Central memory T cells with key TCR repertoires and gene expression profiles dominate influenza CD8 T cell pools across the human lifespan

Abstract

Central memory CD8+ T cells (Tcm) represent the prominent memory T cell subset in human blood, yet the persistence of T cell receptor (TCR) clonotypic and transcriptional features of epitope-specific Tcm pools across the human lifespan remains unknown. We analyzed Tcm CD8+ T cells specific for HLA-A*02:01-M158–66 (A2/M158; a prominent influenza epitope) in newborns, children, adults, and older adults directly ex vivo. Our data provide evidence that epitope-specific Tcm CD8+ pools dominate influenza-specific memory A2/M158+CD8+ T cell responses from the early childhood until old age. Tcm gene signatures were largely maintained across the age groups, although self-renewal genes defined Tcm poo..