Investigation of the molecular mechanisms to control T-cell exhaustion

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26460579
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Immunology
• Research Institution: Ehime University
• Principal Investigator: Yamada Takeshi 愛媛大学, 医学系研究科, 准教授 (40333554)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: T細胞疲弊 / CD8 / 慢性型感染症

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It has been known that T-cell exhaustion reduces function of T cells to eliminate pathogens during chronic infections such as HIV infection. In this study, we thus analyzed the inducible mechanisms of T-cell exhaustion using a mouse model. Our study revealed that T-cell exhaustion was induced in antigen-specific CD8 T cells lacking a tumor suppressor Menin after infection with an intracellular pathogen Listeria. We observed that Menin deficiency enhanced terminal-effector differentiation and increased expression of inhibitory receptors in activated CD8 T cells, suggesting that Menin controls differentiation into effectors and inhibits T-cell exhaustion.

Free Research Field

感染免疫