上海交通大学董晨团队发现，T滤泡辅助细胞和树突状细胞的相互调控推动结肠炎的发展。相关论文于2024年6月28日在线发表在《自然—免疫学》杂志上。

研究人员发现，在T细胞转移结肠炎模型中，结肠淋巴滤泡的T细胞区内发现了由成熟树突状细胞（DC）和T_FH细胞组成的淋巴结构。成熟DC的积累、DC-T细胞簇的形成和结肠炎的发育都需要T_FH细胞。此外，DC促进了T_FH细胞的分化，也有助于结肠炎的发展。系谱追踪分析表明，T_FH细胞迁移到固有层后，转分化为长寿命的致病性T_H1细胞，促进了结肠炎的发展。因此，这些研究结果证明了结肠淋巴滤泡中T_FH细胞和DC的相互调控，这在慢性结肠炎的发病机制中至关重要。

Title: Reciprocal regulation of T follicular helper cells and dendritic cells drives colitis development

Author: Bai, Xue, Chen, Sijie, Chi, Xinxin, Xie, Bowen, Guo, Xinyi, Feng, Han, Wei, Peng, Zhang, Di, Xie, Shan, Xie, Tian, Chen, Yongzhen, Gou, Mengting, Qiao, Qin, Liu, Xinwei, Jin, Wei, Xu, Wei, Zhao, Zixuan, Xing, Qi, Wang, Xiaohu, Zhang, Xuegong, Dong, Chen

Issue&Volume: 2024-06-28

Abstract: The immunological mechanisms underlying chronic colitis are poorly understood. T follicular helper (TFH) cells are critical in helping Bcells during germinal center reactions. In a Tcell transfer colitis model, a lymphoid structure composed of mature dendritic cells (DCs) and TFH cells was found within Tcell zones of colonic lymphoid follicles. TFH cells were required for mature DC accumulation, the formation of DC–Tcell clusters and colitis development. Moreover, DCs promoted TFH cell differentiation, contributing to colitis development. A lineage-tracing analysis showed that, following migration to the lamina propria, TFH cells transdifferentiated into long-lived pathogenic TH1 cells, promoting colitis development. Our findings have therefore demonstrated the reciprocal regulation of TFH cells and DCs in colonic lymphoid follicles, which is critical in chronic colitis pathogenesis.

DOI: 10.1038/s41590-024-01882-1

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-024-01882-1