Single cell analysis of host response to helminth infection reveals the clonal breadth, heterogeneity, and tissue-specific programming of the responding CD4+ T cell repertoire

PLoS Pathog. 2021 Jun 9;17(6):e1009602. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009602. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Abstract

The CD4+ T cell response is critical to host protection against helminth infection. How this response varies across different hosts and tissues remains an important gap in our understanding. Using IL-4-reporter mice to identify responding CD4+ T cells to Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection, T cell receptor sequencing paired with novel clustering algorithms revealed a broadly reactive and clonally diverse CD4+ T cell response. While the most prevalent clones and clonotypes exhibited some tissue selectivity, most were observed to reside in both the lung and lung-draining lymph nodes. Antigen-reactivity of the broader repertoires was predicted to be shared across both tissues and individual mice. Transcriptome, trajectory, and chromatin accessibility analysis of lung and lymph-node repertoires revealed three unique but related populations of responding IL-4+ CD4+ T cells consistent with T follicular helper, T helper 2, and a transitional population sharing similarity with both populations. The shared antigen reactivity of lymph node and lung repertoires combined with the adoption of tissue-specific gene programs allows for the pairing of cellular and humoral responses critical to the orchestration of anti-helminth immunity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Lung / immunology
  • Lymph Nodes / immunology
  • Mice
  • Nippostrongylus
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / immunology
  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Strongylida Infections / immunology*

Substances

  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta