A possible role for bcl-2 in regulating T-cell memory--a 'balancing act' between cell death and survival.

One of the central questions in T-cell immunity is how the generation of T-cell memory may proceed simultaneously with the maintenance of T-cell homeostasis. In this article, we present a hypothesis that the regulation of bcl-2 gene expression within the activated CD45RO+ T-cell population may be one of the key factors in the balance between death and survival of these activated mature T cells, both in vitro and in vivo.