Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells

Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM cells) are a population of immune cells that reside in the lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs without recirculation through the blood. These important cells occupy and utilize unique anatomical and physiological niches that are distinct from those for other memory T...

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Main Author: Shiki Takamura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Immunology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01214/full
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author Shiki Takamura
author_facet Shiki Takamura
author_sort Shiki Takamura
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description Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM cells) are a population of immune cells that reside in the lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs without recirculation through the blood. These important cells occupy and utilize unique anatomical and physiological niches that are distinct from those for other memory T cell populations, such as central memory T cells in the secondary lymphoid organs and effector memory T cells that circulate through the tissues. CD8+ TRM cells typically localize in the epithelial layers of barrier tissues where they are optimally positioned to act as sentinels to trigger antigen-specific protection against reinfection. CD4+ TRM cells typically localize below the epithelial layers, such as below the basement membrane, and cluster in lymphoid structures designed to optimize interactions with antigen-presenting cells upon reinfection. A key feature of TRM populations is their ability to be maintained in barrier tissues for prolonged periods of time. For example, skin CD8+ TRM cells displace epidermal niches originally occupied by γδ T cells, thereby enabling their stable persistence for years. It is also clear that the long-term maintenance of TRM cells in different microenvironments is dependent on multiple tissue-specific survival cues, although the specific details are poorly understood. However, not all TRM persist over the long term. Recently, we identified a new spatial niche for the maintenance of CD8+ TRM cells in the lung, which is created at the site of tissue regeneration after injury [termed repair-associated memory depots (RAMD)]. The short-lived nature of RAMD potentially explains the short lifespans of CD8+ TRM cells in this particular tissue. Clearly, a better understanding of the niche-dependent maintenance of TRM cells will be important for the development of vaccines designed to promote barrier immunity. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the properties and nature of tissue-specific niches that maintain TRM cells in different tissues.
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spelling doaj.art-7bcdcd13396c47fdb1bcfc1e4ec5b6862022-12-22T03:46:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242018-05-01910.3389/fimmu.2018.01214381575Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T CellsShiki TakamuraTissue-resident memory T cells (TRM cells) are a population of immune cells that reside in the lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs without recirculation through the blood. These important cells occupy and utilize unique anatomical and physiological niches that are distinct from those for other memory T cell populations, such as central memory T cells in the secondary lymphoid organs and effector memory T cells that circulate through the tissues. CD8+ TRM cells typically localize in the epithelial layers of barrier tissues where they are optimally positioned to act as sentinels to trigger antigen-specific protection against reinfection. CD4+ TRM cells typically localize below the epithelial layers, such as below the basement membrane, and cluster in lymphoid structures designed to optimize interactions with antigen-presenting cells upon reinfection. A key feature of TRM populations is their ability to be maintained in barrier tissues for prolonged periods of time. For example, skin CD8+ TRM cells displace epidermal niches originally occupied by γδ T cells, thereby enabling their stable persistence for years. It is also clear that the long-term maintenance of TRM cells in different microenvironments is dependent on multiple tissue-specific survival cues, although the specific details are poorly understood. However, not all TRM persist over the long term. Recently, we identified a new spatial niche for the maintenance of CD8+ TRM cells in the lung, which is created at the site of tissue regeneration after injury [termed repair-associated memory depots (RAMD)]. The short-lived nature of RAMD potentially explains the short lifespans of CD8+ TRM cells in this particular tissue. Clearly, a better understanding of the niche-dependent maintenance of TRM cells will be important for the development of vaccines designed to promote barrier immunity. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the properties and nature of tissue-specific niches that maintain TRM cells in different tissues.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01214/fulldistribution of memory T cellsmaintenance of memory T cellsmucosal immunityinfectious immunityvaccine
spellingShingle Shiki Takamura
Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
Frontiers in Immunology
distribution of memory T cells
maintenance of memory T cells
mucosal immunity
infectious immunity
vaccine
title Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
title_full Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
title_fullStr Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
title_full_unstemmed Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
title_short Niches for the Long-Term Maintenance of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
title_sort niches for the long term maintenance of tissue resident memory t cells
topic distribution of memory T cells
maintenance of memory T cells
mucosal immunity
infectious immunity
vaccine
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01214/full
work_keys_str_mv AT shikitakamura nichesforthelongtermmaintenanceoftissueresidentmemorytcells