%0 Journal Article
%T Accessing Early Differentiation of Virus-Specific Follicular Helper CD4+ T Cell in Acute LCMV-Infected Mice.
%A Lin Y
%A Yue S
%A Yang Y
%A He J
%A Yang X
%A Ye L
%A Chen X
%J J Vis Exp
%V 0
%N 206
%D 2024 Apr 26
%M 38738889
%F 1.424
%R 10.3791/66752
%X Follicular Helper T (TFH) cells are perceived as an independent CD4+ T cell lineage that assists cognate B cells in producing high-affinity antibodies, thus establishing long-term humoral immunity. During acute viral infection, the fate commitment of virus-specific TFH cells is determined in the early infection phase, and investigations of the early-differentiated TFH cells are crucial in understanding T cell-dependent humoral immunity and optimizing vaccine design. In the study, using a mouse model of acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection and the TCR-transgenic SMARTA (SM) mouse with CD4+ T cells specifically recognizing LCMV glycoprotein epitope I-AbGP66-77, we described procedures to access the early fate commitment of virus-specific TFH cells based on flow cytometry stainings. Furthermore, by exploiting retroviral transduction of SM CD4+ T cells, methods to manipulate gene expression in early-differentiated virus-specific TFH cells are also provided. Hence, these methods will help in studies exploring the mechanism(s) underlying the early commitment of virus-specific TFH cells.