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Regulatory T cell-derived interleukin-15 promotes the diversity of immunological memory |
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| Authors: | Alaa Madi Jingxia Wu Sicong Ma Nina Weisshaar Alessa Mieg Marvin Hering Yanan Ming Ferdinand Zettl Kerstin Mohr Nora ten Bosch Tilo Schlimbach Franziska Hertel Guoliang Cui |
| Affiliation: | 1. T Cell Metabolism Group (D192), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;2. T Cell Metabolism Group (D192), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;3. T Cell Metabolism Group (D192), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON), Mainz, Germany |
| Abstract: | While the immunosuppressive function of regulatory T (Treg) cells has been extensively studied, their immune-supportive roles have been less well investigated. Using a lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) Armstrong infection mouse model, we found that Treg cell-derived interleukin (IL)-15 is required for long-term maintenance of the KLRG1+IL-7Rα−CD62L− terminal effector memory CD8+ T (tTEM) cell subset, but dispensable for the suppressive function of Treg cells themselves. In contrast, deletion of Il15 from other sources, including myeloid cells and muscles, did not affect the composition of the memory CD8+ T cell pool. Our findings identify Treg cells as an essential IL-15 source maintaining tTEM cells and suggest that Treg cells promote the diversity of immunological memory. |
| Keywords: | IL-15 ⋅ Treg cells ⋅ effector memory ⋅ T cells |