CD4+ T cells play a central role in regulating adaptive immune responses against invading microbial pathogens. Naive CD4+ T cells are activated following recognition of an antigen-MHC complex expressed on the surface of an antigen-presenting cell (APC), coupled with co-stimulatory signals mediated by interactions between co-signaling molecules expressed on the APC and their T cell-expressed receptors.
Following activation, CD4+ T cells differentiate into one of several lineages of CD4+ T helper cell (Th) subsets depending primarily on the antigen, the strength of the TCR signal, and cytokines present in the extracellular environment. The different subsets secrete distinct combinations of cytokines, allowing the immune system to tailor its response to specific pathogens and direct the activation of other immune cell types.
This page outlines the tools we offer for studying CD4+ T cells, including cytokines and antibodies for CD4+ T cell culture, activation, and differentiation, antibodies for T helper cell characterization, and single and multianalyte immunoassays for T cell analysis.
T Cell Culture
CD4+ T cells account for approximately 30-45% of the CD3+ T cell population. They are commonly isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by density gradient centrifugation, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), or by immunomagnetic bead-based selection. Following isolation, T cells can be expanded in cell culture media containing cytokines such as IL-2, or IL-7 and IL-15. Additional cytokine combinations are used to drive the differentiation of specific CD4+ T helper cell subsets in vitro.
Cytokines for T Cell Expansion and Maintenance
As cytokines are some of the most important components of T cell culture media, they need to display high levels of activity, purity, and lot-to-lot consistency. Our stringent production and purification standards, coupled with our rigorous in-house testing ensure our proteins will provide robust T cell expansion and differentiation with minimal variability from one experiment to the next. Our catalog includes research-grade, Animal-free Preclinical, and GMP-grade proteins to meet the needs of all scientists from basic research to clinical manufacturing.