IL-6 Production by Dendritic Cells Is Dispensable for CD8+ Memory T-Cell Generation

Abstract EN

Following activation, naïve CD8+ T cells will differentiate into effectors that differ in their ability to survive: some will persist as memory cells while the majority will die by apoptosis.

Signals given by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) at the time of priming modulate this differential outcome.

We have recently shown that, in opposition to dendritic cell (DC), CD40-activated B-(CD40-B) cell vaccination fails to efficiently produce CD8+ memory T cells.

Understanding why CD40-B-cell vaccination does not lead to the generation of functional long-lived memory cells is essential to define the signals that should be provided to naïve T cells by APCs.

Here we show that CD40-B cells produce very low amount of IL-6 when compared to DCs.

However, supplementation with IL-6 during CD40-B-cell vaccination did not improve memory generation.

Furthermore, IL-6-deficient DCs maintained the capacity to promote the formation of functional CD8+ effectors and memory cells.

Our results suggest that in APC vaccination models, IL-6 provided by the APCs is dispensable for proper CD8+ T-cell memory generation.