scholarly journals The antigen-specific CD8+ T cell repertoire in unimmunized mice includes memory phenotype cells bearing markers of homeostatic expansion

2009 ◽  
Vol 206 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Haluszczak ◽  
Adovi D. Akue ◽  
Sara E. Hamilton ◽  
Lisa D.S. Johnson ◽  
Lindsey Pujanauski ◽  
...  

Memory T cells exhibit superior responses to pathogens and tumors compared with their naive counterparts. Memory is typically generated via an immune response to a foreign antigen, but functional memory T cells can also be produced from naive cells by homeostatic mechanisms. Using a recently developed method, we studied CD8 T cells, which are specific for model (ovalbumin) and viral (HSV, vaccinia) antigens, in unimmunized mice and found a subpopulation bearing markers of memory cells. Based on their phenotypic markers and by their presence in germ-free mice, these preexisting memory-like CD44hi CD8 T cells are likely to arise via physiological homeostatic proliferation rather than a response to environmental microbes. These antigen-inexperienced memory phenotype CD8 T cells display several functions that distinguish them from their CD44lo counterparts, including a rapid initiation of proliferation after T cell stimulation and rapid IFN-γ production after exposure to proinflammatory cytokines. Collectively, these data indicate that the unprimed antigen-specific CD8 T cell repertoire contains antigen-inexperienced cells that display phenotypic and functional traits of memory cells.

Blood ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Peggs ◽  
Stephanie Verfuerth ◽  
Arnold Pizzey ◽  
Jenni Ainsworth ◽  
Paul Moss ◽  
...  

Under conditions of impaired T-cell immunity, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can reactivate from lifelong latency, resulting in potentially fatal disease. A crucial role for CD8+ T cells has been demonstrated in control of viral replication, and high levels of HCMV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes are seen in immunocompetent HCMV-seropositive individuals despite very low viral loads. Elucidation of the minimum portion of the anti-HCMV T-cell repertoire that is required to suppress viral replication requires further study of clonal composition. The ability of dendritic cells to take up and process exogenous viral antigen by constitutive macropinocytosis was used to study HCMV-specific T-cell memory in the absence of viral replication. The specificity and clonal composition of the CD8+ T-cell responses were evaluated using HLA tetrameric complexes and T-cell receptor β chain (TCRBV) spectratypic analyses. There was a skewed reactivity toward the matrix protein pp65, with up to 40-fold expansion of CD8+ T cells directed toward a single peptide-MHC combination. Individual expansions detected on TCRBV spectratype analysis were HCMV-specific and composed of single or highly restricted numbers of clones. There was preferential TCRBV gene usage (BV6.1/6.2, BV8, and BV13 in HLA-A*0201+ individuals) but lack of conservation of CDR3 length and junctional motifs between donors. While there was a spectrum of TCR repertoire diversity directed toward individual MHC-peptide combinations between donors, a relatively small number of clones appeared to predominate the response in each case. These data provide further insight into the range of anti-HCMV responses and will aid the design and monitoring of adoptive immunotherapy protocols.


2008 ◽  
Vol 205 (8) ◽  
pp. 1859-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Turner ◽  
Evan R. Jellison ◽  
Elizabeth G. Lingenheld ◽  
Lynn Puddington ◽  
Leo Lefrançois

Immune tolerance to self-antigens is a complex process that utilizes multiple mechanisms working in concert to maintain homeostasis and prevent autoimmunity. We developed a system that revealed a population of self-specific CD8 T cells within the endogenous T cell repertoire. Immunization of ovalbumin (OVA)-expressing transgenic mice with recombinant viruses expressing OVA-peptide variants induced self-reactive T cells in vivo that matured into memory T cells able to respond to secondary infection. However, whereas the avidity of memory cells in normal mice increased dramatically with repeated immunizations, avidity maturation was limited for self-specific CD8 T cells. Despite decreased avidity, such memory cells afforded protection against infection, but did not induce overt autoimmunity. Further, up-regulation of self-antigen expression in dendritic cells using an inducible system promoted programmed death-1 expression, but not clonal expansion of preexisting memory cells. Thus, the self-reactive T cell repertoire is controlled by overlapping mechanisms influenced by antigen dose.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 3085-3085
Author(s):  
Mark C. Lanasa ◽  
Marc C. Levesque ◽  
Sallie D. Allgood ◽  
Jon P. Gockerman ◽  
Karen Bond ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Although most malignancies are associated with decreased numbers of circulating T cells, in CLL they are elevated 2 to 4 times normal. Rather than promoting an anti-tumor response, this increased population of T cells may contribute to a tumor microenvironment that fosters progression of the malignant clone. Immunocompetent individuals show a wide repertoire of antigen specificity in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but the T cell repertoire is significantly restricted in CLL. This restriction of the T cell repertoire may be an important cause of infectious morbidity in patients with CLL. To better understand these T cell abnormalities, we enumerated T cell subsets and determined T cell receptor diversity in 18 untreated patients with CLL. Methods: T cell subsets were enumerated from peripheral blood using highly sensitive 6-color flow cytometry. The T cell repertoire was determined for 23 T cell receptor variable β chain families (TCRvβ) in purified CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. These T cell subsets were considered separately because differential restriction of the CD4+ and CD8+ subsets has been reported previously. A PCR-based spectratype assay was used to analyze the length distribution of the TCR complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3). A limitation of prior reports using spectratype assays was that adequately complex statistical models did not exist to simultaneously analyze the highly diverse vβ families. We addressed this limitation by using a recently-developed statistical method for spectratype analysis (Bioinformatics. 21:3394–400). Briefly, for each vβ family, the divergence from an expected reference distribution was calculated. A divergence coefficient was determined for each vβ family, and the mean divergence of all 23 vβ families was calculated. This allowed for statistical comparisons among individual patients and specific vβ families. To our knowledge, we are the first group to apply this powerful methodology to the analysis of T cell repertoires in patients with CLL. Results: We found both the CD4+ and CD8+ subsets to be expanded (mean #/μL ± SD: 1134 ± 646 and 768 ± 716, respectively; reference normal CD4+ range 401–1532, CD8+ 152–838). The absolute number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was greater in patients with higher absolute CLL lymphocyte counts (p = 0.018, r2 = 0.30, and p = 0.23, r2 = 0.09, respectively, linear regression). The CD4:CD8 ratio was lower in IgVH unmutated subjects (mutated 2.6, umutated 1.7, p = 0.09, two-tailed t-test assuming unequal variances). Though prior reports have disagreed on whether CD4+ or CD8+ subsets show greater restriction of clonality, we observed striking clonal restriction of CD8+ but not CD4+ T cells (p < 1×10−7, 2 sided t-test assuming unequal variances). There was a trend toward greater restriction of the CD8+ subset among patients with IgVH unmutated and Zap70+ CLL, but there was no correlation with lymphocyte doubling time. Conclusions: In this cohort of 18 untreated patients with CLL, there was a greater proportional increase compared to reference standards of CD8+ versus CD4+ T cells. However, the increase in CD4+, but not CD8+, T cell numbers was significantly correlated to total CLL lymphocyte count. This observation suggests that expansion of the CD4+ T cell pool observed in CLL is proportional to leukemic burden. The restriction of TCRvβ was limited to CD8+ T cells and that this effect was independent of the size of the abnormal clone. Taken together, these findings suggest different mechanisms of dysregulation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets in CLL.


2004 ◽  
Vol 200 (10) ◽  
pp. 1347-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilhem Messaoudi ◽  
Joël LeMaoult ◽  
Jose A. Guevara-Patino ◽  
Beatrix M. Metzner ◽  
Janko Nikolich-Žugich

Peripheral T cell diversity is virtually constant in the young, but is invariably reduced in aged mice and humans. CD8+ T cell clonal expansions (TCE) are the most drastic manifestation of, and possible contributors to, this reduced diversity. We show that the presence of TCE results in reduced CD8+, but not CD4+, T cell diversity, and in functional inability to mobilize parts of the CD8+ T cell repertoire affected by TCE. In the model of herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 infection of B6 mice, &gt;90% of the responding CD8+ T cells use Vβ10 or Vβ8 and are directed against a single glycoprotein B (gB498-505) epitope, gB-8p. We found that old animals bearing CD8+ TCE within Vβ10 or Vβ8 families failed to mount an effective immune response against HSV-1, as judged by reduced numbers of peptide-major histocompatibility complex tetramer+ CD8 T cells and an absence of antiviral lytic function. Furthermore, Vβ8 TCE experimentally introduced into young mice resulted in lower resistance to viral challenge, whereas Vβ5+ TCE induced in a similar fashion did not impact viral resistance. These results demonstrate that age-related TCE functionally impair the efficacy of antiviral CD8+ T cell immunity in an antigen-specific manner, strongly suggesting that TCE are not the mere manifestation of, but are also a contributing factor to, the immunodeficiency of senescence.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariona Baliu-Pique ◽  
Julia Drylewicz ◽  
Xiaoyan Zheng ◽  
Lisa Borkner ◽  
Arpit C Swain ◽  
...  

