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Response of naïve and memory CD8+ T cells to antigen stimulation in vivo

Nature Immunology volume 1, pages 47–53 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

We studied the influence of memory T cell properties on the efficiency of secondary immune responses by comparing the in vivo immune response of the same numbers of T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic (Tg) naïve and memory T cells. Compared to naïve Tg cells, memory cells divided after a shorter lag time; had an increased division rate; a lower loss rate; and showed more rapid and efficient differentiation to effector functions. We found that initial naïve T cell priming resulted in cells expressing mutually exclusive effector functions, whereas memory T cells were multifunctional after reactivation, with each individual cell expressing two to three different effector functions simultaneously. These special properties of memory T cells ensure the immediate control of reinfection.

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Figure 1: Expansion of naïve and memory cells.
Figure 2: Early events of cell activation.
Figure 3: The role of antigen stimulation in Tg cell division in T cell-deficient hosts.
Figure 4: Progression through the division of naïve and memory T cells.
Figure 5: RNA content of naïve and memory cells.
Figure 6: Expression of lymphokine mRNA by individual cells ex vivo.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Garcia for cell sorting; A.M. Joret and S. Leaument for technical assistance; A. Le Campion for statistics; J. Di Santo, A.A. Freitas, D. Guy-Grand, A. Sarukhan and H. von Boehmer for reviewing the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the National Association of AIDS Research, France. H.V.-F. was supported by a grant from Technology and Science Foundation, Praxis XXI, Portugal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U.345, Paris, France

    Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, Christine Bourgeois & Benedita Rocha

  2. U373, Institut Necker, Paris, France

    Ulrich Walter

  3. Institute for Animal Health, Compton, UK

    Angela McLean

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  1. Henrique Veiga-Fernandes
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Correspondence to Henrique Veiga-Fernandes.

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Veiga-Fernandes, H., Walter, U., Bourgeois, C. et al. Response of naïve and memory CD8+ T cells to antigen stimulation in vivo. Nat Immunol 1, 47–53 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/76907

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