Control of the antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell memory response

在特定病原微生物的感染下幸存下来的人通常会受到保护，不会再受到这些病原体的感染。这是获得性免疫的基础，它定义了身体保持对先前感染或疫苗接种的记忆的能力，并在这样做时，对这些病原体随后的感染做出更有效的反应。这项建议涉及到维持这种记忆的机制。它特别关注细胞毒性T淋巴细胞(CTL)，它是杀死病毒感染细胞的白细胞或白细胞。利用新的技术，可以可视化针对特定病毒的CTL，我们将定义是什么决定了这些记忆细胞随着时间的推移而存活和替换。我们还将确定改变记忆CTL处理身体局部部位感染能力的试剂。通过这样做，这项工作将为更好地为个人接种致病病毒感染疫苗的方法提供有价值的见解。

Individuals who survive infections by a given pathogenic micro-organism are usually protected from subsequent infections by these same agents. This is the basis of adaptive immunity, which defines the body's ability to maintain a memory of prior infection or vaccination and in so doing, mount a far more effective response to subsequent infection by these agents. This proposal deals with the mechanisms by which this memory is maintained. It specifically focuses on cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) which are leucocytes or white blood cells that kill virus infected cells. Using new technology which permits visualisation of CTL directed against specific viruses we are going to define what determines the survival and replacement of these memory cells over time. We will also identify the agents that alter the memory CTL's ability to deal with infections within localised sites in the body. In so doing, this work will provide valuable insight into approaches that can be used to better vaccinate individuals against infections by pathogenic viruses.