Hiding in Plain Sight: Virtually Unrecognizable Memory Phenotype CD8+ T cells |
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Authors: | Daniel Thiele Nicole L La Gruta Angela Nguyen Tabinda Hussain |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3800, Australia; (D.T.); (N.L.L.G.) |
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Abstract: | Virtual memory T (TVM) cells are a recently described population of conventional CD8+ T cells that, in spite of their antigen inexperience, express markers of T cell activation. TVM cells exhibit rapid responsiveness to both antigen-specific and innate stimuli in youth but acquire intrinsic antigen-specific response defects in the elderly. In this article, we review how the identification of TVM cells necessitates a re-evaluation of accepted paradigms for conventional memory T (TMEM) cells, the potential for heterogeneity within the TVM population, and the defining characteristics of TVM cells. Further, we highlight recent literature documenting the development of TVM cells as a distinct CD8+ T cell lineage as well their biological significance in the context of disease. |
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Keywords: | virtual memory T cells Eomes IL-15 CD8+ T cells |
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