The memory of a killer T cell: models of CD8(+) T cell differentiation

Publication date

2016-03

Authors

Gerritsen, Bram
Pandit, Aridaman

Editors

Advisors

Supervisors

Document Type

Article

Collections

Open Access logo

License

taverne

Abstract

CD8(+) T cells have an important role in protection against infections and reinfections of intra-cellular pathogens like viruses. Naive CD8(+) T cells circulating in blood or lymphoid tissues can get activated upon stimulation by cognate antigen. The activated T cells undergo rapid proliferation and can expand more than 10(4)-folds comprising largely of effector T cells. Upon antigen clearance, the CD8(+) T-cell population contracts due to apoptosis, leaving behind a small population of memory T cells. The timing and mechanisms underlying the differentiation of naive cells into effector cells and memory cells is not yet clear. In this article, we review the recent quantitative studies that support different hypotheses of CD8(+) T-cell differentiation.

Keywords

Algorithms, Animals, Asymmetric Cell Division, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/cytology, Cell Differentiation, Host-Pathogen Interactions/immunology, Humans, Immunologic Memory, Lymphocyte Activation, Models, Biological, Phenotype, Signal Transduction, T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology, T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/cytology, Taverne, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review

Citation

Gerritsen, B & Pandit, A 2016, 'The memory of a killer T cell : models of CD8(+) T cell differentiation', Immunology and Cell Biology, vol. 94, no. 3, pp. 236-41. https://doi.org/10.1038/icb.2015.118