Memory T cell inflation:: understanding cause and effect

• Autores: Geraldine A. O'Hara, Suzanne P. M. Welten, Paul Klenerman, Ramon Arens
• Localización: Trends in immunology, ISSN 1471-4906, Vol. 33, Nº. 2, 2012, págs. 84-90
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Typically, during viral infections, T cells encounter antigen, undergo proliferative expansion and ultimately contract into a pool of memory cells. However, after infection with cytomegalovirus, a ubiquitous ?-herpesvirus, T cell populations specific for certain epitopes do not contract but instead are maintained and/or accumulate at high frequencies with a characteristic effector-memory phenotype. This feature has also been noted after other infections, for example, by parvoviruses. We discuss this so-called memory T cell inflation and the factors involved in this phenomenon. Also, we consider the potential therapeutic use of memory T cell inflation as a vaccine strategy and the associated implications for immune senescence.