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Abstract
Heterogeneity is a hallmark of the adaptive immune system. This is most evident in
the enormous diversity of B and T cell antigen receptors. There is also heterogeneity
within antiviral T cell populations, and subsets of effector and memory T cells now
permeate our thinking about specialization of T cell responses to pathogens. It has
been less clear, however, how heterogeneity in developing virus-specific effector
and memory T cells is related to cell-fate decisions in the immune response, such
as the generation long-lived memory T cells. Here we discuss recent findings that
might help redefine how heterogeneity in antiviral T cell populations gives rise to
T cell subsets with short- and long-lived cell fates.