Immunology Quiz 1 Answers

Immunology Quiz Corner: Which one is Matched INCORRECTLY? Th1 and IL-12   0 (0%) Treg and IL-6   3 (50%)   Th2 and IL-4   1 (16%)   Th17 and IL-6   2 (33%)
The correct answer is Treg and IL-6.  After the encounter with an antigen and co stim molecules presented by antigen presenting cells, the naive T cells that is CD4+ can differentiate into different type of T cells.  The commitment to which T cell type it becomes depends on the cytokine that is pre dominant.  In the presence of Interferon Gamma and IL-12, Th1 cells predominate that are responsible for intracellular bacteria and cell mediated immunity.  In the presence of IL-4, Th2 dominate that are predominately for allergic diseases.  In the presence of IL-6 and IL-23 in the presence of TGF-B, Th17 dominate , they are responsible for extracellular bacteria and fungi and cell mediated autoimmunity.  Finally, in the presence of TGF-B and retinoic acid, FoxP3 positive T regs dominate that are regulatory in nature. There might be more regulatory T cells around in the immune system that we still haven't discovered.
A nice review of this in the context of TH17 immune response was recently published in Kidney International
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20375986