Cd 8 Memory Cell Localization In Bone Marrow
Open Access
- Author:
- Watson, Monica Ingrid
- Area of Honors:
- Immunology and Infectious Disease
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Sorujit Sarkar, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Pamela A. Hankey-Giblin, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- CD8 T Cells
Immunologic Memory
Bone Marrow
Cellular Localization - Abstract:
- Immunological memory is one of the most important functions of the adaptive immune system, but also one of the least understood components. The generation and maintenance of CD8 T memory cells are important processes that provide long term immunity and protection against recurrent infections. These memory cells have been demonstrated to preferentially reside in the bone marrow of mice; however the localization within the bone marrow is poorly understood. Bone marrow is a highly structured organ, and understanding the localization of T memory cells may lead to key insights about what kind of signals are maintaining these cells. All immune cells begin in the bone marrow as haematopoeitic stem cells. Some of these stem cells leave the bone marrow and home to the thymus, to develop into naïve T cells. Once presented with antigen, the T cell becomes activated. Some cells proliferate into terminal effector cells, fighting off an infection then dying, while others differentiate into long lived T memory cells. Central memory T cells are characterized by expression of CD45RO, CD62L, and CCR7, at first populating lymph tissue and eventually coming to rest in the bone marrow. These cells also exhibit enhanced ability to clear a recurrent infection. The fine anatomy of murine bone marrow is complex, the spaces in the spongy bone matrix packed with haematopoeitic stem cells and stromal cells. This thesis will attempt to visualize memory T cell localization through the use of cellular staining followed by confocal microscopy.