Memories that last: Dynamics of memory T cells throughout the body

Abstract

The gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) navigates the shallow, tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, an agile predator that hunts near coral reefs. Gray reef sharks are estimated to live about 18 years. 1 The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) has been found at depths of up to 2200 m, moving sluggishly in the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean. A recent study crowned the Greenland shark the longest-living vertebrate: radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating of prenatally formed proteins in the eye lens nucleus puts its attainable lifespan between 272 and 512 years. 2 For sharks, it may be clear: there is an incredible heterogeneity in their lifespan. We wondered whether the same may be true for memory T cells. Memory T cells form the cornerstone of adaptive immunity, passing on knowledge about previous immunological challenges. They patrol the body through the bloodstream and lymph, provide local protection in barrier tissues and are thought to be stored long-term in bone marrow niches. Even though the immunological memory that memory T cells convey is long-lived, the cells themselves can be much shorter-lived. Studies in the 1990s already indicated that memory T cells divide much more frequently, and live shorter, than naive T cells. In patients who had undergone

The diverse landscape of memory T‐cell heterogeneity

“…He further discusses how systems immunology approaches have enabled precise dissection of the roles of lineages, subset, site, and age on the function and properties of memory T cells and their maintenance in tissues and circulation. Along the theme of computational approaches, José Borghans and colleagues elegantly describe how memory T‐cell maintenance is measured and modeled and the challenges of assessing these critical aspects of memory T‐cell dynamics throughout the body 17 . They provide a clear and thorough analysis of the different ways in which memory T‐cell longevity and turnover are measured, and that T RM are largely maintained in situ without influx of circulating, peripheral T cells 17 .…”

“…Along the theme of computational approaches, José Borghans and colleagues elegantly describe how memory T‐cell maintenance is measured and modeled and the challenges of assessing these critical aspects of memory T‐cell dynamics throughout the body 17 . They provide a clear and thorough analysis of the different ways in which memory T‐cell longevity and turnover are measured, and that T RM are largely maintained in situ without influx of circulating, peripheral T cells 17 . The evidence cited draws from studies in mice, humans, goats, and non‐human primates, to different antigens, applying both experimental and computational modeling approaches 17 …”

“…They provide a clear and thorough analysis of the different ways in which memory T‐cell longevity and turnover are measured, and that T RM are largely maintained in situ without influx of circulating, peripheral T cells 17 . The evidence cited draws from studies in mice, humans, goats, and non‐human primates, to different antigens, applying both experimental and computational modeling approaches 17 …”

“…13 He describes studies from the past decade using multiple tissues from organ donors to elucidate the subset-and tissue-specific features of T RM without influx of circulating, peripheral T cells. 17 The evidence cited draws from studies in mice, humans, goats, and non-human primates, to different antigens, applying both experimental and computational modeling approaches. 17 While the above reviews discuss memory T cells across tissues and their function and maintenance more broadly, a set of four reviews delves deeply into the role of memory T cells in specific sites.…”

“…17 The evidence cited draws from studies in mice, humans, goats, and non-human primates, to different antigens, applying both experimental and computational modeling approaches. 17 While the above reviews discuss memory T cells across tissues and their function and maintenance more broadly, a set of four reviews delves deeply into the role of memory T cells in specific sites.…”