License to kill: Retinoic acid programs T cells for tissue residency

In this issue of JEM, Qiu et al. (2023. J. Exp. Med. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20210923) show that retinoic acid signaling during priming in the mesenteric lymph node licenses CD8(+) T cells to develop into small intestinal tissue-resident memory cells, a finding that provides key insights into tissue-specific vaccination strategies.

Automated summary

In this JEM paper, Qiu et al. (2023) demonstrate that retinoic acid signaling in the mesenteric lymph node promotes the development of CD8(+) T cells into small intestinal tissue-resident memory cells. This finding sheds light on tissue-specific vaccination strategies.