June 29, 2020

Stina Urban, PhD

Lecia Epping, BS

This article, entitled Peripherally induced brain tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells mediate protection against CNS infections describes the unexpected finding that infections and immunizations outside of the central nervous system induce a population of memory CD8 T cells that are stably maintained in the brain. These T cells possess unique tissue specific attributes that help them survey and protect the brain from subsequent infections. The insights gained from this study have the potential to enhance vaccines against infections of the CNS and serve to further highlight the complex interplay between the CNS and peripheral immune system.

This study was a collaborative effort between the Harty lab, Isaac Jensen in Vladimir Badovinac's lab and Qiang Shan in Hai-Hui Xue's Lab.

View the online publication of this paper in Nature Immunology.