Genetic-tracing of CD8+ T cell fate decisions

Abstract

CD8+ T cells are white blood cells which are crucial in the protection against pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. When a host is infected with such pathogen, resting CD8+ T activate and give rise to various subtypes of effector and memory T cells, which are important in clearing the current infection and in providing long term protections against recurring pathogens, respectively. The work presented in this thesis describes the discovery of novel CD8+ T cell subtypes and delineates how these newly discovered subtypes and other effector and memory CD8+ T cells subtypes are formed, through the use of genetic-tracing technologies and single cell transcriptomics. The findings described in this thesis may be of value for the development of therapeutic interventions which aim to manipulate the formation of T cell populations, including novel vaccinations strategies.