Cutting edge: antigen-independent CD8 T cell proliferation.
Recent analyses of CD8 T cell responses to Listeria monocytogenes infection demonstrate that the duration of in vivo T cell proliferation is not determined by the amount or duration of Ag presentation. However, the extent to which T lymphocytes are capable of proliferating in the absence of Ag is unknown. Herein we demonstrate that CD8 T lymphocytes undergo up to eight rounds of proliferation in the absence of Ag following transient, 2.5-h in vitro antigenic stimulation. Ag-independent expansion of CD8 T cells is driven by IL-2 and is further augmented by IL-7 or IL-15. These experiments clearly demonstrate that CD8 T cells undergo prolonged proliferation following transient Ag exposure and support the notion that in vivo CD8 T cell expansion following infection can be uncoupled from Ag presentation.
Wong
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Infectious Diseases Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Pamer
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EG
D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000502:physiology; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D008087:Listeria / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
C078516:60 kDa protein, Listeria monocytogenes; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D006183:H-2 Antigens; C024755:H-2K(K) antigen; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C038705:hlyA protein, Listeria monocytogenes