title: Homeostasis of naive and memory T cells.
abstract: The peripheral mature T cell pool is regulated by complex homeostatic mechanisms. Naive T cells are maintained by interleukin-7 (IL-7) and T cell receptor (TCR) signaling from contact with major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which sustain expression of antiapoptotic molecules and allow the cells to survive in interphase. Competition for these ligands declines when T cell numbers are reduced and causes residual naive T cells to proliferate and differentiate into memory-like cells. This memory cell population is thus heterogeneous and comprised of cells derived from responses to both foreign and self-antigens. Typical memory cells are kept alive and induced to divide intermittently by a mixture of IL-7 and IL-15. This review highlights recent advances in how naive and memory T cell homeostasis is regulated.
authors.affiliation: The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. csurh@scripps.edu
authors.forename: Charles D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Surh
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sprent
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D053699:Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D050791:STAT Transcription Factors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D019409:Interleukin-15; D015851:Interleukin-7; D053699:Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D050791:STAT Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors