The CD8α–PILRα interaction maintains CD8 + T cell quiescence

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz8658
• Publication Date: 2022-05-26T17:57:34Z
• Authors: Linghua Zheng; Xue Han; Sheng Yao; Yuwen Zhu; John Klement; Shirley Wu; Lan Ji; Gefeng Zhu; Xiaoxiao Cheng; Zuzana Tobiasova; Weiwei Yu; Baozhu Huang; Matthew D. Vesely; Jun Wang; Jianping Zhang; Edward Quinlan; Lieping Chen
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Membrane Glycoproteins; CD8 Antigens; Dendritic Cells; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Lymphocyte Activation; 3. Good health; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Antigens; Receptors, Immunologic; Gene Deletion

T cell quiescence is essential for maintaining a broad repertoire against large pool of diverse antigens from microbes and tumors, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. We show here that CD8α critical maintenance CD8 + cells in physiologically quiescent state peripheral lymphoid organs. Upon inducible deletion CD8α, both naïve memory spontaneously acquired activation phenotypes subsequently died without exposure to specific antigens. PILRα was identified as ligand mice humans, disruption this interaction able break quiescence. Thus, size actively maintained by CD8α–PILRα absence antigen exposure.