Defining Memory CD8 T Cell

CD8 T cells comprising the memory pool display considerable heterogeneity, with individual cells differing in phenotype and function. This review will focus on our current understanding of heterogeneity within the antigen-specific memory CD8 T cell compartment and classifications of memory CD8 T cell subsets with defined and discrete functionalities. Recent data suggest that phenotype and/or function of numerically stable circulatory memory CD8 T cells are defined by the age of memory CD8 T cell (or time after initial antigen-encounter). In addition, history of antigen stimulations has a profound effect on memory CD8 T cell populations, suggesting that repeated infections (or vaccination) have the capacity to further shape the memory CD8 T cell pool. Finally, genetic background of hosts and history of exposure to diverse microorganisms likely contribute to the observed heterogeneity in the memory CD8 T cell compartment. Extending our tool box and exploring alternative mouse models (i.e., “dirty” and/or outbred mice) to encompass and better model diversity observed in humans will remain an important goal for the near future that will likely shed new light into the mechanisms that govern biology of memory CD8 T cells

Time and Antigen-Stimulation History Influence Memory CD8 T Cell Bystander Responses

Memory CD8 T cells can be activated and induced to produce cytokines and increase stores of cytolytic proteins not only in response to cognate antigen (Ag) but also in response to inflammatory cytokines (bystander responses). Importantly, bystander memory CD8 T cell functions have been shown to be dependent upon memory CD8 T cell fitness, since exhausted CD8 T cells have diminished capacity to respond to inflammatory cues. While it is known that memory CD8 T cell functional abilities, including ability to produce cytokines in response to cognate Ag, change with time after initial Ag encounter and upon multiple Ag stimulations (e.g., primary vs. tertiary CD8 T cell responses), it is unknown if bystander memory CD8 T cell responses are influenced by time or by Ag-exposure history. Here, we examined time and Ag-stimulation history-dependent alterations in virus-specific memory CD8 T cell bystander functions in response to inflammatory cytokines and unrelated bacterial infection. We found that expression of cytokine receptors and ability to produce IFN-γ following heterologous infection or incubation with inflammatory cytokines decreases with time following initial Ag encounter and increases with additional Ag encounters, suggesting that the ability to sense inflammation and respond with bystander cytokine production is dependent on age and Ag-stimulation history of memory CD8 T cells. These data shed further light on the regulation of memory CD8 T cell effector functions and have important implications for the development of vaccines designed to elicit protective memory CD8 T cells

Viral Infection Results in Massive CD8+ T Cell Expansion and Mortality in Vaccinated Perforin-Deficient Mice

AbstractPerforin-mediated cytotoxicity is essential for clearance of primary LCMV infection. BALB/c-perforin-deficient (PKO) mice survived LCMV infection by deleting NP118-specific CD8+ T cells whereas vaccination of PKO mice with Listeria expressing NP118 generated a stable memory CD8+ T cell population. However, >85% of vaccinated BALB/c-PKO mice died after LCMV infection. Mortality was associated with enormous expansion of NP118-specific CD8+ T cells in both lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues and aberrant CD8+ T cell cytokine production. Depletion of CD8+ T cells or treatment with anti-IFNγ antibody rescued vaccinated mice from mortality. Thus, perforin was essential for resistance to secondary LCMV infection, and, in the absence of perforin, vaccination resulted in lethal disease mediated by dysregulated CD8+ T cell expansion and cytokine production

Sepsis-induced changes in differentiation, maintenance, and function of memory CD8 T cell subsets

Formation of long-lasting memory lymphocytes is one of the foundational characteristics of adaptive immunity and the basis of many vaccination strategies. Following the rapid expansion and contraction of effector CD8 T cells, the surviving antigen (Ag)-specific cells give rise to the memory CD8 T cells that persist for a long time and are phenotypically and functionally distinct from their naïve counterparts. Significant heterogeneity exists within the memory CD8 T cell pool, as different subsets display distinct tissue localization preferences, cytotoxic ability, and proliferative capacity, but all memory CD8 T cells are equipped to mount an enhanced immune response upon Ag re-encounter. Memory CD8 T cells demonstrate numerical stability under homeostatic conditions, but sepsis causes a significant decline in the number of memory CD8 T cells and diminishes their Ag-dependent and -independent functions. Sepsis also rewires the transcriptional profile of memory CD8 T cells, which profoundly impacts memory CD8 T cell differentiation and, ultimately, the protective capacity of memory CD8 T cells upon subsequent stimulation. This review delves into different aspects of memory CD8 T cell subsets as well as the immediate and long-term impact of sepsis on memory CD8 T cell biology

Differential Role of “Signal 3” Inflammatory Cytokines in Regulating CD8 T Cell Expansion and Differentiation in vivo

