T cell responses to cytomegalovirus.
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) establishes a latent infection that generally remains asymptomatic in immune-competent hosts for decades but can cause serious illness in immune-compromised individuals. The long-term control of CMV requires considerable effort from the host immune system and has a lasting impact on the profile of the immune system. One hallmark of CMV infection is the maintenance of large populations of CMV-specific memory CD8(+) T cells - a phenomenon termed memory inflation - and emerging data suggest that memory inflation is associated with impaired immunity in the elderly. In this Review, we discuss the molecular triggers that promote memory inflation, the idea that memory inflation could be considered a natural pathway of T cell maturation that could be harnessed in vaccination, and the broader implications of CMV infection and the T cell responses it elicits.
Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SY, UK.
Paul
P
Klenerman
Institute of Microbiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Annette
A
Oxenius
D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D037182:T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*