Project description:CD4+ T cells play a critical role in sustaining the effector function of CD8+ T cells during chronic viral infection. When CD4+ T cell “help” is absent, CD8+ T cells enter a dysfunctional state, losing their capacity for viral control. However, when CD4+ T cell help is present, a heterogenous population of virus-specific CD8+ T cells are present. Here, we applied scRNA-seq to distinguish CD8+ T cell heterogeneity during LCMV Clone 13 infection.
Project description:CD8+ T cell exhaustion is a complex process involving the differentiation of persistently activated CD8+ T cells into functionally distinct cell subsets. Here, we investigated the role of the key epigenetic regulator histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) in the differentiation of exhausted T (Tex) cells during chronic viral infection. We uncovered that HDAC1 controls the generation and maintenance of effector-like CX3CR1+ Tex cells in a CD8+ T cell-intrinsic manner. Deletion of HDAC1 led to expansion of an alternative Tex subset characterized by high expression of T cell exhaustion markers, and this was accompanied by elevated viremia. HDAC1 bound to and facilitated an open chromatin state of effector-like signature gene loci in progenitor Tex cells, thereby priming cell fate specification toward the CX3CR1+ Tex subset. Our study un-covers a selective role for HDAC1 in CX3CR1+ Tex subset differentiation, which is essential for controlling viral load during chronic infection.
Project description:CD4+ T cells play a critical role in sustaining the effector function of CD8+ T cells during chronic viral infection. When CD4+ T cell “help” is absent, CD8+ T cells enter a dysfunctional state, losing their capacity for viral control. Here, we applied spatial transcriptomics to explore cellular localization and potential interaction between key immune cell subsets during chronic LCMV Clone 13 infection.
