Frontiers in Immunology (Feb 2021)

Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cells Expressing CXCR5 Are Detectable in HIV-1 Elite Controllers After Prolonged In Vitro Peptide Stimulation

  • Philipp Adams,
  • Philipp Adams,
  • Philipp Adams,
  • Gilles Iserentant,
  • Jean-Yves Servais,
  • Linos Vandekerckhove,
  • Guido Vanham,
  • Guido Vanham,
  • Carole Seguin-Devaux,
  • the PhenoCure Study Group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.622343
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not curative as HIV-1 persists in long-lived viral reservoirs. Consequently, patients are dependent on life-long drug adherence with possible side effects. To overcome these limitations strategies of a functional cure aim at ART free viral remission. In this study, we sought to identify detailed subsets of anti-viral CD8+ T cell immunity linked to natural long-term control of HIV-1 infection. Here, we analyzed HIV controllers and ART suppressed progressors for in vitro viral suppressive capacity (VSC) at baseline and after peptide stimulation. Functional properties and phenotypes of CD8+ T cells were assessed by IFN-γ ELISPOT and 18 color flow cytometry. HIV controllers showed significantly increased suppression at baseline as well as after peptide stimulation. IFN-γ secretion and the proliferation marker Ki67 positively correlated with VSC. Moreover, the detailed phenotype of three distinct multifunctional memory CD8+ T cell subsets were specific traits of HIV controllers of which two correlated convincingly with VSC. Our results underline the importance of multifunctional CD8+ T cell responses during natural control. Especially the role of CXCR5 expressing cytotoxic subsets emphasizes potential surveillance in sites of reservoir persistence and demand further study.

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