| First Author | Schmidt NW | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Eur J Immunol | Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 629-40 |
| PubMed ID | 22161269 | Mgi Jnum | J:187790 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5438192 | Doi | 10.1002/eji.201141902 |
| Citation | Schmidt NW, et al. (2012) Perforin plays an unexpected role in regulating T-cell contraction during prolonged Listeria monocytogenes infection. Eur J Immunol 42(3):629-40 |
| abstractText | After infection or vaccination, antigen-specific T cells proliferate then contract in numbers to a memory set point. T-cell contraction is observed after both acute and prolonged infections although it is unknown if contraction is regulated similarly in both scenarios. Here, we show that contraction of antigen-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells is markedly reduced in TNF/perforin-double deficient (DKO) mice responding to attenuated Listeria monocytogenes infection. Reduced contraction in DKO mice was associated with delayed clearance of infection and sustained T-cell proliferation during the normal contraction interval. Mechanistically, sustained T-cell proliferation mapped to prolonged infection in the absence of TNF; however, reduced contraction required the additional absence of perforin since T cells in mice lacking either TNF or perforin (singly deficient) underwent normal contraction. Thus, while T-cell contraction after acute infection is independent of peforin, a perforin-dependent pathway plays a previously unappreciated role to mediate contraction of antigen-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells during prolonged L. monocytogenes infection. |
