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KIR+CD8+ T cells suppress pathogenic T cells and are active in autoimmune diseases and COVID-19. Science (New York, N.Y.) Li, J., Zaslavsky, M., Su, Y., Guo, J., Sikora, M. J., van Unen, V., Christophersen, A., Chiou, S., Chen, L., Li, J., Ji, X., Wilhelmy, J., McSween, A. M., Palanski, B. A., Mallajosyula, V. V., Bracey, N. A., Dhondalay, G. K., Bhamidipati, K., Pai, J., Kipp, L. B., Dunn, J. E., Hauser, S. L., Oksenberg, J. R., Satpathy, A. T., Robinson, W. H., Dekker, C. L., Steinmetz, L. M., Khosla, C., Utz, P. J., Sollid, L. M., Chien, Y., Heath, J. R., Fernandez-Becker, N. Q., Nadeau, K. C., Saligrama, N., Davis, M. M. 2022: eabi9591

Abstract

Here we find that CD8+ T cells expressing inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are the human equivalent of Ly49+CD8+ regulatory T cells in mice and are increased in the blood and inflamed tissues of patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases. Moreover, these CD8+ T cells efficiently eliminated pathogenic gliadin-specific CD4+ T cells from celiac disease patients' leukocytes in vitro. We also find elevated levels of KIR+CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ regulatory T cells, in COVID-19 patients, which correlated with disease severity and vasculitis. Selective ablation of Ly49+CD8+ T cells in virus-infected mice led to autoimmunity post infection. Our results indicate that in both species, these regulatory CD8+ T cells act uniquely to suppress pathogenic T cells in autoimmune and infectious diseases.

View details for DOI 10.1126/science.abi9591

View details for PubMedID 35258337