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Updated: May 9, 2026

In Vitro Resident Memory CD8 T Cell Differentiation Using Epithelial Organoid-T Cell Co-culture System
Published on: February 3, 2026
Tissue-resident memory T cells: local guards of the thymus
Laura K Mackay1, Thomas Gebhardt
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract:
T-cell surveillance of nonlymphoid tissues has traditionally been ascribed to recirculating memory T cells that continuously patrol the body. Extending this concept, recent evidence suggests that T cells also exist as nonmigratory memory cells that provide local immune protection in a broad range of peripheral tissues, including barrier locations such as skin and mucosa. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Pircher and colleagues [Eur. J. Immunol. 2013. 43: 2295-2304] demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of such permanently tissue-resident CD8(+) memory T (TRM) cells in a primary lymphoid organ, the thymus. TRM cells in this location provide potent local immunity, which may help to preserve thymic integrity and normal T-cell development in the face of infection with thymus-invading pathogens.
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