Figure 2. Adoptive transfer number and cell division affects phenotype.

400000, 8000, 1600 and 3200 naïve OT-1 T cells were transferred into naïve mice which were subsequently infected with LM-OVA. The percentage OT-1 cells and phenotype were measured at the peak of the response in each animal. There was a significant positive correlation between the proportion of cells CD62L^high and adoptive transfer amount (A), and the percentage of cells CD127^high and adoptive transfer amount (B) (Spearman’s tied-rank correlation). The relative number of extra divisions required by different mice to achieve the peak of their response (compensating for different adoptive transfer numbers) was calculated (C, D). There was a significant negative correlation between the relative number of extra divisions, and both the percentage of cells CD62L^high (C) and the percentage of cells CD127^high (D) (Spearman’s rank correlation). The predicted relationship between CD62L expression and division number using a division-linked mechanism where 21.2% (median value from between mice, figure 3) of the CD62L^high population becomes CD62L^low with each division is overlaid in panel (solid line in panel C).