Under conditions of lymphopenia, T lymphocytes proliferate and acquire a surface activation phenotype, which in many respects is similar to the phenotype of true memory T cells. We investigated the phenotypic features of the CD8+ T-cell population formed from donor lymphocytes after adoptive transfer of syngeneic splenocytes to sublethally irradiated mice. This population expresses markers CD44, CD122, CD5, CD49d and the chemokine receptor CXCR3. Thus, for the first time, the phenomenon of the formation of a population of T cells with signs of suppressive CD8+ T lymphocytes and true memory cells was demonstrated.
Keywords: CD122; CD44; CD49d; CD5; CD62L; CXCR3; TCR; lymphopenia; surrogate memory T cell.