title: Recruitment of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in response to infection is markedly efficient.
abstract: The magnitude of antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses is not fixed but correlates with the severity of infection. Although by definition T cell response size is the product of both the capacity to recruit naïve T cells (clonal selection) and their subsequent proliferation (clonal expansion), it remains undefined how these two factors regulate antigen-specific T cell responses. We determined the relative contribution of recruitment and expansion by labeling naïve T cells with unique genetic tags and transferring them into mice. Under disparate infection conditions with different pathogens and doses, recruitment of antigen-specific T cells was near constant and close to complete. Thus, naïve T cell recruitment is highly efficient, and the magnitude of antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses is primarily controlled by clonal expansion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jeroen W J
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: van Heijst
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gerlach
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Swart
authors.forename: Daoud
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sie
authors.forename: Cláudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nunes-Alves
authors.forename: Ron M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Kerkhoven
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arens
authors.forename: Margarida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Correia-Neves
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schepers
authors.forename: Ton N M
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Schumacher
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000667:Ampicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D019673:Genes, T-Cell Receptor alpha; D019674:Genes, T-Cell Receptor beta; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D014615:Vaccinia / Q000276:immunology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000941:Antigens; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D000667:Ampicillin; D010047:Ovalbumin