Transfer of CD8+ T cell memory using Bcl-2 as a marker.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
The processes that regulate T cell memory generation are important for therapeutic design and the immune response to disease. However, what allows a subset of effector T cells to survive the contraction period to become memory cells is incompletely understood. The Bcl-2 family is critical for T cell survival, and Bcl-2 has been proposed to be important for the survival of memory cells. However, previous studies have relied on double-knockout models, potentially skewing the role of Bcl-2, and the use of Bcl-2 as a marker in adoptive transfer experiments, a method required to confirm the memory potential of cell subsets, has not been possible because of the intracellular localization of the protein. In this study, we present a novel Bcl-2 reporter mouse model and, to our knowledge, show for the first time that a distinct subset of effector T cells, and also a subset within the CD127(hi)KLRG1(lo) memory precursor effector cell population, retains high Bcl-2 expression at the peak of the CD8(+) T cell response to Listeria monocytogenes. Furthermore, we show that Bcl-2 correlates with memory potential in adoptive transfer experiments using both total responding CD8(+) T cells and memory precursor effector cells. These results show that even within the memory precursor effector cell population, Bcl-2 confers a survival advantage in a subset of effector CD8(+) T cells that allows differentiation into memory cells and cement Bcl-2 as a critical factor for T cell memory.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Dunkle, A; Dzhagalov, I; Gordy, C; He, Y-W
Published Date
- February 1, 2013
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 190 / 3
Start / End Page
- 940 - 947
PubMed ID
- 23269245
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC4366938
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1550-6606
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.4049/jimmunol.1103481
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States