What's "polarized T cell"? - (Sep/28/2008 )

I'm new to immunology. Get confused with "polarized T cell" when reading paper. Is a "polarized T cell" activated by immunization?

I would definitely have to read the paper in order to give a precise explanation, as polarized could mean completely different things depending on the context. But I would speculate that the authors mean previously activated or differentiated.

So to answer your question, a naive T cell that has been activated (perhaps by immunization) at some point in its life could be said to be polarized. This would most likely be relevant in models of Ag-specific activation (ie. infections).