Diet-induced obesity does not impact the generation and maintenance of primary memory CD8 T cells.
The extent to which obesity compromises the differentiation and maintenance of protective memory CD8 T cell responses and renders obese individuals susceptible to infection remains unknown. In this study, we show that diet-induced obesity did not impact the maintenance of pre-existing memory CD8 T cells, including acquisition of a long-term memory phenotype (i.e., CD27(hi), CD62L(hi), KLRG1(lo)) and function (i.e., cytokine production, secondary expansion, and memory CD8 T cell-mediated protection). Additionally, obesity did not influence the differentiation and maintenance of newly evoked memory CD8 T cell responses in inbred and outbred hosts generated in response to different types of systemic (LCMV, L. monocytogenes) and/or localized (influenza virus) infections. Interestingly, the rate of naive-to-memory CD8 T cell differentiation after a peptide-coated dendritic cell immunization was similar in lean and obese hosts, suggesting that obesity-associated inflammation, unlike pathogen- or adjuvant-induced inflammation, did not influence the development of endogenous memory CD8 T cell responses. Therefore, our studies reveal that the obese environment does not influence the development or maintenance of memory CD8 T cell responses that are either primed before or after obesity is established, a surprising notion with important implications for future studies aiming to elucidate the role obesity plays in host susceptibility to infections.
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Shaniya H
SH
Khan
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242;
Emily A
EA
Hemann
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242; Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242; and.
Kevin L
KL
Legge
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242; Department of Urology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
Lyse A
LA
Norian
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242; Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242; and vladimir-badovinac@uiowa.edu.
Vladimir P
VP
Badovinac
D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D010641:Phenotype; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology
D000941:Antigens; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D010455:Peptides