Generation and function of "long-lived effector" memory CD8 T cells

 描述(由申请人提供)：记忆性CD8+T细胞针对先前遇到的抗原提供基本的特异性免疫，而形成这种细胞是疫苗接种的基本目标。有效的CD8+T细胞记忆被认为需要细胞在抗原清除后保持较高的频率，在再次与抗原接触后进行快速而有力的扩张，并在再次刺激后迅速重新获得效应器功能。这项提案的总体重点是扩大初步研究，这些研究定义了 “记忆”CD8 T细胞对各种病原体进行高效的保护性免疫--以确定它们如何实现这种保护效果，如何维持这一细胞群，以及这些细胞与自然产生的小鼠群体(暴露于自然小鼠病原体后)的关系，以便了解这些细胞与自然免疫的关系。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Memory CD8+ T cells provide essential specific immunity against previously encountered antigens, and formation of such cells is a fundamental goal of vaccination. Effective CD8+ T cell memory is thought to require cells that persist at elevated frequencies long after antigen clearance, engage in rapid and robust expansion after reencounter with antigen and quickly re-acquire effector functions after re-stimulation. The overall focus of this proposal is to extend preliminary studies that define a special population of "memory" CD8 T cells that carry out highly efficient protective immunity against various pathogens - to determine how they achieve this protective effect, how this population of cells is maintained, and how these cells relate to populations arising in mice that arise naturally (following exposure to natural mouse pathogens) in order to understand how these cells relate to natural immunity.