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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Oct 27.
Published in final edited form as: Eur J Immunol. 2022 Jul 28;52(9):1431–1440. doi: 10.1002/eji.202149733

Figure 4. Development of TH1 cells: the need for IFN-γ to turn on IL-12 and more IFN-γ.

Figure 4.

During the early innate immune response to pathogens (1), soluble factor(s) produced by activated DCs, independent of IL-12, IL-23, and IL-18 (2), stimulate NK cells to produce IFN-γ (3); this early IFN-γ in addition to priming DCs for IL-12 production (4) will play a critical role in inducing the differentiation of naïve T cells toward the TH1 pathway (5) through activation of transcription factor T-bet, upregulation of IL-12Rβ2 for signaling by IL-12 (6) and STAT4 for the secretion of IFN-γ, initiating a positive feedback loop (7) and generating more IFN-γ production, assuring the continuity of an ongoing TH1 response.