Ageing dangerously; homing of senescent CD8 T cells in cutaneous Leishmaniasis

摘要

Summary Both CD8 + T cells and NK cells contribute to the immune response against the protozoan Leishmania parasite. Both are able to generate IFN‐γ and both display cytotoxic features. These features may enable them to not only contribute to parasite clearance but also to cause immune‐mediated pathology. This pathology is evident, for example, in the Leismania ‐induced skin lesions found in patients with cutaneous leismaniasis (CL). Here we highlight new data demonstrating that CD8 + T cells and NK cells in CL display a highly cytotoxic senescent phenotype, and that the senescent T cells play a major role in mediating skin pathology. This is the first demonstration that senescent CD8 T cells contribute to immunopathology in vivo .