Citation | Brigitta Stockinger has contributed insights regulation and maintenance of peripheral T cell immune responses. She was the first to define mechanisms underlying the differentiation of Th17 cells and demonstrated substantial pasticity in TH17 cell function depending on the inflammatory environment. Stockinger identified the aryl hydrocarbon receptor as connector between the immune system and environmental stimuli, showing that it shapes the functional differentiation of Th17 effector cells. The AhR links their role in host defense as well as their role in autoimmunity to environmental factors. Research into the physiological roles of AhR in the immune system beyond its role in toxicology provides a major breakthrough for both disciplines |