Genes up-regulated in CD8 T cells: naïve versus effectors at day 15 chronic infection with LCMV-clone 13.
Full description or abstract
During acute viral infections, naïve CD8+ T cells differentiate into effector CD8+ T cells and, after viral control, into memory CD8+ T cells. Memory CD8+ T cells are highly functional, proliferate rapidly upon reinfection and persist long-term without antigen. In contrast, during chronic infections, CD8+ T cells become ?exhausted? and have poor effector function, express multiple inhibitory receptors, possess low proliferative capacity, and cannot persist without antigen. To compare the development of functional memory T cells with poorly functional exhausted T cells, we generated longitudinal transcriptional profiles for each.