Gene expression profiles of human CD45RA+CCR7-CD8+ T cells

Human CD8+ T cells are functionally heterogeneous and can be divided into distinct subsets according to CCR7 and CD45RA expression levels. Among the subsets, CCR7-CD45RA+ CD8+ T cells are considered to be terminally differentiated cells and designated as Temra. Temra show attenuated ability to proliferate and produce IFN-gamma in response to TCR stimulation, while Temra show improved function after IL-15 treatment. To clarify the transcriptional signatures induced by the stimulations, Temra were purified using flow cytometry, stimulated with IL-15 or with anti-CD3/CD28 (TCR stimulation), or cultured without stimulation for 2 days, and subjected to microarray analysis. 16 total samples were analyzed in this study.