Functional plasticity of an antigen-specific memory CD4 T cell population.
The protective nature of memory immune responses is attributed largely to terminally differentiated memory T cells that retain memory of the antigen via the antigen receptor and memory of the effector functions that initially cleared the pathogen. It is not known whether a given population of antigen-specific memory T cells is endowed with functional flexibility to provide protective responses against antigens reencountered in different immunological contexts. Here, we examine functional properties of influenza hemagglutinin (HA)-specific memory CD4 T cells recovered from adoptive hosts that received in vitro-activated HA-specific T cell receptor-transgenic CD4 T cells 2 months to 1 year previously. We demonstrate that this HA-specific memory CD4 T cell population bearing a clonal T cell receptor can produce predominantly T helper 1 or T helper 2 effector cytokines depending on the nature of the recall stimulus. Our findings reveal remarkable functional plasticity within an antigen-specific memory T cell population and have direct implications for modulating memory T cell function in vaccine design and treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, MSTF Building, Room 400, 685 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Mojgan
M
Ahmadzadeh
Donna L
DL
Farber
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C
D000941:Antigens; D016207:Cytokines