Following an infection, naïve CD8 T cells are stimulated by dendritic cells (DC) displaying pathogen-derived peptides on MHC class I molecules (signal 1) and costimulatory molecules (signal 2). Additionally, pathogen-induced inflammatory cytokines also act directly on the responding CD8 T cells to regulate their expansion and differentiation. In particular, both type I interferons (IFNs) and IL-12 have been described as critical survival signals (signal 3) for optimal CD8 T cell accumulation during the expansion phase. Furthermore, expansion in numbers of antigen-specific CD8 T cells is coupled with their acquisition of effector functions to combat the infection. However, it still remains unclear whether these same cytokines also regulate the effector/memory differentiation program of the CD8 T cell response in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that defective signaling by either type I IFNs or IL-12 to the responding CD8 T cells impairs maximal expansion in response to DC immunization + CpG ODN, but neither of these cytokines is essential to regulate the effector/memory differentiation program. In addition, lack of direct IL-12 signaling to CD8 T cells accelerates the development of central memory phenotype in both primary and secondary antigen-specific memory CD8 T cells

A preliminary analysis of interleukin-1 ligands as potential predictive biomarkers of response to cetuximab

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal IgG1 antibody cetuximab is approved for first-line treatment of recurrent and metastatic (R/M) HNSCC as a part of the standard of care EXTREME regimen (platinum/5-fluorouracil/cetuximab). This regimen has relatively high response and disease control rates but is generally not curative and many patients will experience recurrent disease and/or metastasis. Therefore, there is a great need to identify predictive biomarkers for recurrence and disease progression in cetuximab-treated HNSCC patients to facilitate patient management and allow for treatment modification. The goal of this work is to assess the potential of activating interleukin-1 (IL-1) ligands (IL-1 alpha [IL-1α], IL-1 beta [IL-1β]) as predictive biomarkers of survival outcomes in HNSCC patients treated with cetuximab-based chemotherapy.2016 AACR-Bayer Innovation and Discovery Grant [16-80-44-SIMO]; National Institutes of Health (NIH) [R01DE024550, F99CA223062, R01 CA177669, P30 CA006973, P50 DE019032, T32 AI007511]; University of Iowa Department of Pathology Research Grant; University of Iowa Head and Neck Cancer Symposium Seed Grant; Johns Hopkins University Catalyst AwardOpen access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Extreme CD8 T Cell Requirements for Anti-Malarial Liver-Stage Immunity following Immunization with Radiation Attenuated Sporozoites

Radiation-attenuated Plasmodium sporozoites (RAS) are the only vaccine shown to induce sterilizing protection against malaria in both humans and rodents. Importantly, these “whole-parasite” vaccines are currently under evaluation in human clinical trials. Studies with inbred mice reveal that RAS-induced CD8 T cells targeting liver-stage parasites are critical for protection. However, the paucity of defined T cell epitopes for these parasites has precluded precise understanding of the specific characteristics of RAS-induced protective CD8 T cell responses. Thus, it is not known whether quantitative or qualitative differences in RAS-induced CD8 T cell responses underlie the relative resistance or susceptibility of immune inbred mice to sporozoite challenge. Moreover, whether extraordinarily large CD8 T cell responses are generated and required for protection following RAS immunization, as has been described for CD8 T cell responses following single-antigen subunit vaccination, remains unknown. Here, we used surrogate T cell activation markers to identify and track whole-parasite, RAS-vaccine-induced effector and memory CD8 T cell responses. Our data show that the differential susceptibility of RAS-immune inbred mouse strains to Plasmodium berghei or P. yoelii sporozoite challenge does not result from host- or parasite-specific decreases in the CD8 T cell response. Moreover, the surrogate activation marker approach allowed us for the first time to evaluate CD8 T cell responses and protective immunity following RAS-immunization in outbred hosts. Importantly, we show that compared to a protective subunit vaccine that elicits a CD8 T cell response to a single epitope, diversifying the targeted antigens through whole-parasite RAS immunization only minimally, if at all, reduced the numerical requirements for memory CD8 T cell-mediated protection. Thus, our studies reveal that extremely high frequencies of RAS-induced memory CD8 T cells are required, but may not suffice, for sterilizing anti-Plasmodial immunity. These data provide new insights into protective CD8 T cell responses elicited by RAS-immunization in genetically diverse hosts, information with relevance to developing attenuated whole-parasite vaccines

B7-H1 Blockade Increases Survival of Dysfunctional CD8+ T Cells and Confers Protection against Leishmania donovani Infections

Experimental visceral leishmaniasis (VL) represents an exquisite model to study CD8+ T cell responses in a context of chronic inflammation and antigen persistence, since it is characterized by chronic infection in the spleen and CD8+ T cells are required for the development of protective immunity. However, antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses in VL have so far not been studied, due to the absence of any defined Leishmania-specific CD8+ T cell epitopes. In this study, transgenic Leishmania donovani parasites expressing ovalbumin were used to characterize the development, function, and fate of Leishmania-specific CD8+ T cell responses. Here we show that L. donovani parasites evade CD8+ T cell responses by limiting their expansion and inducing functional exhaustion and cell death. Dysfunctional CD8+ T cells could be partially rescued by in vivo B7-H1 blockade, which increased CD8+ T cell survival but failed to restore cytokine production. Nevertheless, B7-H1 blockade significantly reduced the splenic parasite burden. These findings could be exploited for the design of new strategies for immunotherapeutic interventions against VL