The Transcription Factor Foxo1 Controls Central-Memory CD8+ T Cell Responses to Infection

Memory T cells protect hosts from pathogen reinfection, but how these cells emerge from a pool of antigen-experienced T cells is unclear. Here, we show that mice lacking the transcription factor Foxo1 in activated CD8(+) T cells have defective secondary, but not primary, responses to Listeria monocytogenes infection. Compared to short-lived effector T cells, memory-precursor T cells expressed higher amounts of Foxo1, which promoted their generation and maintenance. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing revealed the transcription factor Tcf7 and the chemokine receptor Ccr7 as Foxo1-bound target genes, which have critical functions in central-memory T cell differentiation and trafficking. These findings demonstrate that Foxo1 is selectively incorporated into the genetic program that regulates memory CD8(+) T cell responses to infection.