Mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells) detect microbial vitamin B2 derivatives presented by the antigen-presenting molecule MR1. Here we defined three developmental stages and checkpoints for the MAIT cell lineage in humans and mice. Stage 1 and stage 2 MAIT cells predominated in thymus, while stage 3 cells progressively increased in abundance extrathymically. Transition through each checkpoint was regulated by MR1, whereas the final checkpoint that generated mature functional MAIT cells was controlled by multiple factors, including the transcription factor PLZF and microbial colonization. Furthermore, stage 3 MAIT cell populations were expanded in mice deficient in the antigen-presenting molecule CD1d, suggestive of a niche shared by MAIT cells and natural killer T cells (NKT cells). Accordingly, this study maps the developmental pathway and checkpoints that control the generation of functional MAIT cells.

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Age-associated decreases in primary CD8 T cell responses occur, in part, due to direct effects on naive CD8 T cells to reduce intrinsic functionality, but the precise nature of this defect remains undefined. Aging also causes accumulation of antigen-naive but semi-differentiated "virtual memory" (T) cells, but their contribution to age-related functional decline is unclear. Here, we show that T cells are poorly proliferative in aged mice and humans, despite being highly proliferative in young individuals, while conventional naive T cells (T cells) retain proliferative capacity in both aged mice and humans. Adoptive transfer experiments in mice illustrated that naive CD8 T cells can acquire a proliferative defect imposed by the aged environment but age-related proliferative dysfunction could not be rescued by a young environment. Molecular analyses demonstrate that aged T cells exhibit a profile consistent with senescence, marking an observation of senescence in an antigenically naive T cell population.