# Memory T follicular helper cell kinetics and localization during recall immune responses to tetanus vaccination

> **NIH NIH K08** · HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2021 · $196,887

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
T follicular helper cells (Tfh) are a type of immune system cell that provide critical support in the generation of
antibodies during vaccination. Understanding the mechanism by which these cells support highly efficacious
and durable vaccine responses could assist in the development of novel vaccines targeting diseases such as
malaria. Most of our knowledge on the characteristics and function of Tfh has come from basic immunology
research done in mice. To study Tfh responses in mice, the convention has been to sample specialized
immune tissues such as lymph nodes and spleen. In humans, these tissues are not readily accessible for
study, so human immunologists study blood Tfh responses. Unfortunately, blood Tfh are thought to travel to
lymphoid tissue when their relevant antigen enters the body. Thus, study of Tfh responses in blood is unlikely
to reveal the helper T cell functions during vaccination that lead to the antibodies that provide protective
immunity. The proposed project aims to characterize the Tfh response in both blood and lymphoid tissue in
mouse and human hosts in response to vaccination. The goal of this work will be to determine whether
measuring blood Tfh can be reliably used to study lymph node Tfh responses in human studies. During this
study we will develop and optimize highly innovative techniques including vaccine-specific Tfh cell tracking,
combined with lymph node mapping and serial lymph node sampling. These techniques will be used to track
vaccine specific Tfh responses at their primary site of action. This project will serve as the foundation for future
Tfh studies of vaccines, providing key technologies for studying Tfh and knowledge about Tfh localization
during a vaccine response. These tools and knowledge will then be used to study Tfh responses in malaria
vaccines, which have low efficacy in field-based studies. The goal of these future studies will be to inform novel
vaccine design and administration protocols in pursuit of a highly efficacious malaria vaccine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10196998
- **Project number:** 5K08AI141761-03
- **Recipient organization:** HENNEPIN HEALTHCARE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Anne Elizabeth Parker Frosch
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $196,887
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-12 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10196998

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10196998, Memory T follicular helper cell kinetics and localization during recall immune responses to tetanus vaccination (5K08AI141761-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10196998. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*