title: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of memory T-cell survival.
abstract: Long-term maintenance of the memory T-cell response is the hallmark of immune protection and, hence, constitutes one of the most important objectives of vaccine-development strategies. Persistent memory T cells, developed after vaccination or microbial infections, ensure the generation of an antimicrobial response upon re-exposure to the pathogen through rapid clonal proliferation and activation of effector functions. However, in the context of many pathogen infections, these memory T cells fail to persist and die. In this review, we will highlight recent exciting findings in studies of memory T cells, their generation, their lineage relationships and their survival pathways; indeed, survival of memory T cells and maintenance of their functionality are key features of the immune response in its quest to control disease progression and in the development of vaccines to persistent microbial infections.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Immunologie, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM) Saint-Luc, 264 Rene Levesque Est, Montréal, Québec H2X 1P1, Canada. andre.tanel@umontreal.ca
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanel
authors.forename: Simone G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Bader
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yassine-Diab
authors.forename: Rebeka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bordi
authors.forename: Joumana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeidan
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Clarisse
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benne
authors.forename: Rafick-Pierre
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Sékaly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors