Single‐cell analysis of CD8 T lymphocyte diversity during adaptive immunity

An effective adaptive immune response to microbial infection relies on the generation of heterogeneous T lymphocyte fates and functions. CD8 T lymphocytes play a pivotal role in mediating immediate and long‐term protective immune responses to intracellular pathogen infection. Systems‐based analysis of the immune response to infection has begun to identify cell fate determinants and the molecular mechanisms underpinning CD8 T lymphocyte diversity at single‐cell resolution. Resolving CD8 T lymphocyte heterogeneity during adaptive immunity highlights the advantages of single‐cell technologies and computational approaches to better understand the ontogeny of CD8 T cellular diversity following infection. Future directions of integrating single‐cell multiplex approaches capitalize on the importance of systems biology in the understanding of immune CD8 T cell differentiation and functional diversity. This article is categorized under: Physiology > Mammalian Physiology in Health and Disease Biological Mechanisms > Cell Fates Integration of deep profiling single‐cell technologies and systems‐based analyses to better understand CD8 T cell fate diversification during adaptive immunity.