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08:27
Derivation of T Cells In Vitro from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: October 14, 2014
Derivation and maintenance of virtual memory CD8 T cells
Adovi D Akue1, June-Yong Lee, Stephen C Jameson
1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA.
Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
|February 7, 2012
Summary
Virtual memory CD8(+) T cells, crucial for adaptive immunity, emerge in the periphery, not the thymus. Interleukin-4 receptor signaling influences their maintenance and durability.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- T cell biology
- Vaccine development
Background:
- Memory CD8(+) T cells are vital for adaptive immunity and vaccine strategies.
- Virtual memory (VM) cells, a subset of Ag-specific CD8(+) T cells, exist in unimmunized hosts.
- The origin and maintenance factors of VM cells remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the developmental origin of virtual memory CD8(+) T cells.
- To investigate the role of IL-4 in VM cell generation and maintenance.
- To assess the in vivo stability and durability of the VM cell pool.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of VM cell populations in wild-type and IL-4R-deficient mice.
- Tracking the appearance of VM cells in the thymus versus peripheral lymphoid organs.
- Assessment of VM cell proliferation and retention during homeostasis and infection.
Main Results:
- The virtual memory CD8(+) T cell population is reduced in IL-4R-deficient mice.
- VM cells are first detected in the periphery, not the thymus, in normal animals.
- The VM pool exhibits basal proliferation, long-term maintenance, and retention during unrelated infections.
Conclusions:
- IL-4 signaling, likely post-thymic egress, contributes to VM cell maintenance.
- Virtual memory CD8(+) T cells are generated and maintained in the periphery.
- The VM pool is a stable and durable population within the adaptive immune system.
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