The potential of memory T-cells to provide protection against re-infection is beyond question. Yet, it remains debated whether long-term T-cell memory is due to long-lived memory cells. There is ample evidence that blood-derived memory phenotype CD8+ T-cells maintain themselves through cell division, rather than through longevity of individual cells. It has recently been proposed, however, that there may be heterogeneity in the lifespans of memory T-cells, depending on factors such as exposure to cognate antigen. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection induces not only conventional, contracting T-cell responses, but also inflationary CD8+ T-cell responses, which are maintained at unusually high numbers, and are even thought to continue to expand over time. It has been proposed that such inflating T-cell responses result from the accumulation of relatively long-lived CMV-specific memory CD8+ T-cells. Using in vivo deuterium labelling and mathematical modelling, we found that the average production rates and expected lifespans of mouse CMV-specific CD8+ T-cells are very similar to those of bulk memory-phenotype CD8+ T-cells. Even CMV-specific inflationary CD8+ T-cell responses that differ three-fold in size, were found to turn over at similar rates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 571-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiki Takamura

Abstract Antigen-driven activation of CD8+ T cells results in the development of a robust anti-pathogen response and ultimately leads to the establishment of long-lived memory T cells. During the primary response, CD8+ T cells interact multiple times with cognate antigen on distinct types of antigen-presenting cells. The timing, location and context of these antigen encounters significantly impact the differentiation programs initiated in the cells. Moderate re-activation in the periphery promotes the establishment of the tissue-resident memory T cells that serve as sentinels at the portal of pathogen entry. Under some circumstances, moderate re-activation of T cells in the periphery can result in the excessive expansion and accumulation of circulatory memory T cells, a process called memory inflation. In contrast, excessive re-activation stimuli generally impede conventional T-cell differentiation programs and can result in T-cell exhaustion. However, these conditions can also elicit a small population of exhausted T cells with a memory-like signature and self-renewal capability that are capable of responding to immunotherapy, and restoration of functional activity. Although it is clear that antigen re-encounter during the primary immune response has a significant impact on memory T-cell development, we still do not understand the molecular details that drive these fate decisions. Here, we review our understanding of how antigen encounters and re-activation events impact the array of memory CD8+ T-cell subsets subsequently generated. Identification of the molecular programs that drive memory T-cell generation will advance the development of new vaccine strategies that elicit high-quality CD8+ T-cell memory.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 2986-2986
Author(s):  
Mohammad R. Rezvany ◽  
Mahmood J. Tehrani ◽  
Claes Karlsson ◽  
Jeanette Lundin ◽  
Hodjattallah Rabbani ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Methods: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) occurs as a result of clonal accumulation of functionally abnormal B cells. Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody specific for the CD52 antigen, which is highly expressed on both B-CLL cells and normal lymphocytes, but not on hematopoietic (CD34) stem cells. Alemtuzumab has been shown to effectively deplete the blood and bone marrow of lymphocytes, including CD4 and CD8 T cells, which may lead to profound immunosuppression and make patients more susceptible to infections. We and others have previously shown that the CD4 T cells in B-CLL patients may be clonally distinct from the normal population in that they present a more clonal pattern of the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire (Rezvany et al, Blood2003;101:1063–1070). It is therefore of interest to study the T cell repertoire following alemtuzumab administration as well as factors affecting T cell reconstitution following CD52 targeted therapy. In this study, we evaluated in depth the T-cell receptor-beta-variable sequence (TCR BV) in CD4 and CD8 T cells by real-time PCR, before and repeatedly after/during long term follow-up, in 5 B-CLL patients who had received alemtuzumab as first-line therapy (Lundin et al, Blood2002;100:768–773). Also, an analysis was conducted of CDR3 length polymorphism to describe changes in the clonality pattern. Results: A decline in most of BV genes either in CD4 or CD8 T cells was observed shortly after alemtuzumab treatment, which was followed by a gradual increase in most of the BV genes during long-term follow up. CDR3 length polymorphism analysis shortly after treatment revealed an even more highly restricted pattern in CD4 T cells compared to baseline with a shift towards a monoclonal/oligoclonal pattern regardless of increased or decreased BV usage. Furthermore, in the analysis of the clonal spectrum that was expressed shortly after alemtuzumab therapy, the number of peaks was significantly reduced in CD4 (P &lt;0.01) but not in CD8 T cells, which was followed by a gradual increase in diversity towards a polyclonal repertoire during long-term follow up. Conclusions: These results indicate that perturbations in the T cell repertoire following alemtuzumab are complex, and are not reflected by changes in CD4/CD8 T cell numbers only. The restricted CDR3 pattern present prior to therapy became even more restricted after end of treatment, followed by a normalization of CDR3 patterns in CD4 T-cells during long-term follow-up. These results further suggest a regulatory role for T cells in relation to the malignant B cell clone in patients with B-CLL.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 5174-5174
Author(s):  
Olga Y. Azhipa ◽  
Scott D. Rowley ◽  
Michele L. Donato ◽  
Robert Korngold ◽  
Thea M. Friedman

