Transcriptomic Profiling of Human Effector and Regulatory T Cell Subsets Identifies Predictive Population Signatures.

After activation, CD4 Th cells differentiate into functionally specialized populations that coordinate distinct immune responses and protect against different types of pathogens. In humans, these effector and memory Th cell subsets can be readily identified in peripheral blood based on their differential expression of chemokine receptors that govern their homeostatic and inflammatory trafficking. Foxp3 regulatory T (Treg) cells can also be divided into subsets that phenotypically mirror each of these effector populations and share expression of key transcription factors and effector cytokines.

Rapid Light-Dependent Degradation of Fluorescent Dyes in Formulated Serum-Free Media.

Chemically defined serum-free media are increasingly used as a tool to help standardize experiments by eliminating the potential variability contributed by pooled serum. These media are formulated for the culture and expansion of specific cell types, maintaining cell viability without the need for exogenous animal proteins. Formulated serum-free media could thus help improve viability and reduce variability during sample preparation for flow cytometry, yet a thorough analysis of how such media impact fluorochrome-Ab conjugates has not been performed.

Human CD4CD103 cutaneous resident memory T cells are found in the circulation of healthy individuals.

Tissue-resident memory T cells (T) persist locally in nonlymphoid tissues where they provide frontline defense against recurring insults. T at barrier surfaces express the markers CD103 and/or CD69, which function to retain them in epithelial tissues. In humans, neither the long-term migratory behavior of T nor their ability to reenter the circulation and potentially migrate to distant tissue sites has been investigated.

Abatacept Targets T Follicular Helper and Regulatory T Cells, Disrupting Molecular Pathways That Regulate Their Proliferation and Maintenance.

Abatacept is a CTLA-4-Ig fusion protein that binds to the costimulatory ligands CD80 and CD86 and blocks their interaction with the CD28 and CTLA-4 receptors expressed by T cells, therefore inhibiting T cell activation and function. Abatacept has shown clinical efficacy in treating some autoimmune diseases but has failed to show clinical benefit in other autoimmune conditions. The reasons for these disparate results are not clear and warrant further investigation of abatacept's mode of action.