Tissue-resident memory CD8 T cell diversity is spatiotemporally imprinted

Abstract Tissue-resident memory CD8 T (T RM ) cells provide protection from infection at barrier sites. In the small intestine, T RM cells are found in at least two distinct subpopulations: one with higher expression of effector molecules and another with greater memory potential 1 . However, the origins of this diversity remain unknown. Here we proposed that distinct tissue niches drive the phenotypic heterogeneity of T RM cells. To test this, we leveraged spatial transcriptomics of human samples, a mouse model of acute systemic viral infection and a newly established strategy for pooled optically encoded gene perturbations to profile the locations, interactions and transcriptomes of pathogen-specific T RM…