How do autoimmune CD4+ T cells handle exhaustion?

Abstract

Chronic antigen exposure is frequently associated with T cell exhaustion. In a recent study, Aljobaily et al. show that pancreatic islet-infiltrating CD4⁺ T cells in mouse autoimmune diabetes may circumvent exhaustion by preserving TCF1 expression. Continuous recruitment of epigenetically pre-programmed CD62L⁺ CD4⁺ T cells seems to sustain the local autoimmune response.