CD8+ T cells specific for both persistent and non-persistent viruses display distinct differentiation phenotypes but have similar level of PD-1 expression in healthy Chinese individuals

Anti-viral CD8+ T cell responses involve an initial expansion and effector phase, followed by contraction phase and formation of CD8+ memory T cells. During this contraction phase, increased surface expression of the negative regulator PD-1 is associated with functional exhaustion of CD8+ T cells. Although its role in T cell suppression has been established, the importance of PD-1 in the differentiation of CD8+ T cells remains unclear. In this study, we examine PD-1 expression in relation to viral specificity of CD8+ T cells against persistent or non-persistent viruses, and further define differentiation phenotypes of CD8+ T cells by CD27 and CD28 expression. Surprisingly, the inhibitory receptor PD-1 was expressed by Flu-specific CD8+ T cells in a level comparable to HCMV-and EBV-specific cells. Moreover, in virus-specific CD8+ T cells, CD127+/CD127− and CD62L+/CD62L− cells expressed similar levels of PD-1 molecules. These results suggest that the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway may play a regulatory role in memory T cell subsets in addition to its association with T-cell exhaustion.