CD8 memory T cells have a bioenergetic advantage that underlies their rapid recall ability.

ABSTRACT: A characteristic of memory T (TM) cells is their ability to mount faster and stronger responses to reinfection than naïve T (TN) cells do in response to an initial infection. However, the mechanisms that allow this rapid recall are not completely understood. We found that CD8 TM cells have more mitochondrial mass than CD8 TN cells and, that upon activation, the resulting secondary effector T (TE) cells proliferate more quickly, produce more cytokines, and maintain greater ATP levels than primary effector T cells. We also found that after activation, TM cells increase oxidative phosphorylation and aerobic glycolysis and sustain this increase to a greater extent than TN cells, suggesting that greater mitochondrial mass in TM cells not only promotes oxidative capacity, but also glycolytic cap

SUBMITTER: van der Windt GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3761631 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature