Exhausted T-Cell

**Semantic type:** Cell

**Definition:** An effector T-lymphocyte that is losing or has lost the ability to kill virally infected cells. T-cell exhaustion occurs during infections with high viral loads and/or prolonged duration. These T-lymphocytes undergo a gradual phenotype change and in the final stage they are unable to mount a T-cell antiviral response and are highly susceptible to apoptosis.

**Synonyms:** - Exhausted T Cell - Exhausted T Lymphocyte - Exhausted T-Lymphocyte