Clone tracking through repeated malaria identifies high-fidelity memory CD4 T cell responses.

ABSTRACT: Few studies have tracked human CD4⁺ T cell clones through repeated infections. We used longitudinal single-cell RNA and T cell receptor (TCR) tracking to study the functional stability and memory potential of CD4⁺ T cell clonotypes during repeated Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) infections in Ugandan children and adults. Nearly all clonotypes displayed a strong preference for one of seven CD4⁺ subsets. This phenomenon of "clonal fidelity" was influenced by clonal expansion, linking T cell polarization and proliferation in vivo. Using clone tracking, we characterized subset-specific activation trajectories and identified antigen-specific clones. Type 1 regulatory T (T_R1) cells accounted for nearly 90% of Pf-specific CD4⁺

SUBMITTER: Nideffer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12650476 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature