A unified network systems approach uncovers a core program underlying T follicular helper cell differentiation [ATAC-seq]

We investigated Tfh cell differentiation across multiple levels of biological organization by integrating diverse data types through interpretable network-based approaches. Our multi-scale network framework successfully combines transcriptomic and epigenetic datasets, capturing known regulators of Tfh differentiation identified in numerous prior studies. Through this approach, we identify a core set of Tfh-associated genes that is conserved across various tissues and disease conditions. Although individual components of this core set have been reported previously, a central contribution of our study is the unbiased discovery and in-depth characterization of this conserved gene signature.