T cell activation and function require a structured engagement of antigen-presenting cells. These cell contacts are characterized by two distinct dynamics in vivo: transient contacts resulting from promigratory junctions called immunological kinapses or prolonged contacts from stable junctions called immunological synapses. Kinapses operate in the steady state to allow referencing to selfpeptide-MHC (pMHC) and searching for pathogen-derived pMHC. Synapses are induced by T cell receptor (TCR) interactions with agonist pMHC under specific conditions and correlate with robust immune responses that generate effector and memory T cells. High-resolution imaging has revealed that the synapse is highly coordinated, integrating cell adhesion, TCR recognition of pMHC complexes, and an array of activating and inhibitory ligands to promote or prevent T cell signaling. In this review, we examine the molecular components, geometry, and timing underlying kinapses and synapses. We integrate recent molecular and physiological data to provide a synthesis and suggest ways forward.

Memory T cells are distributed throughout the body following infection, but the migratory dynamics of the memory pool in vivo is unknown. The ability of circulating microbe-specific memory T cells to populate lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues was examined using adoptive transfer and parabiosis systems. While migration of memory CD8 T cells to lymph nodes and peritoneal cavity required G(i)-coupled receptor signaling, migration to the spleen, bone marrow, lung, and liver was independent of this pathway. Following parabiosis, memory T cells rapidly equilibrated into the lymphoid tissues, lung, and liver of each parabiont, implying most memory cells were not obligately tissue resident. Equilibration of memory cell populations was delayed in the brain, peritoneal cavity, and intestinal lamina propria, indicating controlled gating for entry into these tissues. In addition, memory cell migration to the lamina propria required beta7 integrins. Thus, the blood-borne T cell pool serves to maintain the homeostasis of tissue-based memory populations.

After infection, many factors coordinate the population expansion and differentiation of CD8+ effector and memory T cells. Using data of unparalleled breadth from the Immunological Genome Project, we analyzed the CD8+ T cell transcriptome throughout infection to establish gene-expression signatures and identify putative transcriptional regulators. Notably, we found that the expression of key gene signatures can be used to predict the memory-precursor potential of CD8+ effector cells. Long-lived memory CD8+ cells ultimately expressed a small subset of genes shared by natural killer T and γδ T cells. Although distinct inflammatory milieu and T cell precursor frequencies influenced the differentiation of CD8+ effector and memory populations, core transcriptional signatures were regulated similarly, whether polyclonal or transgenic, and whether responding to bacterial or viral model pathogens. Our results provide insights into the transcriptional regulation that influence memory formation and CD8+ T cell immunity.

In response to infection CD8+ T cells integrate multiple signals and undergo an exponential increase in cell numbers. Simultaneously, a dynamic differentiation process occurs, resulting in the formation of short-lived (SLEC; CD127lowKLRG1high) and memory-precursor (MPEC; CD127highKLRG1low) effector cells from an early-effector cell (EEC) that is CD127lowKLRG1low in phenotype. CD8+ T cell differentiation during vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection differed significantly than during Listeria monocytogenes infection with a substantial reduction in EEC differentiation into SLECs. SLEC generationwas dependent on Ebi3 expression. Furthermore, SLEC differentiation during VSV infection wasenhanced by administration ofCpG-DNA, through an IL-12 dependent mechanism. Moreover, CpG-DNAtreatment enhanced effector CD8+ T cell functionality and memory subset distribution, but in an IL-12 independent manner. Population dynamics were dramatically different during secondary CD8+ T cell responses, with a much greater accumulation of SLECs and the appearance of a significant number of CD127highKLRG1highmemory cells, both of which were intrinsic to the memory CD8+ T cell. These subsets persisted for several months, but were less effective in recall than MPECs. Thus, our data shed light on how varying the context of T cell priming alters downstream effector and memory CD8+ T cell differentiation.

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