CD8 + T cell contraction is controlled by early inflammation

• Published in: Nature immunology Vol. 5; no. 8; pp. 809 - 817
• Main Authors: Harty, John T, Badovinac, Vladimir P, Porter, Brandon B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Nature Publishing Group 01.08.2004
• Subjects: Ampicillin - therapeutic use; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Immunologic Memory; Inflammation; Interferon-gamma - immunology; Listeria monocytogenes - immunology; Listeriosis - drug therapy; Listeriosis - immunology; Mice; Pathogens
• ISSN: 1529-2908; 1529-2916
• DOI: 10.1038/ni1098

Pathogen-specific CD8(+) T cells expand in number after infection and then their numbers invariably contract by 90-95%, leaving a stable memory cell pool. The chief features of this response are programmed early after infection; however, the factors regulating contraction are mostly undefined. Here we show that antibiotic treatment before Listeria monocytogenes infection induced numbers of protective memory CD8(+) T cells similar to those in control infected mice, by a pathway without contraction. The absence of contraction correlated with decreased early inflammation and interferon-gamma production and an increased fraction of CD8(+) T cells expressing the interleukin 7 receptor at the peak of the response. Thus, contraction is controlled by early inflammation but is not essential for the generation of protective memory CD8(+) T cells after infection.