IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Hematopoietic origins of an early wave of CD8+ T cells

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Isabel Forlastro presented work on the origins of early-wave CD8 T cells, focusing on “virtual memory” CD8 T cells, which are memory-like cells that can respond to inflammatory cytokines without TCR activation. She showed that these cells arise mainly in fetal/neonatal life, when thymic selection is altered and CD8 T cells are more self-reactive. Using thymic profiling, TCR sequencing, clonal deletion assays, thymus transfer experiments, and artificial thymic organoids, her team tested three possible drivers: TCR repertoire, thymic environment, and progenitor identity. They found that TCR differences contribute but are not the main cause. Instead, fetal hematopoietic progenitors intrinsically bias CD8 T cells toward virtual memory fate, likely linked to fetal programs such as LIN28B expression. These fetal-derived cells retained rapid, innate-like IFN-gamma responses, supporting their functional identity as virtual memory CD8 T cells.

Meta Tag

Date April 15, 2026 3:30 PM - 3:45 PM

Room 153AB

Session T Cell Development

Speaker Isabel Forlastro

Track Hematopoiesis and Immune System Development (HEM)

Year 2026

Keywords

virtual memory CD8 T cells

fetal hematopoietic progenitors

thymic selection

TCR repertoire

IFN-gamma response

April 15, 2026 3:30 PM - 3:45 PM

153AB

T Cell Development

Isabel Forlastro

Hematopoiesis and Immune System Development (HEM)

2026