AUTHOR=Min Booki TITLE=Spontaneous T Cell Proliferation: A Physiologic Process to Create and Maintain Homeostatic Balance and Diversity of the Immune System JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.00547 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.00547 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Naive T lymphocytes undergo heterogeneous proliferative responses when introduced into lymphopenic hosts, referred to as “homeostatic proliferation” and “spontaneous proliferation.” Spontaneous proliferation is a unique process through which the immune system generates memory phenotype cells with increasing T cell receptors repertoire complexity. Here, the mechanisms that initiate and control spontaneous proliferation are discussed.