Murine hepatic stellate cells veto CD8 T cell activation by a CD54-dependent mechanism

The liver plays a crucial role in the induction of T cell tolerance. This phenomenon is predominantly achieved through tolerogenic hepatic antigen-presenting cells and regulatory T cells. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are an important liver cell population, as they possess various immunological functions such as immunogenic antigen presentation or induction of T cell apoptosis. In this study, a possible new role for HSCs was investigated; the so-called “Veto effect”. The Veto effect is defined as the inhibition of the priming of naive CD8+ T cells. Murine HSCs, as well as human HSCs, could be shown to inhibit th…