CMV-specific central memory T cells reside in bone marrow

✍ Scribed by Anne Letsch; Maren Knoedler; Il-Kang Na; Florian Kern; Anne-Marie Asemissen; Ulrich Keilholz; Michael Loesch; Eckhard Thiel; Hans-Dieter Volk; Carmen Scheibenbogen

• Book ID: 102165444
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 227 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.200636930

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

CMV‐specific CD8^+^ T cell responses in peripheral blood (PB) are characterized by a preponderance of effector and effector memory T cells. CMV‐specific central memory T cells (T~CM~), which are considered crucial in maintaining long‐term immunity, are rarely detectable in PB. In this study we have analyzed differentiation and function of CMV pp65‐specific CD8^+^ T cells in paired samples of human PB and BM using intracellular cytokine and tetramer staining. Overall frequencies of CMV pp65‐specific T cells were similar in PB compared to BM; however, CMV‐specific CD45RA^–^CCR7^+^ T~CM~ were almost exclusively detectable in BM, which was not related to a general accumulation of T~CM~ in BM. In vitro, CMV‐specific T cells could be more efficiently expanded from BM (median 128‐fold, n=6) than from PB (median 72‐fold, p=0.01). Taken together, these data show that the BM is a compartment harboring CMV‐specific T~CM~ and underline the concept of the BM as a secondary immune organ. CMV specific BM‐derived T~CM~ might be a valuable source for generating T cells for adoptive transfer.