Evolution of the CD8 T-cell repertoire during infections
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Updated: Oct 13, 2026

Rapid In Vivo Assessment of Adjuvant's Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Generation Capabilities for Vaccine Development
Published on: June 19, 2018
M Y Lin1, L K Selin, R M Welsh
1The Department of Pathology and Program in Immunology and Virology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA.
CD8 T cells exist in a dynamic network whose repertoire remains static in the absence of infection but changes in the presence of foreign antigens. Individuals each have unique T-cell repertoires that continually evolve in the presence of antigen and of cross-reactive heterologous antigens, and homeostatic forces drive deletions in T-cell memory pools to accommodate the entry of new memory cells into a finite immune system.
CD8 T cells exist in a dynamic network whose repertoire remains static in the absence of infection but changes in the presence of foreign antigens. Individuals each have unique T-cell repertoires that continually evolve in the presence of antigen and of cross-reactive heterologous antigens, and homeostatic forces drive deletions in T-cell memory pools to accommodate the entry of new memory cells into a finite immune system.
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