Tfh-cell-derived interleukin 21 sustains effector CD8⁺ T cell responses during chronic viral infection.

ABSTRACT: CD4⁺ T cell-derived interleukin 21 (IL-21) sustains CD8⁺ T cell responses during chronic viral infection, but the helper subset that confers this protection remains unclear. Here, we applied scRNA and ATAC-seq approaches to determine the heterogeneity of IL-21⁺CD4⁺ T cells during LCMV clone 13 infection. CD4⁺ T cells were comprised of three transcriptionally and epigenetically distinct populations: Cxcr6⁺ Th1 cells, Cxcr5⁺ Tfh cells, and a previously unrecognized Slamf6⁺ memory-like (Tml) subset. T cell differentiation was specifically redirected toward the Tml subset during chronic, but not acute, LCMV infection. Although this subset displayed an enhanced capacity to accumulate and some developmental p

SUBMITTER: Zander R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8916994 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature