title: Cartography of gene expression in CD8 single cells: novel CCR7- subsets suggest differentiation independent of CD45RA expression.
abstract: Understanding the distribution, function, and lineage relationship of CD8+ T-cell subpopulations is of fundamental value for the monitoring of the immune system in several experimental and clinical situations. However, the available data concerning the description of effector and memory CD8+ subsets in humans remain rather fragmentary because different studies favored the usage of distinct and restricted sets of cell surface markers and functional parameters. We associated multiple markers to subdivide CD8+ T cells into 14 different cell types, several of which were not described previously, and evaluated the coexpression of 18 genes simultaneously in individual cells from each subset. Our results show that each subset has a defined pattern of gene expression. Moreover, effector gene expression of CCR7- cells correlated only with CD27 expression levels and CD27/CD28 coexpression but not with CD45RA/R0 phenotypes. Our findings thus describe new CD8+ cell subsets, allow the identification of relatively homogeneous CD8+ subpopulations, provide a predictable and precise correlation between particular cell surface markers and CD8+ T-cell functional properties, and identify effector cells present in both CCR7-CD45RA+ and CCR7-CD45R0+ compartments. The results also indicate that activated cells might modulate the expression of CD45RA/R0 asynchronously rather than CCR7-CD45RA+ cells always issuing from CD45RA- precursors.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Unit 591, Necker Institute, René-Descartes Medical School, Paris, France. marta.monteiro@necker.fr
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Evaristo
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Legrand
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Benedita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D019041:L-Selectin / Q000378:metabolism; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D054400:Receptors, CCR7; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine / Q000378:metabolism*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C515370:CCR7 protein, human; D018106:CD28 Antigens; D054400:Receptors, CCR7; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7; D019041:L-Selectin; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens