| First Author | Frentsch M | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Blood | Volume | 122 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 405-12 |
| PubMed ID | 23719298 | Mgi Jnum | J:201344 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5513044 | Doi | 10.1182/blood-2013-02-483586 |
| Citation | Frentsch M, et al. (2013) CD40L expression permits CD8+ T cells to execute immunologic helper functions. Blood 122(3):405-12 |
| abstractText | CD8(+) T cells play an essential role in immunity against intracellular pathogens, with cytotoxicity being considered their major effector mechanism. However, we here demonstrate that a major part of central and effector memory CD8(+) T cells expresses CD40L, one key molecule for CD4(+) T-cell-mediated help. CD40L(+) CD8(+) T cells are detectable among human antigen-specific immune responses, including pathogens such as influenza and yellow fever virus. CD40L(+) CD8(+) T cells display potent helper functions in vitro and in vivo, such as activation of antigen-presenting cells, and exhibit a cytokine expression signature similar to CD4(+) T cells and unrelated to cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells. The broad occurrence of CD40L(+) CD8(+) T cells in cellular immunity implicates that helper functions are not only executed by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted CD4(+) helper T cells but are also a common feature of MHC class I-restricted CD8(+) T cell responses. Due to their versatile functional capacities, human CD40L(+) CD8(+) T cells are promising candidate cells for immune therapies, particularly when CD4(+) T-cell help or pathogen-associated molecular pattern signals are limited. |
