Functional HPV-specific PD-1⁺ stem-like CD8 T cells in head and neck cancer.

ABSTRACT: T cells are important in tumour immunity but a better understanding is needed of the differentiation of antigen-specific T cells in human cancer^1,2. Here we studied CD8 T cells in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck cancer and identified several epitopes derived from HPV E2, E5 and E6 proteins that allowed us to analyse virus-specific CD8 T cells using major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I tetramers. HPV-specific CD8 T cells expressed PD-1 and were detectable in the tumour at levels that ranged from 0.1% to 10% of tumour-infiltrating CD8 T lymphocytes (TILs) for a given epitope. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses of tetramer-sorted HPV-specific PD-1⁺ CD8 TILs revealed three transcriptionally distinct subsets. One subset expressed

SUBMITTER: Eberhardt CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10201342 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature