兩個愛潑斯坦-巴爾病毒(Epstein-Barr virus, EBV)顆粒,圖片來自維基共享資源。
根據2012年3月5日發表在Journal of Experimental Medicine期刊上的一篇研究論文,人類免疫系統產生的新記憶並不是以舊記憶消失為代價。
記憶殺傷性T細胞(memory killer T cell)是一類特化細胞(specialized cell),是在對特定感染做出免疫應答後產生的。小鼠實驗已表明產生新的記憶T細胞導致舊的記憶T細胞激活和隨後的死亡,這可能是因為小鼠免疫系統只能容納一定數目的記憶T細胞。
但是人類免疫系通過似乎不受這種空間限制的制約。在對大學生進行的追蹤性研究中,來自美國明尼蘇達大學醫學院的Kristin Hogquist和同事們發現愛潑斯坦-巴爾病毒(Epstein-Barr virus, EBV,它是導致傳染性單核細胞增多症產生的病因)導致的急性感染觸發其他病毒特異性的記憶T細胞激活。但是這些細胞既不增殖也不會死亡,也就意味著它們的數目不受時間影響,一直保持不變。
因此,人類記憶T細胞只會隨著時間的增加而不斷堆積。這對免疫應答是否產生有益或者有害影響還有待進一步觀察。(生物谷:towersimper編譯)
Primary Epstein-Barr virus infection does not erode preexisting CD8+ T cell memory in humans
Oludare A. Odumade, Jennifer A. Knight, David O. Schmeling, David Masopust, Henry H. Balfour Jr., and Kristin A. Hogquist
Acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection results in an unusually robust CD8+ T cell response in young adults. Based on mouse studies, such a response would be predicted to result in attrition of preexisting memory to heterologous infections like influenza A (Flu) and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Furthermore, many studies have attempted to define the lymphocytosis that occurs during acute EBV infection in humans, but it is unclear whether bystander T cells contribute to it. To address these issues, we performed a longitudinal prospective study of primary EBV infection in humans. During acute EBV infection, both preexisting CMV- and Flu-specific memory CD8+ T cells showed signs of bystander activation, including up-regulation of granzyme B. However, they generally did not expand, suggesting that the profound CD8+ lymphocytosis associated with acute EBV infection is composed largely of EBV-specific T cells. Importantly, the numbers of CMV- and Flu-specific T cells were comparable before and after acute EBV infection. The data support the concept that, in humans, a robust CD8+ T cell response creates a new memory CD8+ T cell niche without substantially depleting preexisting memory for heterologous infections.