Tissue-resident memory T cells

Project Details

Protection from viral infections that target peripheral tissues such as the skin requires coordinated recruitment of pathogen-specific T lymphocytes into the tissue where they function to defeat the virus. Following the resolution of HSV-1 infection or inflammation in the skin, tissue-resident memory (Trm) CD8+ T cells reside for long periods in the epidermis where they can provide enhanced protection from reinfection. These tissue-resident T cells display a unique dendritic morphology and a slow pattern of tissue surveillance (Movie 1). We are examining how these Trm cells are formed, persist and respond following secondary infection.

Movie 1: Tissue-resident CD8 T cells (green) migrating in the epidermis of the skin.
Collagen (SHG), blue.

Research Publications

Park SL, Zaid A, Hor JL, Christo SN, Prier JE, Davies B, Alexandre YO, Gregory JL, Russell TA, Gebhardt T, Carbone FR, Tscharke DC, Heath WR, Mueller SN, Mackay LK. Local proliferation maintains a stable pool of tissue-resident memory T cells after antiviral recall responses. Nat Immunol. 2018. 19(2): 183-191. doi: 10.1038/s41590-017-0027-5. PMID: 29311695

Zaid A, Hor JL, Christo SN, Groom JR, Heath WR, Mackay LK, Mueller SN. Chemokine Receptor-Dependent Control of Skin Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Formation. J Immunol. 2017. 199(7): 2451-2459. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1700571. PMID: 28855310

Mueller SN, Mackay LK. Tissue-resident memory T cells: local specialists in immune defence. Nat Rev Immunol. 2016 Feb. 16(2): 79-89. doi: 10.1038/nri.2015.3. PMID: 26688350

Zaid A, Mackay LK, Rahimpour A, Braun A, Veldhoen M, Carbone FR, Manton JH, Heath WR, Mueller SN. Persistence of skin-resident memory T cells within an epidermal niche. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014. 111(14): 5307-12. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1322292111. PMID: 24706879

Gebhardt T, Whitney PG, Zaid A, Mackay LK, Brooks AG, Heath WR, Carbone FR, Mueller SN. Different patterns of peripheral migration by memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Nature. 2011. 477(7363): 216-9. doi: 10.1038/nature10339. PMID: 21841802

Research Group

Mueller laboratory: Visualising the immune system in action


Faculty Research Themes

Infection and Immunology

School Research Themes

Cellular Imaging & Structural Biology


Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact the research group leader.

Department / Centre

Microbiology and Immunology

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