The role of inflammation in the generation and maintenance of memory T cells.
Following infection or vaccination, antigen-specific T cells undergo enormous expansion in numbers and differentiate into effector cells that control infection and modulate other aspects of innate and adaptive immunity. The effector T-cell expansion phase is followed by an abrupt period of contraction, during which 90-95% of antigen-specific T cells are eliminated. The surviving pool of T cells subsequently differentiates into long-lived memory populations that can persist for the life of the host and mediate enhanced protective immunity following pathogen re-infection. The generation and maintenance of memory T-cell populations are influenced by a multitude of factors, including inflammatory cytokines that can act on T cells at various points during their differentiation. Herein, we discuss our current understanding of how inflammation shapes not only the quantity and quality of memory T cells, but also the rate at which functional memory T-cell populations develop.
Butler
Noah S
NS
Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
Harty
John T
JT
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D007239:Infections / Q000276:immunology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology