Researchers report that T cells in the tonsils differ in important ways from T cells found in blood. A research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, led by Naresha Saligrama, worked with collaborators including the University of California, Irvine. Their results were published in the journal Immunity.
The group used single-cell sequencing on 5.7 million T cells taken from tonsil tissue and from blood. Samples came from ten healthy donors undergoing tonsillectomy, with ages ranging from infants to adults. Comparing cells from the same patients revealed significant differences between tonsil-derived T cells and blood T cells.
The study explains that less than 2% of the body’s T cells are in blood; most live in the lymphatic system (spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils) or in non-lymphatic tissues such as the gut, skin and lungs. Some specialized types, including resident memory T cells and T follicular helper cells, are found almost only in tissue. A T cell’s location can affect its subtype and its ability to bind particular antigens.
Because of these location-based differences, the researchers advise that clinicians and scientists consider tissue sites when evaluating vaccine responses and immunotherapies, and they call for further study of T cells in other tissues. The work received multiyear, multi-million-dollar funding from the nonprofit Wellcome Leap. Source: Washington University in St. Louis.
Difficult words
- tonsil — small lymphoid organ at the throattonsils
- tonsillectomy — surgical removal of the tonsils
- single-cell sequencing — method to read genes in individual cells
- lymphatic system — network of organs and vessels for immune transport
- antigen — substance that the immune system can recognizeantigens
- immunotherapy — treatment that uses the immune systemimmunotherapies
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Discussion questions
- Why could the location of a T cell change its subtype or function? Give examples from the article or your knowledge.
- How might these findings affect the way vaccine trials or immunotherapy studies are designed?
- What practical challenges do you think researchers face when studying immune cells in different tissues rather than blood?
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