T Cell Responses Where It Matters Following Vaccination and/or Infection: Tissues V/S Systemic Immunity

Dear Colleagues,

antigen recall responses. The gastrointestinal tract constitutes a major reservoir of TRM of which the mechanisms for the generation of responses remains unknown. CirAs you are already aware, vaccination is one of the most successful interventions in public health and has helped to curb some of the deadliest and debilitating infectious diseases. Immunological memory is quintessential for vaccine protection and maintaining long-term immunity following exposure to pathogens. Most human pathogens infect the host through mucosal sites and could potentially be controlled by new and improved vaccines. However, development of vaccines has been hampered by lack of known immunological correlates of protection and limited knowledge of the factors contributing to protective responses particularly at the sites of infection.

It is now evident that protective immunity relies on both  circulating T memory (TM) cells and non-circulating TM, abundant in mucosal tissues. Tissue resident memory T cells (TRM) is a newly defined subset of TM which is phenotypically distinct from circulating TM subsets (e.g., TCM, TEM). After induction, TRM persist for a long time in peripheral tissues with the potential to mediate rapid protective culating TM are also crucial in not only providing immunity but also in seeding and providing support to tissues. As such, both resident and circulating TM effector and helper functions are intertwined and critical in providing long-lasting protection following vaccination or natural infection. Designing vaccines that can elicit both resident and circulating effector and helper T cells (both CD4 and CD8) with the ability to directly contribute to pathogen clearance via cell mediate effector and humoral  mechanisms will be of great importance.

To achieve a more extensive understanding of recent scientific knowledge and current trends in circulating and tissues T cells responses in vaccine development, this Special issue is focused on the recent scientific and technical progresses made in this field. Based on your extensive knowledge and experience, we invite you to contribute with an original report, original observation or review, to highlight (i) correlates of protection, (ii) immune pathways after vaccination and primary infection, (iii) mechanisms of T cells in tissues compare to circulation, and (iv) recent advances in novel vaccines.

Dr. Jayaum S. Booth
Guest Editor

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