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Nature Reviews Immunology 8, 905 (1 December 2008) | doi:10.1038/nri2463

T-cell memory: Growing with experience

Olive Leavy

The generation of memory CD8+ T cells following exposure to a pathogen or vaccine is required for protection against subsequent infections by the same pathogen. It has long been thought that the maximum size of the memory CD8+ T-cell compartment is fixed and, consequently, that the generation of memory CD8+ T cells of new specificities must necessarily reduce the number of pre-existing memory CD8+ T cells.