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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Assessment of the Synaptic Interface of Primary Human T Cells from Peripheral Blood and Lymphoid Tissue
Published on: July 30, 2018
Life and death in peripheral T cells
Peter H Krammer1, Rüdiger Arnold, Inna N Lavrik
1Tumour Immunology Program, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. P.Krammer@dkfz.de
Abstract:
During the course of an immune response, antigen-reactive T cells clonally expand and then are removed by apoptosis to maintain immune homeostasis. Life and death of T cells is determined by multiple factors, such as T-cell receptor triggering, co-stimulation or cytokine signalling, and by molecules, such as caspase-8 (FLICE)-like inhibitory protein (FLIP) and haematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1), which regulate the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway. Here, we discuss the concepts of activation-induced cell death (AICD) and activated cell-autonomous death (ACAD) in the regulation of life and death in T cells.
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