Distribution of activated T cells migrating through the body: a matter of life and death

Abstract

The preferential distribution of lymphocyte subsets in tissues is attributed to a selective lymphocyte-endothelium interaction during entry. However, proliferation and death within the tissue, and exit from the tissue, might also play a role. Here, Jürgen Westermann and Ulrike Bode provide evidence that preferential survival in the tissue of initial stimulation is the major factor in the preferential distribution of activated T cells.