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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Measuring Mitochondrial Function of Naïve and Effector CD8 T Cells
Published on: March 28, 2025
Cutting Edge: Synapse Propensity of Human Memory CD8 T Cells Confers Competitive Advantage over Naive Counterparts
Viveka Mayya1,2, Edward Judokusumo3, Enas Abu-Shah1
1Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, OX3 7FY Oxford, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Memory T cells are endowed with multiple functional features that enable them to be more protective than naive T cells against infectious threats. It is not known if memory cells have a higher synapse propensity (SP; i.e., increased probability to form immature immunological synapses that then provide an entry into different modes of durable interaction with APCs). In this study, we show that only human memory CD8 T cells have remarkably high SP compared with naive counterparts. Such a dichotomy between naive and memory cells is not observed within the human CD4 or murine CD8 T cell population. Higher SP in human memory CD8 T cells allows them to outcompete and prevent naive CD8 T cells from getting recruited to the response. This observation has implications for original antigenic sin and aging of the immune system in humans.
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