When helper T (T_H) cell polarization was initially described three decades ago, the T_H cell universe grew dramatically. New subsets were described based on their expression of few specific cytokines. Beyond T_H1 and T_H2 cells, this led to the coining of various T_H17 and regulatory (T_reg) cell subsets as well as T_H22, T_H25, follicular helper (T_FH), T_H3, T_H5 and T_H9 cells. High-dimensional single-cell analysis revealed that a categorization of T_H cells into a single-cytokine-based nomenclature fails to capture the complexity and diversity of T_H cells. Similar to the simple nomenclature used to describe innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), we propose that T_H cell polarization should be categorized in terms of the help they provide to phagocytes (type 1), to B cells, eosinophils and mast cells (type 2) and to non-immune tissue cells, including the stroma and epithelium (type 3). Studying T_H cells based on their helper function and the cells they help, rather than phenotypic features such as individual analyzed cytokines or transcription factors, better captures T_H cell plasticity and conversion as well as the breadth of immune responses in vivo.

当辅助 T (T _H ) 细胞极化最初在 30 年前被描述时，T _H细胞宇宙急剧增长。新的亚群是基于它们对少数特定细胞因子的表达来描述的。除了 T _H 1 和 T _H 2 细胞外，这导致了各种 T _H 17 和调节 (T _reg ) 细胞亚群以及 T _H 22、T _H 25、滤泡辅助 (T _FH )、T _H 3、 T _H 5 和 T _H 9 细胞。高维单细胞分析表明，T _H的分类将细胞转化为基于单一细胞因子的命名法未能捕捉到 T _H细胞的复杂性和多样性。类似于用于描述先天淋巴细胞 (ILC) 的简单命名法，我们建议 T _H细胞极化应根据它们对吞噬细胞（1 型）、B 细胞、嗜酸性粒细胞和肥大细胞（2 型）的帮助进行分类) 和非免疫组织细胞，包括基质和上皮细胞（3 型）。根据 T H 细胞的辅助功能和它们所帮助的细胞来研究 T _H细胞，而不是像单个分析的细胞因子或转录因子等表型特征，更好地捕捉 T _H细胞的可塑性和转化以及体内免疫反应的广度。