Science 367, eaay0524 (2020)
VISTA is a negative regulatory molecule that, uniquely among checkpoint receptors, is expressed on naive T cells. In Science, Noelle and colleagues elaborate on the function of VISTA further and find that it has a cell-intrinsic role in maintaining naive T cell quiescence. VISTA’s absence results in the acquisition of T cell activation and memory transcriptional and epigenetic signatures, appears to operate specifically in the periphery and does not obviously influence thymocyte development. VISTA ligation results in increased sensitivity to T cell receptor activation-induced cell death and thereby helps maintain peripheral tolerance. However, under inflammatory conditions (for example, in the presence of lipopolysaccharide) VISTA expression is lost, and T cells can undergo activation and clonal expansion. VISTA therefore seems to be a checkpoint inhibitory receptor that enforces the quiescence of naive T cells under steady-state conditions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fehervari, Z. A new VISTA in tolerance. Nat Immunol 21, 244 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-0612-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-0612-x