Site-specific development and progressive maturation of human tissue-resident memory T cells over infancy and childhood.

ABSTRACT: Infancy and childhood are critical life stages for generating immune memory to protect against pathogens; however, the timing, location, and pathways for memory development in humans remain elusive. Here, we investigated T cells in mucosal sites, lymphoid tissues, and blood from 96 pediatric donors aged 0-10 years using phenotypic, functional, and transcriptomic profiling. Our results revealed that memory T cells preferentially localized in the intestines and lungs during infancy and accumulated more rapidly in mucosal sites compared with blood and lymphoid organs, consistent with site-specific antigen exposure. Early life mucosal memory T cells exhibit distinct functional capacities and stem-like transcriptional profiles. In later childhood, they progressively adopt proinflammatory functi

SUBMITTER: Connors TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10527943 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature