The synergy between naive and memory T cells during activation

Naive and memory T-cell subsets differ in their ability to synthesize and respond to a variety o f cytokines in vitro and each subset can produce cytokines that amplify the response of the other subset. The significance of these interactions to antigen responsiveness has, until now, been unclear. In this article Arne Akbar and colleagues point out that both subsets are activated to the same extent by alloantigen and suggest that synergy may be an important event in initiating potent responses against transplanted allografts.