Sublethal whole-body irradiation induces permanent loss and dysfunction in pathogen-specific circulating memory CD8 T cell populations.

ABSTRACT: The increasing use of nuclear energy sources inevitably raises the risk of accidental or deliberate radiation exposure and associated immune dysfunction. However, the extent to which radiation exposure impacts memory CD8 T cells, potent mediators of immunity to recurring intracellular infections and malignancies, remains understudied. Using P14 CD8 T cell chimeric mice (P14 chimeras) with an lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection model, we observed that sublethal (5Gy) whole-body irradiation (WBI) induced a rapid decline in the number of naive (T_N) and P14 circulating memory CD8 T cells (T_CIRCM), with the former being more susceptible to radiation-induced numeric loss. While T_N cell numbers rapidly recovered, as previously described, the number

SUBMITTER: Heidarian M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10318958 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature