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Review
. 2020 Jun:49:101435.
doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2020.101435. Epub 2020 Nov 30.

Memory CD8+ T cell responses to cancer

Jichang Han  1 , Nikhil Khatwani  1 , Tyler G Searles  2 , Mary Jo Turk  3 , Christina V Angeles  4
Affiliations
Review

Memory CD8+ T cell responses to cancer

Jichang Han et al. Semin Immunol. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Long-lived memory CD8+ T cells play important roles in tumor immunity. Studies over the past two decades have identified four subsets of memory CD8+ T cells - central, effector, stem-like, and tissue resident memory - that either circulate through blood, lymphoid and peripheral organs, or reside in tissues where cancers develop. In this article, we will review studies from both pre-clinical mouse models and human patients to summarize the phenotype, distribution and unique features of each memory subset, and highlight specific roles of each subset in anti-tumor immunity. Moreover, we will discuss how stem-cell like and resident memory CD8+ T cell subsets relate to exhausted tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) populations. These studies reveal how memory CD8+ T cell subsets together orchestrate durable immunity to cancer.

Keywords: Central memory (T(CM)); Effector memory (T(EM)); Exhaustion; Resident memory (T(RM)); Stem cell memory (T(SCM)); Tumor immunity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests Statement

All authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Tumor-specific memory T cells distribute throughout circulation and tumors.
TCM, TEM, TEFF, and TSCM populations are found in circulation. In contrast, TRM cells reside in tissues and tumors, but are excluded from the blood. Whereas TEFF cells readily undergo apoptosis, TEM and TRM cells persist more durably. The relationships between different subsets are indicated using thin black arrows. Upon antigen re-encounter, TCM cells are capable of self-renewal and differentiating into TEM, TEFF and TRM cells. TSCM cells are capable of self-renewal and differentiation to TCM, TEM and TEFF in lymph node. Moreover, TRM cells can become TCM and TEM cells following local reactivation. The big arrow at the bottom left indicates the thoracic duct that drains to the circulation system. Image created using BioRender (https://biorender.com).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Transcriptional profiles and functions of memory CD8+ T cell subsets in the tumor microenvironment.
TEM, stem-like memory/TEXprog, and TRM cells are each found in tumors. Black circular arrows indicate self-proliferation of stem-like memory/TEXprog cells. Two different subsets of TRM cells are shown, with one subset exhibiting features of exhaustion. Image created using BioRender (https://biorender.com).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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