Cytomegalovirus Infection and Memory T Cell Inflation.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in healthy individuals is usually asymptomatic and results in latent infection. CMV reactivation occasionally occurs in healthy individuals according to their immune status over time. T cell responses to CMV are restricted to a limited number of immunodominant epitopes, as compared to responses to other chronic or persistent viruses. This response results in progressive, prolonged expansion of CMV-specific CD8(+) T cells, termed 'memory inflation'. The expanded CMV-specific CD8(+) T cell population is extraordinarily large and is more prominent in the elderly. CMV-specific CD8(+) T cells possess rather similar phenotypic and functional features to those of replicative senescent T cells. In this review, we discuss the general features of CMV-specific inflationary memory T cells and the factors involved in memory inflation.
Laboratory of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Korea.
Jihye
J
Kim
Laboratory of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Korea.
A-Reum
AR
Kim
Laboratory of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Korea.
Eui-Cheol
EC
Shin
Cytomegalovirus; Immunosenescence; Memory inflation; Senescent T cells; T cells