Epitope-specific airway-resident CD4+ T-cell dynamics during experimental human RSV infection

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important cause of acute pulmonary disease and one of the last remaining major infections of childhood for which there is no vaccine. CD4+ T-cells play a key role in antiviral immunity, but they have been little studied in the human lung. Methods: Healthy adult volunteers were inoculated intranasally with RSV A Memphis 37. CD4+ T-cells in blood and lower airway were analysed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Bronchial soluble mediators were measured using quantitative PCR and MesoScale Discovery. Epitope mapping was performed by IFN-γ ELISpot screening, confirmed by in vitro MHC binding. Results: Activated CD4+ T-cell frequencies in bronchoalveolar lavage correlated strongly with local CXCL10 levels. Thirty-nine epitopes were identified, predominantly towards the 3’ end of the viral genome. Five novel MHC-II tetramers were made using an immunodominant F-EFY epitope restricted to HLA-DR4, -DR9 and -DR11 (combined allelic frequency: 15% in Europeans) and G- DDF restricted to HLA-DPA1*01:03/DPB1*02:01 and -DPA1*01:03/DPB1*04:01 (allelic frequency: 55%). Tetramer labelling revealed enrichment of resident memory CD4+ T-cells (TRM) cells in the lower airway; these TRM displayed progressive differentiation, down-regulation of co- stimulatory molecules and elevated CXCR3 expression as infection evolved. Conclusion: Human infection challenge provides a unique opportunity to study the breadth of specificity and dynamics of RSV-specific T-cell responses in the target organ, allowing the precise investigation of TRM recognising novel viral antigens over time. The new tools that we describe enable precise tracking of RSV-specific CD4+ cells, potentially accelerating the development of effective vaccines