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TCR signaling requirements for activating T cells and for generating memory

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Abstract

Over the last two decades the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying T cell activation, expansion, differentiation, and memory formation have been intensively investigated. These studies revealed that the generation of memory T cells is critically impacted by a number of factors, including the magnitude of the inflammatory response and cytokine production, the type of dendritic cell [DC] that presents the pathogen derived antigen, their maturation status, and the concomitant provision of costimulation. Nevertheless, the primary stimulus leading to T cell activation is generated through the T cell receptor [TCR] following its engagement with a peptide MHC ligand [pMHC]. The purpose of this review is to highlight classical and recent findings on how antigen recognition, the degree of TCR stimulation, and intracellular signal transduction pathways impact the formation of effector and memory T cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Immunology and Allergy, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and Swiss Vaccine Research Institute, Centre des Laboratoires d’Epalinges-CLE, Bipole 3, Ch. des Boveresses 155, 1066, Epalinges, Switzerland

    Dietmar Zehn

  2. Laboratory of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4031, Basel, Switzerland

    Carolyn King & Ed Palmer

  3. Department of Immunology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Michael J. Bevan

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  1. Dietmar Zehn
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  2. Carolyn King
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  3. Michael J. Bevan
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  4. Ed Palmer
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Correspondence to Dietmar Zehn.

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Zehn, D., King, C., Bevan, M.J. et al. TCR signaling requirements for activating T cells and for generating memory. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 69, 1565–1575 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-012-0965-x

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