Abstract Chronic GVHD (cGVHD) is a major risk factor in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), and is a complicated syndrome with a combination of autoimmune-like features and a range of multiorgan manifestations. Currently, efforts are being made to standardize the criteria for diagnosis and staging of cGVHD, but there is little understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, associated biomarkers, and the immune perturbations that may result. Reconstitution of the T cell repertoire after allo-HCT often takes several months to a year, and may be significantly impaired or skewed in patients who develop cGVHD. We thus sought to assess the immune T cell status of cGVHD patients by TCR Vβ CDR3-size spectratype analysis. A cohort of 9 patients who underwent allo-HCT (PBMC n=7; BM n=2) were enrolled in the study. The underlying diseases in these patients were CML (n=1), AML (n=4), ALL (n=1), CLL (n=1), and MM (n=2). Patients received either reduced intensity or myeloablative conditioning before transplantation, and 8 of the 9 had a previous history of acute GVHD. Furthermore, the patients did not have evidence of infectious disease. PBMC was collected from each patient at one time point ranging from 2 wk to 3 yr from the time they were diagnosed with cGVHD. The onset of cGVHD ranged from 100 d to 3 yr post-HCT (median of 5 mo). Flow cytometric analysis was performed on peripheral blood lymphocytes from 7 of the 9 patients to analyze recovery of different subpopulations. PCR amplification of the CDR3 region of 21 TCR Vβ genes was used to analyze the diversity of the T cell repertoire. The PCR products were run on a sizing gel to separate the CDR3-lengths, and further analyzed by ABI GeneMapper software. Flow cytometric analysis revealed diverse percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells among the 7 patients tested, which were correlated with the post-HCT period. Two patients who received HCT, 4 and 9 months before blood sampling, had only 3% and 4% CD4+ and 3% and 9% CD8+ T cells in their PBMC sample, respectively. On the other hand, the remaining 5 patients, who were all at later time points post-HCT, had CD4+ and CD8+ T cell percentages within normal range. One patient had a ratio close to the normal 2:1 CD4/CD8 ratio, two patients had a 1:1 ratio, and four had inverse CD4/CD8 ratios. Based on CDR3-size spectratype analysis, we determined the recipient TCR-Vβ complexity index within each resoluble family, which represented the percentage of the number of peaks found for each Vβ relative to that found in the average corresponding Vβ family of 10 healthy donors. We considered Vβ to be fully complex if the complexity index exceeded 85%. The results indicated that 41 to 88% of resolved Vβ in all 9 patients were fully complex, with the lower range corresponding to those patients sampled early post-HCT. Vβ 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 13 families revealed the best recovery in all patients, even in patients after 4-mo post-HCT. Importantly, extensive skewing of the repertoire within most of the TCR Vβ families were found in all 9 recipients, suggesting that there were active heterogenous T cell responses in those patients with cGVHD. As to what these T cell responses were directed to remains to be seen, and could theoretically involve autoantigens, alloantigens, tumor antigens, or sub-detectable infectious agents. In any case, the presence of a wide-ranging T cell response in these patients may serve as an important new diagnostic indicator for cGVHD.


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