Nat Immunol: Transcription factor BATF3 improves CD8-T cell survival and immune memory.

Oct 6, 2020 //--- When a human body is infected with a pathogen, it usually initiates a series of reactions in which specific cells in the immune system called T cells are activated in the lymph nodes, followed by division and proliferation.
, these cells will gain certain functions that allow them to destroy other cells, such as those infected with the virus.
, they also produce certain proteins, called cytokines, that prevent pathogens from multiplying.
The research by Professor Wolfgang Kastenmueller and Professor Georg Gasteiger of the Institute of Systemic Immunology at the University of Welzburg in Germany focuses on the interaction between the immune system and the body, in particular the interaction of different cells of the immune system within local networks and with cells in other organ systems.
a new study, Kastenmueller and his team deciphered new details about the functioning of the immune system, which is important for the immune system to remember recent infections.
results were published online September 28, 2020 in the journal Nature Immunology under the title "BATF3 programs CD8 plus T cell memory".
their findings may help improve immunotherapy for cancer diseases.
images from Nature Immunology, 2020, doi:10.1038/s41590-020-0786-2.
if the body has successfully combated and eliminated a pathogen, most of the T cells that have recently proliferated will no longer need to die," explains Kastenmueller, a researcher at the University of New South China.
" but about 5 to 10 percent of these T-cells survive and develop into a long-standing "memory T-cell population" that will protect the body from future infections.
In this study, we identified a transcription factor---BATF3, which very specifically regulates the survival of these cells and their transition to memory response," said Kastenmueller, who introduced the main findings of his study.
" the researchers confirmed that this transcription factor only occurs shortly after the initial activation of T cells.
absence of this transcription factor can lead to permanent failure of the memory response.
, the role of this transcription factor on so-called CD8-T cells is unclear.
the importance of this transcription factor became clear only after the researchers overexpressed the transcription factor in CD8-T cells, because they could observe that the cells survived, resulting in a significant improvement in immune memory.
study, which combines basic research with applied medicine, could help develop better cancer treatments, such as so-called CAR-T cell therapy, using the patient's immune system.
in CAR-T cell therapy, T cells are extracted from the patient's blood and then genetically modified to express chimic antigen-treated (CAR) molecules.
genetic modification allows these T-cells to attack tumor cells that could not previously be detected by bio-chemical methods.
these genetically modified T-cells are then transferred back into the patient.
car-T cells have been successfully used to treat diseases such as B-cell lymphoma, a malignant disease of the lymphatic system.
, the Kastenmueller team, together with Professor Hudecek, is planning to improve CAR-T cells to improve patient survival and improve treatment efficiency.
(bioon.com) Reference: 1.Marco A. Ataide et al. BATF3 programs CD8 plus T cell memory. Nature Immunology, 2020, doi:10.1038/s41590-020-0786-2.2.Memory training for the system.