Laboratoire d'Immunorégulation, Département d'Immunologie, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
Address for correspondence: Lars Rogge, Laboratoire d'Immunorégulation, Département d'Immunologie, Institut Pasteur, 25, rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. Voice: +33-1-4061 3822; fax: +33-1-4061 3204.
lrogge{at}pasteur.fr
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 975: 57-67 (2002).
Genomic-scale gene expression profiling in combination with
the availability of a draft sequence of the human genome is
beginning to revolutionize the way immunology is done. The possibility
of measuring levels of gene expression for tens of thousands
of genes simultaneously and in a quantitative fashion aids in
the definition of a comprehensive molecular phenotype of cells
and cellular processes of the immune system in health and disease.
T helper lymphocytes are an essential element of appropriate
immune responses to pathogens. To achieve effective immunity,
T helper cells differentiate into at least two specialized subsets
that direct type 1 and type 2 immune responses. Here, I discuss
recent progress that has been made in our understanding of the
genetic program that controls the development and functional
properties of helper T cell subsets.
