Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Apr;21(2):167-72.
doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2009.02.005. Epub 2009 Mar 11.

Generation and maintenance of memory CD4(+) T Cells

Ester M M van Leeuwen  1 , Jonathan Sprent, Charles D Surh
Affiliations
Review

Generation and maintenance of memory CD4(+) T Cells

Ester M M van Leeuwen et al. Curr Opin Immunol. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

In the course of an immune response to an infectious microbe, pathogen-specific naïve CD4(+) T cells proliferate extensively and differentiate into effector cells. Most of these cells die rapidly, but a small fraction of effector cells persist as memory cells to confer enhanced protection against the same pathogen. Recent advances indicate that strong TCR stimulation during the primary response is essential for the generation of long-lived memory CD4(+) T cells. Memory cells appear to be derived equally from all subsets of effector cells, and memory cells can also acquire additional functional capabilities during the secondary response. Resting memory CD4(+) cells are dependent on signals from contact with IL-7 and IL-15, but not MHC class II, for their survival and intermittent homeostatic proliferation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Swain SL, Agrewala JN, Brown DM, Jelley-Gibbs DM, Golech S, Huston G, Jones SC, Kamperschroer C, Lee WH, McKinstry KK, et al. CD4+ T-cell memory: generation and multi-faceted roles for CD4+ T cells in protective immunity to influenza. Immunol Rev. 2006;211:8–22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seder RA, Ahmed R. Similarities and differences in CD4+ and CD8+ effector and memory T cell generation. Nat Immunol. 2003;4:835–842. - PubMed
    1. Kaech SM, Ahmed R. Memory CD8+ T cell differentiation: initial antigen encounter triggers a developmental program in naive cells. Nat Immunol. 2001;2:415–422. - PMC - PubMed
    1. van Stipdonk MJ, Lemmens EE, Schoenberger SP. Naive CTLs require a single brief period of antigenic stimulation for clonal expansion and differentiation. Nat Immunol. 2001;2:423–429. - PubMed
    1. Williams MA, Bevan MJ. Shortening the infectious period does not alter expansion of CD8 T cells but diminishes their capacity to differentiate into memory cells. J Immunol. 2004;173:6694–6702. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms