Follicular T helper cells: critical regulators of humoral immune responses

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B cells are important cells of the immune system that are responsible for producing antibodies in response to infection with pathogens, such as bacteria or viruses, or following vaccinations. In order for B cells to accomplish this task, they require help from a specialised popualtion of T cells, which are another type of immune cell - these are known as follicular T helper (TFH) cells. Under normal circumstances, T cells and B cells specifically interact with one another within lymphoid tissues such as tonsils, spleens and lymph nodes - here, they engage in a dialogue, the end result of which is the B cells being instructed to produce the appropriate type of antibodies by T cells. However, if tis process is not regulated, the T cells can deliver too little of too much help - this can result in several different types of diseases of the immune system, such as immunodeficiencies (ie insufficient production of antibodies, resulting in individuals becoming susceptible to infections) or autoimmunity (ie production of inappropriate types of antibodies that can recognise cells of the host, resulting in tissue damage and organ failure). The means by which TFH cells instruct B cells to produce antibodies is not completely understood. This project will seek to determine the mechanism whereby TFH cells carry out this important function by performing detailed examination of them follwoing their removal from tissues such as human tonsils and spleens. In doing so, we hope to design approaches that will allow the function of TFH cells to be improved in cases of immunodeficiencies, or suppressed in situations of autoimmune diseases.