title: CD8 alpha alpha homodimer expression and role in CD8 T cell memory generation during influenza virus A infection in mice.
abstract: While the precise function of CD8alphaalpha homodimer expression on peripheral T cells is uncertain, recent evidence indicates that it facilitates survival and differentiation of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-specific memory CD8alphabeta T cell precursors in vivo. Here, we show that the CD8alphaalpha homodimer is also transiently up-regulated on influenza A virus-specific CD8alphabeta T cells after infection in vivo, temporally correlating with increased levels of the memory T cell development- and survival-related molecules IL-7Ralpha and Bcl-2, respectively. Unlike with LCMV, however, deletion of the CD8alphaalpha enhancer I does not abrogate CD8alphaalpha homodimer expression or manifest a significant impact on the generation of virus-specific, functional effector and central memory T cells in influenza A virus infection. These results demonstrate that the role of CD8alphaalpha in the generation of antiviral CD8 T cell memory is complex, presumably because various viral stimuli differentially regulate CD8alphaalpha expression. Further studies are needed to define those ligands that induce CD8alphaalpha on T cells during acute viral infections, and the general relevance of this process to memory T cell formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Ellis L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Reinherz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000502:physiology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D019281:Dimerization; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005260:Female; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D016827:CD8 Antigens; C409469:CD8 antigen, alpha chain