Skip to main content

Role of Cytomegalovirus in Driving Cytotoxic CD28null T Cells

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Immunosenescence

Abstract

Accumulation of CD28null T cells has been traditionally considered a sign of aging, as the percentage of these cells is increased in the elderly. However, the permanent loss of CD28 on T cells is caused by chronic antigenic stimulation. In that sense, CMV infection seems to be an important factor, particularly in the CD4 T-cell compartment, where significant expansions of these cells have been observed in CMV-seropositive individuals only and independently of age. In contrast to this, the CD28null CD8 T-cell subset is more heterogeneous, consisting of different type of cells with diverse origins, phenotype, and functions. Indeed, contrarily to their CD4 counterparts, CD28null CD8 T cells can be found expanded in the absence of CMV. CD28null CD4 T cells are cytotoxic and produce high amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Expansions of these cells has been shown to be associated with many diseases and seems to have a relevant role in CVD (cardiovascular diseases). We, therefore, propose that CMV-related CVD risk may be mediated in part by CD28null CD4 T-cells, capable of damaging the vasculature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Florian Kern .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Pera, A., Bano, A., Kern, F. (2018). Role of Cytomegalovirus in Driving Cytotoxic CD28null T Cells. In: Fulop, T., Franceschi, C., Hirokawa, K., Pawelec, G. (eds) Handbook of Immunosenescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64597-1_124-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64597-1_124-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64597-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64597-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics