HIV-1-Specific CD11c+ CD8+ T Cells Display Low PD-1 Expression and Strong Anti-HIV-1 Activity

Decreased granzyme-B expression in CD11c+CD8+ T cells associated with disease progression in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction

CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells are an unconventional CD8⁺ T cell subset that exerts antiviral activity in infectious diseases. However, its characteristics in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been elucidated.

Methods

Twenty-six patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC and 25 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. The frequency and phenotype of CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells in peripheral blood and tumors in situ were detected by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry.

Results

Both the HCC group and HC group had similar frequency and phenotype characteristics of CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells in the periphery. CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells were mainly composed of effector T cells, most of which were CD45RA⁺CCR7-. Compared with CD11c-CD8⁺ T cells, CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells had a higher proportion of CD38 and HLA-DR double positive, and expressed high levels of granzyme-B (GB) and degranulation marker CD107a, and produced high levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). However, the ability of degranulation and TNF-α production of CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells in patients with HCC were significantly lower than that in healthy controls. The GB expression level of peripheral CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells in patients with advanced stage of HCC was significantly lower than that in patients with early stage of HCC, and the GB expression level of liver-infiltrating CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells in tumor tissues was lower than that in non-tumor tissues. More importantly, the GB expression level of peripheral CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells was negatively correlated with tumor volume.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells may have potential anti-tumor activity and that GB⁺CD11c⁺CD8⁺ T cells are associated with disease progression in patients with HBV-related HCC.

Comprehensive phenotyping of circulating immune cell subsets in people living with HIV

Systemic chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction are recognized as drivers of the development of non-AIDS related comorbidities (NARCs) in people living with HIV (PLHIV). In order to lower the risk of NARCs, it is critical to elucidate what is the contribution of alterations in the composition and function of circulating immune cells to NARCs-related pathogenesis. Findings from previous immunophenotyping studies in PLHIV are highly heterogeneous and it is not fully understood to what extent phenotypic changes on immune cells play a role in the dysregulated inflammatory response observed. In this study, three flow cytometry panels were designed and standardized to phenotypically and functionally identify the main circulating immune cell subsets in PLHIV. To reduce variability, up to 10 markers out of the approximately 20 markers in each panel were used in a custom dry format DURA Innovations (LUCID product line). Intra-assay precision tests performed for the selected cell subsets showed that the three panels had a %CV below 18% for percent of positive cells and the MFI (mean fluorescent intensity) of lineage markers. Our reported pipeline for immunophenotypic analysis facilitated the discrimination of 1153 cell populations, providing an integrated overview of circulating innate and adaptative immune cells as well as the cells' functional status in terms of activation, exhaustion, and maturation. When combined with unsupervised computational techniques, this standardized immunophenotyping approach may support the discovery of novel phenotypes with clinical relevance in NARCs and demonstrate future utility in other immune-mediated diseases.