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Defining the TH17 cell lineage

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 21, page 618 (2021)Cite this article

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CD4+ T helper (TH) cells produce cytokines to regulate immune responses; TH1 cells and TH2 cells, which were discovered in the 1980s, have important roles in regulating immune responses to intracellular and extracellular pathogens, respectively. In 2005, two independent papers described a third lineage of CD4+ TH cells that produce IL-17, referred to hereafter as TH17 cells.

Although TH1 cells were historically linked to autoimmune diseases, IL-17-expressing CD4+ T cells started to gain attention in this regard in 2003. Icos and Il23 deficiency ameliorated autoimmunity in animal models, which was associated with reduced expression of IL-17, but not the TH1 cell-associated cytokine interferon-γ. It was shown that IL-23 expanded a population of IL-17+ T cells that were distinct from TH1 cells. However, it was unclear whether these IL-17-expressing T cells emerge from naive T cells independently of TH1 cells. The two papers from Harrington et al. and Park et al. published in 2005 offer complimentary data showing that IL-17+ T cells are generated independently of TH1 cell or TH2 cell differentiation, thus representing a third lineage of TH cells.

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References

Original articles

  • Harrington, L. E. et al. Interleukin 17-producing CD4+ effector T cells develop via a lineage distinct from the T helper type 1 and 2 lineages. Nat. Immunol. 6, 1123–1132 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H. et al. A distinct lineage of CD4 T cells regulates tissue inflammation by producing interleukin 17. Nat. Immunol. 6, 1133–1141 (2005)

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Related article

  • Dong, C. Diversification of T-helper-cell lineages — finding the family root of IL-17-producing cells. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 6, 329–334 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Immune Therapy Institute, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine-affiliated Renji Hospital, Shanghai, China

    Chen Dong

  2. Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Chen Dong

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  1. Chen Dong
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Correspondence to Chen Dong.

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Dong, C. Defining the TH17 cell lineage. Nat Rev Immunol 21, 618 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-021-00596-x

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