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The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1991 Nov 1;174(5):969–974. doi: 10.1084/jem.174.5.969

T cell memory is short-lived in the absence of antigen

PMCID: PMC2118996  PMID: 1834764

Abstract

Immunological memory has generally been ascribed to the development of long-lived memory cells that can persist for years in the absence of renewed antigenic encounter. In the experiments reported here, we have adoptively transferred memory T cells in the presence and absence of priming antigen and assessed their functional survival. The results indicate that, in contrast to the traditional view, the maintenance of T cell memory requires the presence of antigen, suggesting that memory, like tolerance, is an antigen-dependent process rather than an antigen- independent state.

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Selected References

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