Regulation of follicular T helper cell differentiation in antitumor immunity

Yueru Hou; Yejin Cao; Lin Dong; Yijin Huang; Zhiyuan Zhang; Yujing Bi; Guangwei Liu

doi:10.1002/ijc.34368

Regulation of follicular T helper cell differentiation in antitumor immunity

Int J Cancer. 2023 Jul 15;153(2):265-277. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34368. Epub 2022 Nov 28.

Authors

Yueru Hou¹, Yejin Cao¹, Lin Dong¹, Yijin Huang¹, Zhiyuan Zhang¹, Yujing Bi², Guangwei Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.

PMID: 36408905
DOI: 10.1002/ijc.34368

Abstract

Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells are a subset of CD4⁺ T cells that play an important role in the formation of germinal centers and the maturation and differentiation of affinity-matured B cells. Recent studies have demonstrated important functions of Tfh cells in tertiary lymphoid structures of tumors, revealing great potential of Tfh cells in tumor immunity. However, Tfh development is incompletely understood. The differentiation of Tfh cells is a complex, multistage process regulated at the DNA, RNA and protein levels. This review just summarizes current research on the molecular mechanisms of Tfh cell differentiation to better understand the role of Tfh cells in antitumor immunity.

Keywords: Tfh cells; cancer; helper follicular T cells; humoral immunity; tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

B-Lymphocytes*
Cell Differentiation
Germinal Center
Humans
Immunity, Humoral
Lymphocyte Activation
T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer* / metabolism