The persistence of memory lymphocytes is a critical feature of adaptive immunity. The TNF family ligand 4-1BBL supports the antigen-independent survival of CD8 + memory T cells. Here, we show that mice lacking 4-1BB only on αβ T cells show a similar defect in CD8 + T-cell recall responses, as previously shown in 4-1BBL-deficient mice. We show that 4-1BB is selectively expressed on BM CD8 + but not CD4 + memory T cells of unimmunized mice. Its ligand, 4-1BBL, is found on VCAM-1 + stromal cells, CD11c + cells, and a Gr1 lo myeloid population in unimmunized mice. Adoptive transfer of in vitro generated memory T cells into mice lacking 4-1BBL only on radioresistant cells recapitulates the defect in CD8 + T-cell survival seen in the complete knockout mice, with smaller effects of 4-1BBL on hematopoietic cells. In BM, adoptively transferred DsRed CD8 + memory T cells are most often found in proximity to VCAM-1 + cells or Gr1 + cells, followed by B220 + cells and to a much lesser extent near CD11c + cells. Thus, a VCAM-1 + CD45 − stromal cell is a plausible candidate for the radioresistant cell that provides 4-1BBL to CD8 + memory T cells in the BM.Keywords: 4-1BB r Bone marrow chimeras r CD8 + T-cell memory r CD137 r Stromal cells
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IntroductionImmunological memory is a key feature of our adaptive immune system. The persistence of memory lymphocytes affords the host long-term protection against reinfection. It is thought that lymphocytes must compete for space in defined cellular niches that are specific to a particular subset of lymphocytes [1,2]. The cell types and key molecular components that make up the supportCorrespondence: Dr. Tania H. Watts e-mail: tania.watts@utoronto.ca ive niches for memory T cells are beginning to be defined [3][4][5][6]. These niches are expected to contain the chemokines that attract the lymphocytes to the site [3,7], the adhesion molecules that provide retention signals at the site [5,7], as well as the common γ-chain (γ c ) cytokines that provide homeostatic proliferative signals to the lymphocytes [8].For CD8 + T cells, there is strong evidence that both IL-15 and IL-7 are required for their maintenance [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. CD8 + CD44 Hi memory phenotype T cells home to and are enriched in the BM [7,18]. Moreover, the BM contains virus-specific memory T cells that can protect against reinfection [19], and CD8 + memory T cells in the BM show evidence of homeostatic proliferation C 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.eji-journal.eu 2862 Gloria H. Y. Lin et al. Eur. J. Immunol. 2012. 42: 2861-2874 [20,21], independently of secondary lymphoid organs [22]. Thus, it has been proposed that the BM is a major site for homeostatic proliferation of CD8 + memory T cells [23]. However, there is limited evidence as to the nature of the BM niches that support the proliferation and survival of these cells. In addition to a requirement for chemokines, γ c cytokines, and adhesion molecules, emerging data also suggest that ligan...