Associated Project (Anneli Peters) - Cellular sources and impact of the cytokine IL-23 for differentiation of pathogenic Th17 cells
Differentiation of stable Th17 cells with pathogenic effector functions in the context of autoimmunity requires the presence of Interleukin-23 (IL-23), and lack of IL-23 is protective in several autoimmune diseases. However, the cellular sources and stimuli of IL-23 production are not well understood. Utilizing a reporter mouse model we aim to identify cell types that produce IL-23 during development and progression of CNS autoimmunity and demonstrate the relevance of cell-type specific IL-23 production for the development of stable pathogenic Th17 cells via conditional deletion.
