Quantifying how TCR sequence influences cell fate commitment in chronic LCMV infection

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Presentation Time: 03:15 PM - 04:30 PM
Poster Board Number: B618
Abstract ID: 4805

Presenting Author:
Ryan Brown , Graduate Student at Med. Col. of Wisconsin, Northwestern Univ.

Abstract:

Repetitive T cell receptor (TCR) engagement on CD8 T cells during chronic infection is a critical driver of the dysfunctional state termed exhaustion. These exhausted cells are characterized by additional heterogeneity including a memory-like progenitor cell (Tpro) that continuously gives rise to either non-cytolytic exhausted cells (Texh) or cytotoxic effector cells (Teff). While we and others have shown that TCR avidity influence cell fate commitment to Texh or Teff, it is not certain if TCR sequence features influence this fate choice. In this study, we identify how TCR V(D)J gene recombination influences T cell differentiation at the single-cell resolution. To investigate this, we performed single-cell resolution TCR sequencing (scTCR-seq) on GP33+ tetramer sorted cells within lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) Clone 13 model of chronic infection across 7 different mice. Utilizing TCRdist and Clonotype Neighbor Graph Analysis (CoNGA), we construct correlations between gene expression and TCR features. We find that both chain usage and cdr3 motifs correlate to effector or exhausted cell fate commitment across these different mice. Overall, our results suggest that TCR gene rearrangement is critical not only for antigen specificity, but also determining CD8 T cell phenotypic outcomes during chronic viral infection.