%A Tacchini-Cottier,Fabienne %A Weinkopff,Tiffany %A Launois,Pascal %D 2012 %J Frontiers in Immunology %C %F %G English %K IL-17,Leishmania,Leishmania major,T helper cells,Th1,Th17,th2,Treg %Q %R 10.3389/fimmu.2012.00032 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2012-February-27 %9 Review %+ Prof Fabienne Tacchini-Cottier,University of Lausanne,Department of Biochemistry, WHO Immunology Training and Research Center,155, ch des Boveresses,Epalinges,1066,Vaud,Switzerland,Fabienne.Tacchini-Cottier@unil.ch %# %! T helper differentiation and protective immunity against L. major in mice %* %< %T Does T Helper Differentiation Correlate with Resistance or Susceptibility to Infection with L. major? Some Insights From the Murine Model %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2012.00032 %V 3 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 1664-3224 %X The murine model of Leishmania major infection has been an invaluable tool in understanding T helper differentiation in vivo. The initial evidence for a role of distinct CD4+ T helper subsets in the outcome of infection was first obtained with this experimental model. The development of CD4+ Th1 cells was associated with resolution of the lesion, control of parasite replication, and resistance to re-infection in most of the mouse strains investigated (i.e., C57BL/6). In contrast, differentiation of CD4+ Th2 cells correlated with the development of unhealing lesions, and failure to control parasite load in a few strains (i.e., BALB/c). Since these first reports, an incredible amount of effort has been devoted to understanding the various parameters involved in the differentiation of these, and more recently discovered T helper subsets such as Th17 and T regulatory cells. The discovery of cross-talk between T helper subsets, as well as their plasticity force us to reevaluate the events driving a protective/deleterious T helper immune response following infection with L. major in mice. In this review, we describe the individual contributions of each of these CD4+ T helper subsets following L. major inoculation, emphasizing recent advances in the field, such as the impact of different substrains of L. major on the pathogenesis of disease.