Expansion of CD57+KLRG1+ T cells is associated with reduced vaccine responses in CMV+ young adults

Journal article

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with immunosenescence and reduced vaccine responses in the elderly (>70 years). However, the impact of CMV in young adults is less clear. In this study, healthy UK and Senegalese adults aged 18-50 years (average 29 years) were vaccinated with the Ebola vaccine candidate chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 vectored Ebola Zaire vaccine (ChAd3-EBO-Z) and boosted with modified vaccinia Ankara Ebola Zaire vectored (MVA-EBO-Z) vaccine. CMV carriage was associated with an expansion of phenotypically senescent CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing CD57 and killer cell lectin-like receptor G1 (KLRG1), which was negatively associated with vaccine responses in both cohorts (P<0.001). Ebola-specific T cell responses induced by vaccination also contained significantly increased frequencies of terminally differentiated CD57+ KLRG1+ cells in CMV seropositive (CMV+) individuals. This study suggests that CMV can also affect vaccine responses in younger adults and may have a particularly marked impact in many developing countries where CMV seroprevalence is almost universal.

Authors: Bowyer, G; Sharpe, H; Venkatraman, N; Mair, C; A Mentzer

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Rockefeller University Press
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Medicine
• Volume: 217
• Issue: 7
• Article number: e20200004
• Publication date: 2020-05-15
• Acceptance date: 2020-04-15
• DOI: 10.1084/jem.20200004
• EISSN: 1540-9538
• ISSN: 0022-1007
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR