{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T02:01:32Z","timestamp":1778810492902,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765411200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n \n CD8\n +<\/jats:sup>\n T cells play a critical role in controlling\n Plasmodium<\/jats:italic>\n infection. CD103, an integrin composed of \u03b1E and \u03b27 subunits, is widely recognized as a cell surface marker for tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n In this study, a\n Plasmodium<\/jats:italic>\n infection model was constructed by intraperitoneally injecting 10\n 6<\/jats:sup>\n infected red blood cells (iRBCs) into C57BL\/6 mice. CD45\n +<\/jats:sup>\n cells in the spleen of na\u00efve and infected mice were sorted and subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). The content, activation, and function of CD103\n +<\/jats:sup>\n CD8\n +<\/jats:sup>\n T cells were detected using flow cytometry. qPCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to find the key transcription factor.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Here, we identified a substantial subset of CD103\n +<\/jats:sup>\n CD8\n +<\/jats:sup>\n T cells in the spleen of na\u00efve mice, whose proportion and count declined rapidly following\n Plasmodium yoelii<\/jats:italic>\n NSM infection. Compared to CD103\n \u2212<\/jats:sup>\n CD8\n +<\/jats:sup>\n T cells, in both na\u00efve and infected mice, CD103\n +<\/jats:sup>\n CD8\n +<\/jats:sup>\n T cells exhibited higher CD62L expression and lower levels of CD44, CD69, and TIGIT, and they rarely secreted IFN-\u03b3 or granzyme B upon PMA plus Ionomycin (PI) stimulation. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in pathways related to \u201ccytoplasmic translation\u201d and \u201cribosome biosynthesis\u201d, suggesting that these cells are in a pre-activation preparatory state. Bioinformatics predictions and dual-luciferase reporter assays indicated that the transcription factor\n LEF1<\/jats:italic>\n may regulate\n Itgae<\/jats:italic>\n transcription by binding to its promoter sequence.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n \n Collectively, our findings demonstrate that splenic CD103\n +<\/jats:sup>\n CD8\n +<\/jats:sup>\n T cells express fewer activation and function-associated molecules, which may contribute to their limited role in the course of\n P. yoelii<\/jats:italic>\n NSM infection in C57BL\/6 mice, and implicates\n LEF1<\/jats:italic>\n in the regulation of CD103 expression.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2025.1668438","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T06:31:00Z","timestamp":1765434660000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Characteristics of CD103+CD8+ T cells in the spleen of Plasmodium yoelii NSM-infected mice"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Xingfei","family":"Pan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Feihu","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shanni","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Meilin","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guikuan","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hongyan","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cellimm.2008.08.007","article-title":"Relationship between CD107a expression and cytotoxic activity","volume":"254","author":"Aktas","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cell Immunol."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1608","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)30324-6","article-title":"Malaria","volume":"391","author":"Ashley","year":"2018","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"721","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciad262","article-title":"Severe falciparum and vivax malaria on the Thailand-Myanmar border: A review of 1503 cases","volume":"77","author":"Chu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Clin. 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