Tcf1+ cells are required to maintain the inflationary T cell pool upon MCMV infection
Cytomegalovirus infection induces a CD8 T cell response with large numbers of specific cells accumulating in peripheral tissues, a process termed ‘memory inflation’. A recent ‘Nature Communications’ paper by the Oxenius group (IMB) shows that Tcf1+ CD8 T cells are critical in maintaining the inflationary T cell pool.
Cytomegalovirus-based vaccine vectors offer interesting opportunities for T cell-based vaccination purposes, as a CMV infection induces large numbers of functional effector-like cells that accumulate in peripheral tissues, a process termed memory inflation. Maintenance of high numbers of peripheral CD8 T cells requires continuous replenishment of the inflationary T cell pool. The Oxenius group found that within the inflationary T cell population a small subset of cells expresses the transcription factor Tcf1. These Tcf1+ cells are proliferation competent and upon sensing viral reactivation events, feed into the pool of peripheral Tcf1- cells. These data show that Tcf1+ cells are necessary for sustaining the inflationary T cell response, and upholding this subset is likely critical for the success of CMV-based vaccination approaches.
Link to the paper in external pageNature Communications