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Human KIR+CD8+ T cells target pathogenic T cells in Celiac disease and are active in autoimmune diseases and COVID-19

Li, J.; Zaslavsky, M. E.; Su, Y.; Sikora, M.; van Unen, V.; Christophersen, A.; Chiou, S.-H.; Chen, L.; Li, J.; Ji, X.; Wilhelmy, J.; McSween, A.; Palanski, B. A.; Mallajosyula, V.; Dhondalay, G.; Bhamidipati, K.; Pai, J.; Kipp, L.; Dunn, J.; Hauser, S.; Oksenberg, J.; Satpathy, A.; Robinson, W.; Steinmetz, L.; Khosla, C.; Utz, P.; Sollid, L. M.; Heath, J.; Fernandez-Becker, N.; Nadeau, K.; Saligrama, N.; Davis, M.

2021-12-25 immunology
10.1101/2021.12.23.473930 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Previous reports show that Ly49+CD8+ T cells can suppress autoimmunity in mouse models of autoimmune diseases. Here we find a markedly increased frequency of CD8+ T cells expressing inhibitory Killer cell Immunoglobulin like Receptors (KIR), the human equivalent of the Ly49 family, in the blood and inflamed tissues of various autoimmune diseases. Moreover, KIR+CD8+ T cells can efficiently eliminate pathogenic gliadin-specific CD4+ T cells from Celiac disease (CeD) patients leukocytes in vitro. Furthermore, we observe elevated levels of KIR+CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ regulatory T cells, in COVID-19 and influenza-infected patients, and this correlates with disease severity and vasculitis in COVID-19. Expanded KIR+CD8+ T cells from these different diseases display shared phenotypes and similar T cell receptor sequences. These results characterize a regulatory CD8+ T cell subset in humans, broadly active in both autoimmune and infectious diseases, which we hypothesize functions to control self-reactive or otherwise pathogenic T cells. One-Sentence SummaryHere we identified KIR+CD8+ T cells as a regulatory CD8+ T cell subset in humans that suppresses self-reactive or otherwise pathogenic CD4+ T cells.

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