K Kai McKinstry
University of Central Florida, USA
Title: IL-15-dependent generation of lung tissue-resident memory CD4 T cells
Biography
Biography: K Kai McKinstry
Abstract
Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) are thought to play a key role in protective recall responses against pathogens. TRM subsets that persist at sites of previous infection may be especially important for immunity against pathogens such as influenza A virus (IAV) that can evade neutralizing antibodies. How TRM cells form during immune responses is not fully understood, especially for CD4+ T cells. We recently found that virtually all memory CD4 T cells that develop in secondary lymphoid organs following IAV priming require autocrine IL-2 signals. Here, we describe a unique role for IL-15 in supporting the generation of a subset of IL-2-independent lung CD4+ TRM cells formed during IAV priming. Our results demonstrate that this TRM subset is highly functional and can more efficiently elicit pro-inflammatory responses from dendritic cells presenting cognate peptide antigen than can conventional splenic memory CD4 T cells expressing the same T cell receptor. We have previously shown that this function correlates with initial control of viral titers during the first few days following IAV challenge. These studies, identifying a novel role for IL-15 in specifically supporting the priming of a subset of lung CD4 TRM cells with specialized function are highly relevant to vaccine design.