Human Th9 cells – Who, what and where

Th9 cells, a subset of T helper cells producing the cytokine IL-9, were first characterized in mice five years ago. In a study recently published in Science Translational Medicine, Schlapbach et al. investigate the relevance of Th9 cells in humans and their potential contribution to immune responses in the skin.

Helper T cells (CD4+ T cells) play an important role in the orchestration of adaptive immune responses by secreting lineage-specific cytokines and steering the immune response to best address the threat at hand. Several helper T cell (Th) subsets have been described,