CD57⁺ Memory T Cells Proliferate In Vivo.

ABSTRACT: A central paradigm in the field of lymphocyte biology asserts that replicatively senescent memory T cells express the carbohydrate epitope CD57. These cells nonetheless accumulate with age and expand numerically in response to persistent antigenic stimulation. Here, we use in vivo deuterium labeling and ex vivo analyses of telomere length, telomerase activity, and intracellular expression of the cell-cycle marker Ki67 to distinguish between two non-exclusive scenarios: (1) CD57⁺ memory T cells do not proliferate and instead arise via phenotypic transition from the CD57^- memory T cell pool; and/or (2) CD57⁺ memory T cells self-renew via intracompartmental proliferation. Our results provide compelling evidence in favor of the latter scenario and further sugge

SUBMITTER: Ahmed R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7758161 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature