The concept is emerging that the persisting memory T lymphocytes in the bone marrow (BM) is essential for immunological memory and successful response to vaccination, yet many questions remain unsolved. Di Rosa has proposed that the BM is essentially a nest for the homeostatic proliferation of memory T cells. Other researchers propose that the BM is rather a storage depot for memory T cells (debate in Nat Rev Immunol, april 2016). In 2016, Di Rosa proposed the "dual-niche" hypothesis, offering a new framework to conceptualize the mechanisms which, in the BM, preserve both the numbers and the functional capability, of memory T cells. The dual-niche hypothesis is currently under experimental test at IBPM.
o Maintenance of memory T cells in the bone marrow: survival or homeostatic proliferation? (Nat Rev Immunol. 2016 Apr;16(4):271. doi: 10.1038/nri.2016.31.
o Two Niches in the Bone Marrow: A Hypothesis on Life-long T Cell Memory (Trends in immunology, 2016, vol. 37:503-12. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2016.05.004.
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