Effective B cell-mediated immunity and antibody responses often require help from CD4 + T cells. It is thought that a distinct CD4 + effector T cell subset, called T follicular helper cells (T FH ), provides this help; however, the molecular requirements for T FH differentiation are unknown. We found that expression of the transcription factor Bcl6 in CD4 + T cells is both necessary and sufficient for in vivo T FH differentiation and T cell help to B cells in mice. In contrast, the transcription factor Blimp-1, an antagonist of Bcl6, inhibits T FH differentiation and help, thereby preventing B cell germinal center and antibody responses. These findings demonstrate that T FH cells are required for proper B cell responses in vivo and that Bcl6 and Blimp-1 play central but opposing roles in T FH differentiation.Each lineage of effector CD4 + T cells (T H 1, T H 2, T H 17, and T reg ) is defined and controlled by a unique master regulator transcription factor (T-bet, GATA3, RORγt, and Foxp3, respectively) (1). A proposed fifth effector subset, T follicular helper (T FH ) cells, is thought to provide help for the generation of B cell-mediated immune responses, including class switch recombination, germinal center differentiation, and affinity maturation (2). Here, we identified Bcl6 as a T FH master regulator and found that germinal center formation does not occur in the absence of T FH cells.

The gene encoding the BCL-6 transcriptional repressor is frequently translocated and mutated in diffuse large cell lymphoma. Mice with a disrupted BCL-6 gene developed myocarditis and pulmonary vasculitis, had no germinal centers, and had increased expression of T helper cell type 2 cytokines. The BCL-6 DNA recognition motif resembled sites bound by the STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) transcription factors, which mediate cytokine signaling. BCL-6 could repress interleukin-4 (IL-4)-induced transcription when bound to a site recognized by the IL-4-responsive transcription factor Stat6. Thus, dysregulation of STAT-responsive genes may underlie the inflammatory disease in BCL-6-deficient mice and participate in lymphoid malignancies.

SUMMARY Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is prominently secreted at mucosal surfaces and coats a fraction of the intestinal microbiota. However, the commensal bacteria bound by IgA are poorly characterized and the type of humoral immunity they elicit remains elusive. We used bacterial flow cytometry coupled with 16S rRNA gene sequencing (IgA-Seq) in murine models of immunodeficiency to identify IgA-bound bacteria and elucidate mechanisms of commensal IgA targeting. We found that residence in the small intestine, rather than bacterial identity, dictated induction of specific IgA. Most commensals elicited strong T-independent (TI) responses that originated from the orphan B1b lineage and from B2 cells, but excluded natural antibacterial B1a specificities. Atypical commensals including segmented filamentous bacteria and Mucispirillum evaded TI responses but elicited T-dependent IgA. These data demonstrate exquisite targeting of distinct commensal bacteria by multiple layers of humoral immunity and reveal a specialized function of the B1b lineage in TI mucosal IgA responses.

During unresolved infections, some viruses escape immunological control and establish a persistant reservoir in certain cell types, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which persists in follicular helper T cells (TFH cells), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which persists in B cells. Here we identified a specialized group of cytotoxic T cells (TC cells) that expressed the chemokine receptor CXCR5, selectively entered B cell follicles and eradicated infected TFH cells and B cells. The differentiation of these cells, which we have called 'follicular cytotoxic T cells' (TFC cells), required the transcription factors Bcl6, E2A and TCF-1 but was inhibited by the transcriptional regulators Blimp1, Id2 and Id3. Blimp1 and E2A directly regulated Cxcr5 expression and, together with Bcl6 and TCF-1, formed a transcriptional circuit that guided TFC cell development. The identification of TFC cells has far-reaching implications for the development of strategies to control infections that target B cells and TFH cells and to treat B cell-derived malignancies.