T Follicular Helper Cells in Asthma Through Murine Models of Allergic Airway Disease

The development of allergen-specific IgE is one of the hallmark symptoms of allergic diseases, including asthma. T follicular helper cells (TFH) are a subset of CD4+ T cells that play a critical role in T-dependent antibody responses, including the generation of allergen-specific IgE. However, the role that TFH play in the pathogenesis of allergic disease is not completely understood especially as TFH produce IL-4 and IL-21 which are known to promote and prevent class switch recombination to IgE respectively. Here we describe methods of investigating TFH biology in the context of allergic airway inflammation, including how to set up mouse models of allergic airway disease, flow cytometric analysis of mouse TFH and detection of allergic-specific antibodies.