Protocol for the coculture of murine vaginal epithelial organoids and T cells to induce resident memory CD8 T cell differentiation

Inducing robust resident memory T cell (TRM) establishment in mucosal tissues could enhance immunotherapy and vaccine efficacy. However, the factors influencing TRM formation are not fully understood. We present a protocol to coculture murine effector CD8 T cells with epithelial organoids, which serve as a reductionist model for investigating TRM differentiation in vitro. We describe steps for naive CD8 T cell activation, coculture of T cells with vaginal epithelial organoids (VEOs), and analysis of T cell phenotypes via flow cytometry. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Ulibarri et al.¹.