Memory antigen-specific CD4+ T cells against Chlamydia trachomatis are necessary for protection against secondary genital tract infection. While it is known that nave antigen-specific CD4+ T cells can traffic to the genital tract in an antigen-specific manner, these T cells are not protective during primary infection. Here, we sought to compare the differences between memory and nave antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in the same mouse following secondary infection using transgenic CD4+ T cells (NR1 T cells). Using RNA sequencing, we found that there were subtle but distinct differences between these two T cell populations. Nave NR1 T cells significantly upregulated cell cycle genes and were more proliferative than memory NR1 T cells in the draining lymph node. In contrast, memory NR1 T cells were more activated than nave NR1 T cells and were enriched in the genital tract. Together, our data provide insight into the differences between memory and nave antigen-specific CD4+ T cells during C. trachomatis infection. SOURCE: CBDM Lab (cbdm@hms.harvard.edu) - CBDM Harvard Medical School

Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE146265: Antigen-specific memory and nave CD4+ T cells following secondary Chlamydia trachomatis infection