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Review
. 2020 Apr;17(2):109-117.
doi: 10.1007/s11904-020-00481-7.

Defining T Cell Tissue Residency in Humans: Implications for HIV Pathogenesis and Vaccine Design

Barbara L Shacklett  1   2 , April L Ferre  3 , Brenna E Kiniry  3
Affiliations
Review

Defining T Cell Tissue Residency in Humans: Implications for HIV Pathogenesis and Vaccine Design

Barbara L Shacklett et al. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review summarizes recent literature defining tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) and discusses implications for HIV pathogenesis, vaccines, and eradication efforts.

Recent findings: Investigations using animal models and human tissues have identified a TRM transcriptional profile and elucidated signals within the tissue microenvironment leading to TRM development and maintenance. TRM are major contributors to host response in infectious diseases and cancer; in addition, TRM contribute to pathogenic inflammation in a variety of settings. Although TRM are daunting to study in HIV infection, recent work has helped define their molecular signatures and effector functions and tested strategies for their mobilization. Exclusive reliance on blood sampling to gain an understanding of host immunity overlooks the contribution of TRM, which differ in significant ways from their counterparts in circulation. It is hoped that greater understanding of these cells will lead to novel approaches to prevent and/or eradicate HIV infection.

Keywords: CTL; Memory; Mucosa; T cell; Tissue.

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Conflict of interest statement

In addition to the funding sources acknowledged above, during the past year, Dr. Shacklett acted as a Consultant for Merck, Sharp & Dohme. The authors report no conflict of interest that could be interpreted to influence this work.

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