Schmidt M, Linder A, Korn M, Schellenberg N, Meyer SJ, Nimmerjahn F, Werner A, Abeln M, Gerardy-Schahn R, Münster-Kühnel AK, Nitschke L (2024)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2024
Book Volume: 15
Article Number: 1359494
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1359494
Sialic acids are found as terminal sugars on glycan structures on cellular surfaces. T cells carry these sialoglycans abundantly, and they are thought to serve multiple functions in cell adhesion, cell migration, and protection from complement attack. We studied the role of sialoglycans on T cells in a mouse model with a T cell-specific deletion of cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid synthase (CMAS), the enzyme that is crucial for the synthesis of sialoglycans. These mice showed a T-cell deficiency in peripheral lymphoid organs. Many T cells with an undeleted Cmas allele were found in the periphery, suggesting that they escaped the Cre-mediated deletion. The remaining peripheral T cells of T cell-specific Cmas KO mice had a memory-like phenotype. Additional depletion of the complement factor C3 could not rescue the phenotype, showing that the T-cell defect was not caused by a host complement activity. Cmas-deficient T cells showed a high level of activated caspase 3, indicating an ongoing apoptosis. In bone marrow chimeric cellular transfer experiments, we observed a strong competitive disadvantage of Cmas-deficient T cells compared to wild-type T cells. These results show that sialoglycans on the surface of T cells are crucial for T-cell survival and maintenance. This function has not been recognized before and is similar to the function of sialoglycans on B cells.
APA:
Schmidt, M., Linder, A., Korn, M., Schellenberg, N., Meyer, S.J., Nimmerjahn, F.,... Nitschke, L. (2024). Sialic acids on T cells are crucial for their maintenance and survival. Frontiers in Immunology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1359494
MLA:
Schmidt, Michael, et al. "Sialic acids on T cells are crucial for their maintenance and survival." Frontiers in Immunology 15 (2024).
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