• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: γδ T cells come to stay: Innate skin memory in the Aldara model
  • Contributor: Prinz, Immo; Sandrock, Inga
  • Published: Wiley, 2015
  • Published in: European Journal of Immunology, 45 (2015) 11, Seite 2994-2997
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1002/eji.201546033
  • ISSN: 0014-2980; 1521-4141
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: The term immunological memory has long been a trademark restricted to adaptive lymphocytes such as memory B cells and plasma cells as well as memory CD8+ αβ T cells. In recent years, innate lymphocytes such as NK cells have also been shown to adapt to their environment by antigen‐specific expansion and selective survival. However, whether γδ T cells mount comparable memory responses to pathogenic stimuli is less well understood. In this issue of European Journal of Immunology, Hartwig et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2015. 45: 3022–3033] identify a subset of IL‐17‐producing γδ T cells that are capable of establishing long‐lived memory in the skin of mice exposed to imiquimod in the Aldara psoriasis model. These γδ T cells uniformly express a Vγ4+Vδ4+ TCR. They produce IL‐17A/F and persist in the dermis for long periods of time, also at untreated distal sites. Upon secondary challenge, experienced Vγ4+Vδ4+ cells show enhanced effector functions and mediate exacerbated secondary inflammation. These findings showcase innate γδ T‐cell memory that uses a single conserved public TCR combination. Furthermore, they provide mechanistic insight to the observed psoriatic relapses in patients in response to topical treatment with imiquimod.
  • Access State: Open Access