Virtual memory T cells have antimicrobial functions but whether they can contribute to inflammatory pathology is unclear. Here the authors show that a subset of CD8+ T cells that originates from virtual memory T cells upon cytokine stimulation can drive the chronic inflammatory disease alopecia areata via innate-like cytotoxic effector functions.
- Joon Seok
- Sung-Dong Cho
- Su-Hyung Park
