Tumor-specific memory CD8+ T cells are strictly resident in draining lymph nodes during tumorigenesis
Qiao Liu, Ling Ran, Zhengliang Yue, Xingxing Su, Lisha Wang, Shuqiong Wen, Shun� Lei, Xiaofan Yang, Yan Zhang, Jianjun Hu, Jianfang Tang, Zhirong Li, Hu Li, Bo Zhu, Lifan Xu, Lilin Ye, Qizhao Huang
Abstract
The functional exhaustion of CD8 + T cells represents a fundamental hallmark of chronic viral infection and cancer and, in both scenarios, is driven by prolonged exposure to persistent cognate antigens in the context of an immunoinhibitory microenvironment. Exhausted CD8 + T cells upregulate the expression of a wide diversity of coinhibitory immunoreceptors (also referred to as immune checkpoint receptors), such as PD-1, Tim-3, LAG-3, and TIGIT. Concomitantly, exhausted CD8 + T cells lose their potential to differentiate into functional memory cells and are characterized by hierarchical loss of effector function, leading to compromised tumor control and viral eradication [ 1 , 2 ].