{"id":67371,"date":"2026-06-12T07:25:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T05:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/virus-specific-resident-memory-t-cell-networks-sustain-immunity-in-human-oral-mucosa-florian-winkler\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T07:25:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T05:25:23","slug":"virus-specific-resident-memory-t-cell-networks-sustain-immunity-in-human-oral-mucosa-florian-winkler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/virus-specific-resident-memory-t-cell-networks-sustain-immunity-in-human-oral-mucosa-florian-winkler\/","title":{"rendered":"Virus-specific resident memory T cell networks sustain immunity in human oral mucosa. Florian Winkler"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><b>Mucosal Immunol<\/b>. 2026 Jun 11:100362. doi: 10.1016\/j.mucimm.2026.100362. Online ahead of print.<\/p>\n<p><b>ABSTRACT<\/b><\/p>\n<p>BACKGROUND: Durable protection against viral infections relies on tissue-resident memory T (T<sub>RM<\/sub>) cells at pathogen entry sites. The oral cavity is a critical mucosal barrier frequently exposed to viral pathogens; however, the phenotypic characteristics and spatial organization of virus-specific T cells in the human oral mucosa remain poorly understood.<\/p>\n<p>OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to define how virus-specific T cells maintain long-term residency in the oral mucosa and to identify cellular interactions supporting their persistence.<\/p>\n<p>METHODS: We profiled predicted virus-specific T cells in the blood and oral mucosa of seven healthy individuals who recently recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Single-cell RNA and T cell receptor sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and immunofluorescence (IF) were used to define cell composition, localization, and interactions.<\/p>\n<p>RESULTS: Cytomegalovirus-specific T cells were predominantly CD4<sup>+<\/sup> effector memory T cells, whereas Epstein-Barr virus- and SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were mainly CD8<sup>+<\/sup> T<sub>RM<\/sub> cells with cytotoxic features. Cell-cell communication analysis suggested that predicted virus-specific CD8<sup>+<\/sup> T<sub>RM<\/sub> cells were embedded in highly interactive signaling networks, receiving strong inputs from fibroblasts and dendritic cells. Spatial transcriptomics and IF confirmed close associations between CD8<sup>+<\/sup> T<sub>RM<\/sub>, fibroblasts, and dendritic cells.<\/p>\n<p>CONCLUSION: Predicted virus-specific CD8<sup>+<\/sup> T<sub>RM<\/sub> cells appear to play a prominent role in the human oral mucosa, where supportive communication networks with fibroblasts and dendritic cells likely contribute to their persistence and long-term survival at this critical barrier site.<\/p>\n<p>PMID:<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/42276193\/?utm_source=SimplePie&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_content=101299742&amp;ff=20260612012522&amp;v=2.20.0\">42276193<\/a> | DOI:<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.mucimm.2026.100362\">10.1016\/j.mucimm.2026.100362<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mucosal Immunol. 2026 Jun 11:100362. doi: 10.1016\/j.mucimm.2026.100362. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Durable protection against viral infections relies on tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells at pathogen entry sites. The oral cavity is a critical mucosal barrier frequently exposed to viral pathogens; however, the phenotypic characteristics and spatial organization of virus-specific T cells in the &#8230; <a title=\"Virus-specific resident memory T cell networks sustain immunity in human oral mucosa. Florian Winkler\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/virus-specific-resident-memory-t-cell-networks-sustain-immunity-in-human-oral-mucosa-florian-winkler\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Virus-specific resident memory T cell networks sustain immunity in human oral mucosa. Florian Winkler\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mucosal-immunology","category-publicaciones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inmuno.es\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}