{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T08:47:27Z","timestamp":1782895647821,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Both T helper 2 (Th2) and B cell responses are crucial for controlling gastrointestinal (GI) nematode infections. However, adaptive immune determinants of host susceptibility to GI nematode infection are still not fully understood.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Adaptive immune responses against the small intestinal nematode\n                      <jats:italic>Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri<\/jats:italic>\n                      were compared between susceptible C57BL\/6 and resistant BALB\/c mice. Parasite-specific Th2 responses were quantified via combined detection of CD40-L and type 2 cytokine expression in CD4+GATA-3\n                      <jats:sup>high<\/jats:sup>\n                      cells stimulated with parasite products. Follicular T helper cell (TFH) and germinal center B cell responses were determined in parallel. Potential effects of the different Treg activity evident early during infection were tested by IL-2-induced Treg expansion in C57BL\/6 and transient Treg depletion in BALB\/c DEREG mice, respectively.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Both mouse lines generated comparable Th2 responses, but GATA-3+ Th2 cells comprised significantly higher proportions of parasite-specific cells in the more resistant BALB\/c line. In addition, BALB\/c mice exhibited stronger TFH responses and more rapid differentiation of IgG1+ germinal center B cells. The superior quality of the adaptive responses was accompanied by the early expansion of Foxp3+ Treg in BALB\/c mice. While B cell transfers conveyed partial resistance to primary infection in the BALB\/c line, transient Treg depletion at the onset of infection neither altered the quality of the Th2 effector response nor the extent of TFH and IgG1+ B cell responses, nor the control of parasite fitness. In contrast, Th2 responses were repressed following IL-2-induced Treg expansion in C57BL\/6 mice, including the further marginalization of parasite-specific responses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Together, these results indicate that resistance to GI nematodes depends on the quality rather than the quantity of T helper cell responses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1830307","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T08:14:57Z","timestamp":1782893697000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Differential generation of parasite-specific Th2 and T follicular helper cells distinguishes resistant and susceptible mouse 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