Journal Article

The developmental pathway for CD103 super(+)CD8 super(+) tissue-resident memory T cells of skin

Carbone, Francis R, Stock, Angus T, Stefanovic, Tijana, Hafon, Ming-Li, Vega-Ramos, Javier, Heath, William R, Mueller, Scott N, Mackay, Laura K, Lauzurica, Pilar, Inouye, Michael, Rahimpour, Azad, Tscharke, David C, Ma, Joel Z, Collins, Nicholas, Gebhardt, Thomas

2013

Overview

Tissue-resident memory T cells (T sub(RM) cells) provide superior protection against infection in extralymphoid tissues. Here we found that CD103 super(+)CD8 super(+) T sub(RM) cells developed in the skin from epithelium-infiltrating precursor cells that lacked expression of the effector-cell marker KLRG1. A combination of entry into the epithelium plus local signaling by interleukin 15 (IL-15) and transforming growth factor- beta (TGF- beta ) was required for the formation of these long-lived memory cells. Notably, differentiation into T sub(RM) cells resulted in the progressive acquisition of a unique transcriptional profile that differed from that of circulating memory cells and other types of T cells that permanently reside in skin epithelium. We provide a comprehensive molecular framework for the local differentiation of a distinct peripheral population of memory cells that forms a first-line immunological defense system in barrier tissues.