Two subtypes of skin-resident memory T cells may navigate divergent molecular trajectories to acquire skin residence, according to a novel study published by Park et al in Science. The two subsets of skin-resident CD8-positive T cells include interferon-gamma–producing tissue-resident memory T type 1 and interleukin-17–producing tissue-resident memory T type 17; these cells contribute differentially to patients’ immune responses against viruses and cancer as well as bacteria and wounds, respectively. In the new study, researchers analyzed the mechanisms the tissue-resident memory T type 1 and T type 17 cell subtypes utilize to establish tissue residence in mice. They discovered that the tissue-resident memory T type 1 cells may require a separate signaling pathway—the T-bet–Hobit–interleukin-15 axis—for their differentiation relative to tissue-resident memory T type 17 cells, which used the ICOS–c-Maf–interleukin-7 axis. Further, the researchers determined the T type 17 cells could be selectively ablated without compromising T type 1 cells by targeting components of the subtype’s signaling axis responsible for cell development.
December 20, 2023