Immune mobilising T cell receptors redirect polyclonal CD8+ T cells in chronic HIV infection to form immunological synapses

Authors:

Zoë Wallace, Jakub Kopycinski, Hongbing Yang, Michelle L. McCully, Christian Eggeling, Jakub Chojnacki & Lucy Dorrell

Keywords:

HIV, T-Cell Receptors, immunological sysnapses

Abstract:

T cell exhaustion develops in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection due to chronic viral antigenic stimulation. This adaptive response primarily affects virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells, which may remain dysfunctional despite viral load-reducing antiretroviral therapy; however, abnormalities may also be evident in non-HIV-specific populations. Both could limit the efficacy of cell therapies against viral reservoirs. Here, we show that bulk (polyclonal) CD8⁺ T cells from people living with HIV (PLWH) express proposed markers of dysfunctional HIV-specific T cells at high levels yet form lytic immunological synapses (IS) and eliminate primary resting infected (HIV Gag^lo) CD4⁺ T cells, when redirected by potent bispecific T cell-retargeting molecules, Immune mobilising monoclonal T cell receptors (TCR) Against Virus (ImmTAV). While PLWH CD8⁺ T cells are functionally impaired when compared to CD8⁺ T cells from HIV-naïve donors, ImmTAV redirection enables them to eliminate Gag^lo CD4⁺ T cells that are insensitive to autologous HIV-specific cytolytic T cells. ImmTAV molecules may therefore be able to target HIV reservoirs, which represent a major barrier to a cure.

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