T follicular helper (TFH) cells are a subset of effector CD4+ T cells that promote B cell maturation into high affinity plasma and memory cells. Almost all current vaccines protect via the induction of long-term antibody responses and circulating TFH numbers are reliable biomarkers of vaccination.

How diverse pathogen-specific signals direct appropriate protective B cell responses is currently unknown. This project combines diverse infection models, advanced imaging and transcriptional profiling to provide mechanistic insight into the processes underlying TFH heterogeneity, which is likely to be a key source of flexibility for adaptive immunity. 

Team members 

Amania Sheikh in collaboration with Gabrielle Belz, Stephen Nutt (Molecular Immunology), Wei Shi (Bioinformatics) and Kelly Rogers (Centre for Dynamic Imaging), Kim Jacobson (Monash University) and Katherine Kedzierska (University of Melbourne)

Project references
Groom JR, Richmond J, Murooka TT, Sorensen EW, Sung JH, Bankert K, von Andrian UH, Moon JJ, Mempel TR, Luster AD. CXCR3 chemokine receptor-ligand interactions in the lymph node optimize CD4+ T helper 1 cell differentiation. Immunity. 2012 Dec 14;37(6):1091-103. PMID: 23123063.

Piovesan D, Tempany J, Di Pietro A, Baas I, Yiannis C, O'Donnell K, Chen Y, Peperzak V, Belz GT, Mackay CR, Smyth GK, Groom JR, Tarlinton DM, Good-Jacobson KL. c-Myb Regulates the T-Bet-Dependent Differentiation Program in B cells to Coordinate Antibody Responses. Cell Rep. 2017 Apr 18;19(3):461-470 PMID: 28423310

Good-Jacobson KL, Groom JR. Tailoring Immune Responses toward Autoimmunity: Transcriptional Regulators that Drive the Creation and Collusion of Autoreactive Lymphcytes. Front Immunol. 2018 Mar 8;9:482. PMID: 29568300