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
. 2003 Sep 1;102(5):1779-87.
doi: 10.1182/blood-2003-02-0420. Epub 2003 May 15.

Ex vivo characterization of human CD8+ T subsets with distinct replicative history and partial effector functions

Nathalie Rufer  1 , Alfred Zippelius, Pascal Batard, Mikael J Pittet, Isabel Kurth, Patricia Corthesy, Jean-Charles Cerottini, Serge Leyvraz, Eddy Roosnek, Markus Nabholz, Pedro Romero
Affiliations
Free article

Ex vivo characterization of human CD8+ T subsets with distinct replicative history and partial effector functions

Nathalie Rufer et al. Blood. .
Free article

Abstract

After antigenic challenge, naive T lymphocytes enter a program of proliferation and differentiation during the course of which they acquire effector functions and may ultimately become memory cells. In humans, the pathways of effector and memory T-cell differentiation remain poorly defined. Here we describe the properties of 2 CD8+ T-lymphocyte subsets, RA+CCR7-27+28+ and RA+CCR7-27+28-, in human peripheral blood. These cells display phenotypic and functional features that are intermediate between naive and effector T cells. Like naive T lymphocytes, both subsets show relatively long telomeres. However, unlike the naive population, these T cells exhibit reduced levels of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), indicating they have undergone additional rounds of in vivo cell division. Furthermore, we show that they also share effector-type properties. At equivalent in vivo replicative history, the 2 subsets express high levels of Fas/CD95 and CD11a, as well as increasing levels of effector mediators such as granzyme B, perforin, interferon gamma, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Both display partial ex vivo cytolytic activity and can be found among cytomegalovirus-specific cytolytic T cells. Taken together, our data point to the presence of T cells with intermediate effector-like functions and suggest that these subsets consist of T lymphocytes that are evolving toward a more differentiated effector or effector-memory stage.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms