Choi Jin Ouk, Seo Yikhyeon, Hwang Soo Seok
School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Exp Mol Med. 2025 Aug 4. doi: 10.1038/s12276-025-01516-y.
The maintenance of quiescence in T cells plays a pivotal role in averting undesired immune reactions and fostering immune homeostasis. Upon receiving external signals of cognate antigen and costimulatory molecules, T cells escape a quiescent state and rapidly proliferate within an exceedingly short timeframe. Nevertheless, for the majority of their lifespan, T cells remain inactive before stimulation, yet they are highly poised to future activation, implicating the presence of dynamic and intricate regulatory processes in a seemingly dormant state. While numerous extrinsic cues have been identified to induce T cell activation from a quiescence currently, intrinsic mechanisms governing T cell quiescence have received limited attention. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of multiple factors involved in T cell quiescence and their molecular mechanisms mainly in the context of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. Given the intricate interplay between the control of T cell quiescence and a variety of diseases including autoimmunity, exhaustion and even tumor control, a thorough understanding of current insights into T cell quiescence affords us a valuable opportunity to advance our comprehension of T cell biology.
T细胞静止状态的维持在避免不必要的免疫反应和促进免疫稳态方面起着关键作用。在接收到同源抗原和共刺激分子的外部信号后，T细胞逃离静止状态并在极短的时间内迅速增殖。然而，在其大部分生命周期中，T细胞在受到刺激之前保持不活跃状态，但它们对未来的激活高度敏感，这意味着在看似休眠的状态下存在动态且复杂的调节过程。虽然目前已发现许多外在线索可诱导T细胞从静止状态激活，但控制T细胞静止的内在机制受到的关注有限。在此，我们主要在转录和转录后调控的背景下，全面概述了参与T细胞静止的多种因素及其分子机制。鉴于T细胞静止的控制与包括自身免疫、耗竭甚至肿瘤控制在内的多种疾病之间存在复杂的相互作用，深入了解当前对T细胞静止的认识为我们提供了一个宝贵的机会，以增进我们对T细胞生物学的理解。
