Immunology. Ex uno plura

Abstract

T cells that respond quickly to infection and later to reinfection arise from a single precursor cell type.

Figure 1. From one, many

The development of the distinct types of memory CD8⁺ T cells from a single clonal precursor might occur according to the asymmetric cell division model, in which a stimulated naïve T cell produces two daughter cells with distinct fates—one giving rise to effector T cells and the other to memory T cells. Only the latter can undergo secondary expansion in response to antigen. In the linear T cell differentiation model, memory T cells that descend from effector T cells retain the capacity for secondary clonal expansion.