Neighboring immune-system genes: Maintaining independence
Monday, January 31, 2011 - 11:50
in Biology & Nature
As part of the immune response to foreign antigens, naïve T cells mature into different types of helper T cells. TH1 cells and TH17 cells, for example, secrete a subset of signaling factors known as cytokines that promote inflammatory responses to viral infections, while TH2 cells secrete cytokines that promote antibody secretion by B cells and drive allergic reactions.