A decrease of peripheral naive T lymphocytes and concomitant increase of peripheral
memory T lymphocytes are prominent features of immunosenescence which are widely regarded as the main underlying reasons for age-related immunological abnormalities.
Additionally, these two observations challenge the paradigm that
memory T lymphocytes need to proliferate in order to mediate protective immunity and suggest that recirculation is indeed fundamental.
Lanzavecchia, "Two subsets of
memory T lymphocytes with distinct homing potentials and effector functions," Nature, vol.
There is now evidence that these stem cell-like attributes and signalling pathways are also shared among subsets of mature
memory T lymphocytes. We discuss how using stem cell-like T cells can overcome the limitations of current adoptive T cell therapies, including inefficient T cell engraftment, persistence and ability to mediate prolonged immune attack.
In humans, numerous studies have established the favorable prognosis associated with an infiltration of primary tumors by abundant
memory T lymphocytes, particularly CD8 T lymphocytes.
When this occurs, cells called
memory T lymphocytes are produced.
