Priming of memory but not effector CD8 T cells by a killed bacterial vaccine

Killed or inactivated vaccines targeting intracellular bacterial and protoz oal pathogens are notoriously ineffective at generating protective immunity . For example, vaccination with heat-killed Listeria monocytogenes (HKLM) i s not protective, although infection with live L. monocytogenes induces lon g-lived, CD8 T cell-mediated immunity. We demonstrate that HKLM immunizatio n primes memory CD8 T lymphocyte populations that, although substantial in size, are ineffective at providing protection from subsequent L. monocytoge nes infection. In contrast to live infection, which elicits large numbers o f effector CD8 T cells, HKLM immunization primes T lymphocytes that do not acquire effector functions. Our studies show that it is possible to dissoci ate T cell-dependent protective immunity from memory T cell expansion, and that generation of effector T cells may be necessary for long-term protecti ve immunity.