune-related diseases. Decades of research have revealed that the fate decision processes are controlled by cytokines, cytokine receptor signaling, and master transcription factors that drive the differentiation programs. Since the Th1 and Th2 paradigm was proposed, many subsets have been added to the list. In this review, I will summarize these events, including the fate decision processes, subset functions, transcriptional regulation, metabolic regulation, and plasticity and heterogeneity. I will also introduce current topics of interest.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korean government (2021K2A9A2A06048161, 2022R1A2B5B03001840, 2022R1A4A5032688 to GRL).

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