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A role for antigen in the maintenance of immunological memory

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 2, pages 60–65 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The immune system has a memory that it exhibits in the enhanced and augmented responses the second time it meets an antigen. The memory is the result of a number of changes to the system brought about during the primary response. The most important of these changes is the formation of an expanded pool of antigen-specific memory cells. One of the enduring questions in immunology is how these memory cells are maintained for such long periods.

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Figure 1: Generation of memory cells and effector cells.
Figure 2: Model of homeostasis in the memory pool.
Figure 3: Niche occupancy in different lymphoid systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Laboratories, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK

    David Gray

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lymphotoxin-α

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follicular dendritic cells (B lymphocyte stimulating)

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Gray, D. A role for antigen in the maintenance of immunological memory. Nat Rev Immunol 2, 60–65 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri706

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