Diversifying and Regenerating T Cell Function

描述（由申请人提供）：T淋巴细胞在宿主防御微生物和癌症中起关键作用。触发T细胞参与免疫反应的信号的一个显着特征是，每个细胞似乎都有一个任务，确保其子代不会一致地采取相同的命运。该提案开发了新的方法来成像感染性疾病过程中分裂T细胞的特征。的目标 这些项目的目的是测试不平等的细胞遗传在免疫应答的最早阶段的重要性，其中大量的细胞命运决定正在做出（目标1），在再激发应答中，其中记忆T细胞可能模仿成体干细胞的再生行为（目标2），以及在慢性感染中，因为这种情况可能会加重正常记忆T细胞的再生限制（目标3）。本文提出的研究应该提供新的方法来维持对慢性感染的终身免疫力，并消除许多危及生命的传染病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): T lymphocytes play a critical role in host defense against microbes and cancer. A remarkable feature of the signals that trigger T cell participation in the immune response is that every cell appears to have a mandate that assures its daughters will not uniformly adopt the same fate. This proposal develops novel methodologies to image the characteristics of dividing T cells during the course of an infectious disease. The aims of the project are to test the importance of unequal cellular inheritance in the earliest stages of the immune response, where an abundance of cell fate decisions are being made (Aim 1), in the re-challenge response wherein memory T cells may be mimicking the regenerative behavior of adult stem cells (Aim 2), and in chronic infection because this scenario may tax the regenerative limits of normal memory T cells (Aim 3). The studies proposed herein should offer novel approaches for maintaining lifelong immunity against chronic infections and for eliminating many life-threatening infectious diseases.