The Transcription Factor NFAT1 Participates in the Induction of CD4⁺ T Cell Functional Exhaustion during Plasmodium yoelii Infection.

ABSTRACT: Repeated stimulation of T cells that occurs in the context of chronic infection results in progressively reduced responsiveness of T cells to pathogen-derived antigens. This phenotype, known as T cell exhaustion, occurs during chronic infections caused by a variety of pathogens, from persistent viruses to parasites. Unlike the memory cells that typically form after successful pathogen clearance following an acute infection, exhausted T cells secrete lower levels of effector cytokines, proliferate less in response to cognate antigen, and upregulate cell surface inhibitory molecules such as PD-1 and LAG-3. The molecular events that lead to the induction of this phenotype have, however, not been fully characterized. In T cells, members of the NFAT family of transcription factors not only are

SUBMITTER: Ames RY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5563568 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature