Properties of murine CD8+CD27- T cells

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Abstract
In humans, loss of CD27 expression is associated with the stable acquisition of effector functions by CD8+ T cells. We found that murine CD8+CD27– T cells were confined to the primed CD62Ldull/–CD44brightCCR7– T cell population. CD8+CD27– T cells were absent from lymph nodes but could be found in blood, spleen and in non‐lymphoid organs such as lung and liver. Late after primary influenza virus infection, low percentages of antigen‐specific CD27– cells emerged in the lung and spleen. After recovery from secondary influenza virus infection, high percentages of influenza‐specific CD27– T cells were found in the lung and the loss of CD27 on lung CD8+ T cells coincided with high granzyme B expression. After murine cytomegalovirus infection, loss of CD27 expression on virus‐specific CD8+ T cell populations was sustained and especially marked in liver and lung. We suggest that in mice, CD27 is lost from CD8+ T cells only after repetitive antigenic stimulation. Moreover, the high expression of both granzyme B and perforin in the CD27– T cells suggests that the lack of CD27 on murine CD8+ T cells can be used to identify memory T cells with expression of cytotoxic effector molecules.