Human CD8+ memory- and effector-type T cells are poorly defined. We show here that, next to a naive compartment, two discrete primed subpopulations can be found within the circulating human CD8+ T cell subset. First, CD45RA−CD45R0+ cells are reminiscent of memory-type T cells in that they express elevated levels of CD95 (Fas) and the integrin family members CD11a, CD18, CD29, CD49d, and CD49e, compared to naive CD8+ T cells, and are able to secrete not only interleukin (IL) 2 but also interferon γ, tumor necrosis factor α, and IL-4. This subset does not exert cytolytic activity without prior in vitro stimulation but does contain virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) precursors. A second primed population is characterized by CD45RA expression with concomitant absence of expression of the costimulatory molecules CD27 and CD28. The CD8+CD45RA+CD27− population contains T cells expressing high levels of CD11a, CD11b, CD18, and CD49d, whereas CD62L (L-selectin) is not expressed. These T cells do not secrete IL-2 or -4 but can produce IFN-γ and TNF-α. In accordance with this finding, cells contained within this subpopulation depend for proliferation on exogenous growth factors such as IL-2 and -15. Interestingly, CD8+CD45RA+CD27− cells parallel effector CTLs, as they abundantly express Fas-ligand mRNA, contain perforin and granzyme B, and have high cytolytic activity without in vitro prestimulation. Based on both phenotypic and functional properties, we conclude that memory- and effector-type T cells can be separated as distinct entities within the human CD8+ T cell subset.
Phenotypic and Functional Separation of Memory and Effector Human CD8+ T Cells
Address correspondence to René A.W. van Lier, Department of Clinical Viro-Immunology, Central Laboratory of the Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Plesmanlaan 125, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-20-5123317; FAX: 31-20-5123310.
D. Hamann was supported by the Human Capital and Mobility Programme of the European Community, and P.A. Baars and M.H.G. Rep were supported by the Dutch Society for Support of Research on Multiple Sclerosis.
Abbreviations used in this paper: B-LCL, B lymphoblastoid cell lines; p, precursors; RT, reverse transcriptase.
Dörte Hamann, Paul A. Baars, Martin H.G. Rep, Berend Hooibrink, Susana R. Kerkhof-Garde, Michèl R. Klein, René A.W. van Lier; Phenotypic and Functional Separation of Memory and Effector Human CD8+ T Cells . J Exp Med 3 November 1997; 186 (9): 1407–1418. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.186.9.1407
Download citation file:
Sign in
Client Account
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionSuggested Content
Email alerts
Advertisement