| First Author | Schluns KS | Year | 2002 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 168 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 4827-31 |
| PubMed ID | 11994430 | Mgi Jnum | J:109854 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3630030 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.168.10.4827 |
| Citation | Schluns KS, et al. (2002) Cutting edge: requirement for IL-15 in the generation of primary and memory antigen-specific CD8 T cells. J Immunol 168(10):4827-31 |
| abstractText | IL-15 and IL-15Ralpha are required for generation of memory-phenotype CD8 T cells in unimmunized mice. However, the role of IL-15 in primary expansion and generation of Ag-specific memory CD8 T cells in vivo has not been investigated. We characterized the CD8 T cell response against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in IL-15(-/-) and IL-15Ralpha(-/-) mice. Surprisingly, IL-15 was required for primary expansion of VSV-specific CD8 T cells. The generation of VSV-specific memory CD8 T cells was also impaired without IL-15 signaling, and this defect correlated with a decrease in memory CD8 T cell turnover. Despite minimal proliferation without IL-15, a subset of memory cells survived long-term. IL-15Ralpha expression was low on naive CD8 T cells, up-regulated on Ag-specific effector cells, and sustained on memory cells. Thus, IL-15 was important for the generation and the subsequent maintenance of antiviral memory CD8 T cells. |
