Download MendeleyTCR alpha beta repertoire plasticity defines universal CD8+ T cell responses directed at influenza-specific HLA-A*02:01-PB1413-421 epitope.
Koutsakos, M., Crawford, J.C., Grzelak, L., Rizzetto, S., Nguyen, A.T., Chaurasia, P., Petersen, J., Rowntree, L.C., Allen, E.K., Tong, S.Y.C., Cheng, A.C., Kotsimbos, T.C., Luciani, F., Rossjohn, J., Gras, S., Thomas, P.G., Nguyen, T.H.O., Kedzierska, K.(2026) J Immunol 215
- PubMed: 42886732 Search on PubMed
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jimmun/vkag270
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
27EU, 27EV - PubMed Abstract:
HLA-A*02:01-restricted PB1413+CD8+ T cells provide the broadest reported cross-reactive immunity against influenza A, B, and C viruses. Here, we investigated T cell receptor (TCR) clonotypic signatures within these universal A2/PB1413+CD8+ T cell pools, compared with immunodominant influenza A-specific M158+CD8+ T cells and codominant influenza B-specific A2/HA543+CD8+ memory T cells. Using single-cell reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and RNA sequencing methodologies, we defined TCRαβ repertoire composition and diversity. Our study shows that CD8+ T cells responding to these 3 epitopes differ in magnitude and TCRαβ repertoires in terms of gene usage and sharing, underpinned by specific TCR and structural features for each pMHC-I specificity. Our data demonstrated that the A2/PB1413+CD8+ TCRαβ repertoire encompassed diverse gene segment usage within both TCRα and TCRβ chains. These were, however, greatly variable across HLA-A2*02:01-expressing individuals and lacked any shared features within TRAV, TRBV, TRBJ, and TRAJ gene segments. This A2/PB1413+CD8+ TCRαβ diversity stemmed from the low probability of recombination attributed to a large number of N-insertions in the TCRβ chain. PB1413+CD8+ T cells also displayed remarkable plasticity in recognition of the A2/PB1413 epitope depicted by versatile CD8+ T cell recognition patterns of the universal A2/PB1413 epitope across HLA-A*02:01-expressing individuals. Conversely, TCRαβ repertoires within A2/BHA543+CD8+ and M158+CD8+ T cells displayed common TRAV, TRBV, TRBJ, and TRAJ gene segments, shared across HLA-A*02:01-expressing individuals and recognizing key residues within A2/BHA543 and A2/M158 epitopes. Overall, our data showed a great level of TCRαβ gene usage diversity within universal A2/PB1413+CD8+ T cells, indicating that the TCRαβ clonal plasticity defines universal immunity toward human influenza viruses.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne and Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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