WIKIMEDIA, NIHResearchers have tracked a type of immune cell called T memory stem cells in patients who received infusions of genetically modified lymphocytes more than a decade ago. According to a paper published today (February 4) in Science Translational Medicine, the team found not only that a population of the stem cells are still present, but also that they give rise to other types of T lymphocyte.
“For the first time there is monitoring of the clonal dynamics of T memory stem cells in humans for a long period of time—up to 12 years,” said transplantation and immunology expert Luca Gattinoni of the National Cancer Institute who was not involved in the work. “It provides the best evidence so far of the ability of stem cells to survive . . . and to sustain an adult T cell population.”
T memory stem cells have antigen-specific memory—just like central memory and effector memory T cells—yet share many of the stem-like characteristics of naive T cells, which have never been exposed to foreign antigens. “They are in the middle between naive cells and memory cells, combining self-renewal with differentiation potential,” said Luca Biasco of ...
