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Abdulhaqq S, Ventura AB, Reed JS, Bashirova AA, Bateman KB, McDonald E, Wu HL, Greene JM, Schell JB, Morrow D, Wisskirchen K, Martin JN, Deeks SG, Carrington M, Protzer U, Früh K, Hansen SG, Picker LJ, Sacha JB, Bimber BN. Identification and Characterization of Antigen-Specific CD8 + T Cells Using Surface-Trapped TNF-α and Single-Cell Sequencing. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2021; 207:2913-2921. [PMID: 34810222 PMCID: PMC9124229 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2100535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
CD8+ T cells are key mediators of antiviral and antitumor immunity. The isolation and study of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells, as well as mapping of their MHC restriction, has practical importance to the study of disease and the development of therapeutics. Unfortunately, most experimental approaches are cumbersome, owing to the highly variable and donor-specific nature of MHC-bound peptide/TCR interactions. Here we present a novel system for rapid identification and characterization of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells, particularly well suited for samples with limited primary cells. Cells are stimulated ex vivo with Ag of interest, followed by live cell sorting based on surface-trapped TNF-α. We take advantage of major advances in single-cell sequencing to generate full-length sequence data from the paired TCR α- and β-chains from these Ag-specific cells. The paired TCR chains are cloned into retroviral vectors and used to transduce donor CD8+ T cells. These TCR transductants provide a virtually unlimited experimental reagent, which can be used for further characterization, such as minimal epitope mapping or identification of MHC restriction, without depleting primary cells. We validated this system using CMV-specific CD8+ T cells from rhesus macaques, characterizing an immunodominant Mamu-A1*002:01-restricted epitope. We further demonstrated the utility of this system by mapping a novel HLA-A*68:02-restricted HIV Gag epitope from an HIV-infected donor. Collectively, these data validate a new strategy to rapidly identify novel Ags and characterize Ag-specific CD8+ T cells, with applications ranging from the study of infectious disease to immunotherapeutics and precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaheed Abdulhaqq
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Abigail B Ventura
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Jason S Reed
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Arman A Bashirova
- Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD
- Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Katherine B Bateman
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Eric McDonald
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Helen L Wu
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Justin M Greene
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - John B Schell
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - David Morrow
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Karin Wisskirchen
- Institute of Virology, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jeffrey N Martin
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Steven G Deeks
- HIV/AIDS Program, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Mary Carrington
- Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD
- Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; and
| | - Ulrike Protzer
- Institute of Virology, Technical University of Munich/Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Klaus Früh
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Scott G Hansen
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Louis J Picker
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Jonah B Sacha
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR;
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
| | - Benjamin N Bimber
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR
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Rosen BC, Pedreño-Lopez N, Ricciardi MJ, Reed JS, Sacha JB, Rakasz EG, Watkins DI. Rhesus Cytomegalovirus-Specific CD8 + Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Do Not Become Functionally Exhausted in Chronic SIVmac239 Infection. Front Immunol 2020; 11:1960. [PMID: 32922404 PMCID: PMC7457070 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) exert potent antiviral activity after HIV/SIV infection. However, efforts to harness the antiviral efficacy of CTLs for HIV/SIV prophylaxis and therapy have been severely hindered by two major problems: viral escape and exhaustion. By contrast, CTLs directed against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a ubiquitous chronic herpesvirus, seldom select for escape mutations and remain functional and refractory to exhaustion during chronic HCMV and HIV infection. Recently, attempts have been made to retarget HCMV-specific CTLs for cancer immunotherapy. We speculate that such a strategy may also be beneficial in the context of HIV/SIV infection, facilitating CTL-mediated control of HIV/SIV replication. As a preliminary assessment of the validity of this approach, we investigated the phenotypes and functionality of rhesus CMV (RhCMV)-specific CTLs in SIVmac239-infected Indian rhesus macaques (RMs), a crucial HIV animal model system. We recently identified two immunodominant, Mamu-A∗02-restricted CTL epitopes derived from RhCMV proteins and sought to evaluate the phenotypic and functional characteristics of these CTL populations in chronic SIVmac239 infection. We analyzed and directly compared RhCMV- and SIVmac239-specific CTLs during SIVmac239 infection in a cohort of Mamu-A∗01 + and Mamu-A∗02 + RMs. CTL populations specific for at least one of the RhCMV-derived CTL epitopes were detected in ten of eleven Mamu-A∗02 + animals tested, and both populations were detected in five of these animals. Neither RhCMV-specific CTL population exhibited significant changes in frequency, memory phenotype, granzyme B expression, exhaustion marker (PD-1 and CTLA-4) expression, or polyfunctionality between pre- and chronic SIVmac239 infection timepoints. In chronic SIVmac239 infection, RhCMV-specific CTLs exhibited higher levels of granzyme B expression and polyfunctionality, and lower levels of exhaustion marker expression, than SIVmac239-specific CTLs. Additionally, compared to SIVmac239-specific CTLs, greater proportions of RhCMV-specific CTLs were of the terminally differentiated effector memory phenotype (CD28- CCR7-) during chronic SIVmac239 infection. These results suggest that, in contrast to SIVmac239-specific CTLs, RhCMV-specific CTLs maintain their phenotypes and cytolytic effector functions during chronic SIVmac239 infection, and that retargeting RhCMV-specific CTLs might be a promising SIV immunotherapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon C Rosen
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.,Department of Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Nuria Pedreño-Lopez
- Department of Pathology, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Michael J Ricciardi
- Department of Pathology, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Jason S Reed
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, United States.,Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, United States
| | - Jonah B Sacha
- Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, United States.,Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR, United States
| | - Eva G Rakasz
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - David I Watkins
- Department of Pathology, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
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