{
  "abstract": "The first years of life are essential for the development of memory T cells, which rapidly populate the body’s diverse tissue sites during infancy. However, the degree to which tissue memory T cell responses in early life reflect those during adulthood is unclear. Here, we use single cell RNA-sequencing of resting and ex vivo activated T cells from lymphoid and mucosal tissues of infant (aged 2-9 months) and adult (aged 40-65 years) human organ donors to dissect the transcriptional programming of memory T cells over age. Infant memory T cells demonstrate a unique stem-like transcriptional profile and tissue adaptation program, yet exhibit reduced activation capacity and effector function relative to adults. Using CRISPR-Cas9 knockdown, we define Helios ( IKZF2 ) as a critical transcriptional regulator of the infant-specific tissue adaptation program and restricted effector state. Our findings reveal key transcriptional mechanisms that control tissue T cell fate and function in early life.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA",
    "Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA",
    "Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA",
    "Medical Scientist Training Program, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA",
    "Department of Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA",
    "Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA",
    "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. df2396@cumc.columbia.edu",
    "Department of Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. df2396@cumc.columbia.edu",
    "Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. pas2182@cumc.columbia.edu",
    "Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. pas2182@cumc.columbia.edu"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peter Anthony Szabo",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1603-761X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Hanna Mendes Levitin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Siddhi Nargund",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-9943-0628"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Thomas J. Connors",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0199-7733"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "David Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9710-1857"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jenny Jin",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7568-5732"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Puspa Thapa",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6769-2441"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rebecca S. Guyer",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3777-2197"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Daniel P. Caron",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1500-8713"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Joshua I. Gray",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2796-5470"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Rei Matsumoto",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1146-9520"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Masaru Kubota"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Maigan Brusko",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4331-2202"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Todd M. Brusko",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2878-9296"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Donna L. Färber",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8236-9183"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Peter A. Sims",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3921-4837"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cc9676c8m0pkc.bib",
  "cited_by": 5,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41590-026-02535-1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "cc9676c8m0pkc",
  "issns": [
    "1529-2908",
    "1529-2916"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02535-1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2403|T-cell and B-cell Immunology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7163151566",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC11838503",
  "pmid": "39974963",
  "published": "2026-06-02",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cc9676c8m0pkc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T13:21:10Z",
      "native_id": "W7163151566",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-026-02535-1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2403|T-cell and B-cell Immunology",
      "subfield": "immunology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Distinct transcription factors control tissue adaptation and effector function in infant and adult memory T cells",
  "title_text": "Distinct transcription factors control tissue adaptation and effector function in infant and adult memory T cells",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T13:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cc9676c8m0pkc",
  "venue": "Nature Immunology",
  "versions": []
}