| First Author | Cox MA | Year | 2019 |
| Journal | Science | Volume | 363 |
| Issue | 6427 | Pages | 639-644 |
| PubMed ID | 30733420 | Mgi Jnum | J:271383 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6280514 | Doi | 10.1126/science.aau9072 |
| Citation | Cox MA, et al. (2019) Choline acetyltransferase-expressing T cells are required to control chronic viral infection. Science 363(6427):639-644 |
| abstractText | Although widely studied as a neurotransmitter, T cell-derived acetylcholine (ACh) has recently been reported to play an important role in regulating immunity. However, the role of lymphocyte-derived ACh in viral infection is unknown. Here, we show that the enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of ACh production, is robustly induced in both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in an IL-21-dependent manner. Deletion of Chat within the T cell compartment in mice ablated vasodilation in response to infection, impaired the migration of antiviral T cells into infected tissues, and ultimately compromised the control of chronic LCMV clone 13 infection. Our results reveal a genetic proof of function for ChAT in T cells during viral infection and identify a pathway of T cell migration that sustains antiviral immunity. |
