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T Cell Immunity

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Management of Infections in the Immunocompromised Host

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Abstract

T cells are major effector and regulatory lymphocytes of the immune system and are critically important contributors to adaptive immune responses. Antigen-specific T cells develop in the thymus where they undergo an intricate maturation and selection process. This allows their expression of clonally diverse antigen receptors that recognize cognate antigens, which in the majority of cases are peptides derived from foreign or self-proteins that are presented by major histocompatibility complex molecules. T cells express specific cell surface and intracellular proteins that allow them to be identified and distinguished from other types of leukocytes and also to be separated into a growing variety of distinct subsets with different functions. Current knowledge on the diversity of T cell subsets extends far beyond the originally recognized phenotypic and functional dichotomy of CD4+ helper versus CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. In addition, a variety of less numerous nonconventional T cell subtypes have been recognized, including specialized populations such as γδ T cells, NKT cells, and MAIT cells. These share some features with conventional T cells but also differ in important ways with respect to the nature of their cognate antigens and the mechanisms by which these are presented. The current chapter provides a general overview of the principal features of conventional T cells and also briefly covers the properties and proposed functions of the less well-understood nonconventional T cell subsets.

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Abbreviations

AIDS:

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

APC:

Antigen-presenting cell

BCR:

B cell receptor

CD:

Cluster of differentiation

CTL:

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte

CTLA-4:

Cytotoxic lymphocyte-associated molecule-4

DC:

Dendritic cell

DN:

Double negative

GC:

Galactosylceramide

HIV:

Human immunodeficiency virus

ICOS:

Inducible costimulatory signal

IEL:

Intraepithelial lymphocytes

IFNγ:

Interferon gamma

IL:

Interleukin

IPEX:

Immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy X-linked

MAIT:

Mucosa-associated invariant T

MHC:

Major histocompatibility complex

NK:

Natural killer

NKT:

Natural killer T

PD:

Programmed death

pMHC:

Peptide-MHC complex

Tc:

T cytotoxic cell

TCR:

T cell receptor

Tfh:

Follicular helper T cell

TGFβ:

Transforming growth factor β

Th:

T helper cell

Treg:

T regulatory cell

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge support from NIH grants AI45889 and AI093649 (both awarded to SAP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Shalu Sharma Kharkwal & Steven A. Porcelli

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  1. Shalu Sharma Kharkwal
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Correspondence to Steven A. Porcelli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Medicine and Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York, USA

    Brahm H. Segal

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Kharkwal, S.S., Porcelli, S.A. (2018). T Cell Immunity. In: Segal, B. (eds) Management of Infections in the Immunocompromised Host. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77674-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77674-3_2

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