Research progress in members of lymphocyte subsets

Lymphocytes are very important immune cells in the body, accounting for 20﹪ ~ 45﹪ of peripheral leukocytes. The three major subpopulation of lymphocytes are T cells, B cells and NK cells. According to different surface markers and functional characteristics, lymphocytes are mainly divided into CD3+ CD4+ helper T cells, CD3+ CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, CD19+ B cells and CD16+ CD56+ NK cells. With the development of basic immunology and immunological techniques, new lymphocyte subsets are proposed, including gamma delta T cells, Th1/Th2 cells, Th17 cells, Th9 cells, Tfh cells, Treg cells, Breg cells, NKT cells, NKB cells, etc.The definition of lymphocyte subsets are refined constantly. The present review summarizes recent research progress of lymphocyte subsets. Key words: T lymphocyte subsets; B lymphocyte subsets; Killer cells, natural; Lymphocyte subsets