4. CD8+ T cell responses: memory and exhaustion Flashcards
What are CD8 T cells?
- Cytotoxic effector cells
- They kill virally infected cells and cells with other intracellular pathogens.
Why do we need to understand CD8 T cell differentiation?
- Once they are differentiated they are easy to activate
- This presents a threat to the body
- Their activation needs to be carefully controlled.
- The phenotype of CD8 changes as an infection progresses.
How is LCMV used to detect CD8 T cell responses?
- LCMV Viral proteins are presented to the TCR which expands the T cell repertoire.
- Tetramers of MHC1 for these TCR can detect the new populations of T cells.
- The tetrameter stick to the cells that would be activated by that MHC1 molecules.
- We can then quantify the response to the LCMV and look at the phenotype of the CD8 cells over the course of the infection.
What are the 2 main functions of CD8 cells?
- Cytotoxic killing
- Memory
What are the 2 main types of Cd8 memory cells?
- Central memory cells that live in circulation.
- Tissue resident memory cells that live in the tissue the infection effected.
How can we characterise a CD8 memory cell?
By what is expressed on its surface using flow cytometry.
Phenotypic CD8 markers: Naive cells
Upregulation: CD62L and CD127
Downregulation: KRLG1
Phenotypic CD8 markers: Short-lived effecter cells
Upregulation: KRLG1
Downregulation: CD62L and CD127
Phenotypic CD8 markers: Effecter memory cells
upregulation: CD127
Downregulation: CD62L and KRLG1
Phenotypic CD8 markers: central memory cells
Upregulation: CD62L and CD127
Downregulation: KRLG1
What does CD62L do?
High endothelial venules access which helps lymph node circulation
What does CD127 do?
It is the IL-7 receptor alpha that is involved in cell homeostasis.
What does KLRG1 do?
E&N cadherin binding
What is the process of naive cell to memory cell?
- The naive cell is activated and becomes a short lived effector cell.
- These cells are mostly destined to die but a small pool change their pattern of gene expression to become memory cells.
- These cells divide into 2 populations of memory cells: Tissue resident and Central.
Why are memory cells important?
- they provide important protection against reinfection
- They allow vaccination to be effective.
When is memory established during infection?
- After about 5 days
- Some CD8 show characteristics of pre cursor memory cells which will become memory cells.
What are the characteristics of pre cursor CD8 memory cells?
CD25lo
CD62L hi
Why are CD8 memory cells hard to study?
They are hard to isolate.
What method allowed the study of CD8 memory cells?
Parabiosis
What is parabiosis?
The anatomical and physiological union of 2 organisms. eg sewing 2 mice together
How was parabiosis used to studying CD8 memory cells?
- 1 mouse was infected with LCMV and 1 was left uninfected.
- They were sewn together to form a parabiont with 1 common circulatory system.
- The memory cells found in the secondary lymphoid tissue were mixing in circulation of both mice these are central memory cells.
- When dissecting the mouse tissues, memory cells were only found in the tissues of the infected mouse. This shows there are populations of tissue-resident memory cells that stay in the tissues.
What are CD8 central memory cells?
Memory cells that exist in circulation and secondary lymphoid tissue.