BACKGROUND: Antibody alone cannot provide optimal protection against many infectious diseases impacting global heath. In these cases, our challenge is to develop innovative vaccines that generate protective populations of memory T cells. However, our studies suggest that current paradigms explaining how memory CD4 T cells provide protection are inadequate. This is likely due to both the paucity of and heterogeneity of memory CD4 T cells observed in vivo, which make analysis extremely difficult. SUMMARY: Here, we discuss new findings that indicate there is extensive functional heterogeneity within effector and memory CD4 T cell populations both in vivo and in vitro. Using influenza as an example, we also discuss the merits of employing reductionist approaches to explore how unique subsets of CD4 T cells are generated, what mechanisms of protection they use, and where they stand on the axes of differentiation that define T cell subsets.
BACKGROUND: Antibody alone cannot provide optimal protection against many infectious diseases impacting global heath. In these cases, our challenge is to develop innovative vaccines that generate protective populations of memory T cells. However, our studies suggest that current paradigms explaining how memory CD4 T cells provide protection are inadequate. This is likely due to both the paucity of and heterogeneity of memory CD4 T cells observed in vivo, which make analysis extremely difficult. SUMMARY: Here, we discuss new findings that indicate there is extensive functional heterogeneity within effector and memory CD4 T cell populations both in vivo and in vitro. Using influenza as an example, we also discuss the merits of employing reductionist approaches to explore how unique subsets of CD4 T cells are generated, what mechanisms of protection they use, and where they stand on the axes of differentiation that define T cell subsets.
Authors: Susan L Swain; Javed N Agrewala; Deborah M Brown; Dawn M Jelley-Gibbs; Susanne Golech; Gail Huston; Stephen C Jones; Cris Kamperschroer; Won-Ha Lee; K Kai McKinstry; Eulogia Román; Tara Strutt; Nan-ping Weng Journal: Immunol Rev Date: 2006-06 Impact factor: 12.988
Authors: Liang Zhou; Jared E Lopes; Mark M W Chong; Ivaylo I Ivanov; Roy Min; Gabriel D Victora; Yuelei Shen; Jianguang Du; Yuri P Rubtsov; Alexander Y Rudensky; Steven F Ziegler; Dan R Littman Journal: Nature Date: 2008-03-26 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: K Kai McKinstry; Susanne Golech; Won-Ha Lee; Gail Huston; Nan-Ping Weng; Susan L Swain Journal: J Exp Med Date: 2007-08-27 Impact factor: 14.307
Authors: Paul Thiamjoo Tan; A T Heiny; Olivo Miotto; Jerome Salmon; Ernesto T A Marques; Francois Lemonnier; J Thomas August Journal: PLoS One Date: 2010-01-18 Impact factor: 3.240