JCI Insight. 2017 Jan 26; 2(2):e89574.

PubMed ID: 28138558

Circulating CXCR5+;CXCR3+;PD-1lo; Tfh-like cells in HIV-1 controllers with neutralizing antibody breadth

Martin-Gayo E, Cronin J, Hickman T, Ouyang Z, Lindqvist M, Kolb KE, Schulze Zur Wiesch J, Cubas R, Porichis F, Shalek AK, van Lunzen J, Haddad EK, Walker BD, Kaufmann DE, Lichterfeld M, Yu XG

HIV-1-specific broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) typically develop in individuals with continuous high-level viral replication and increased immune activation, conditions that cannot be reproduced during prophylactic immunization. Understanding mechanisms supporting bnAb development in the absence of high-level viremia may be important for designing bnAb-inducing immunogens. Here, we show that the breadth of neutralizing antibody responses in HIV-1 controllers was associated with a relative enrichment of circulating CXCR5+CXCR3+PD-1lo CD4+ T cells. These CXCR3+PD-1lo Tfh-like cells were preferentially induced in vitro by functionally superior dendritic cells from controller neutralizers, and able to secrete IL-21 and support B cells. In addition, these CXCR3+PD-1lo Tfh-like cells contained higher proportions of stem cell-like memory T cells, and upon antigenic stimulation differentiated into PD-1hi Tfh-like cells in a Notch-dependent manner. Together, these data suggest that CXCR5+CXCR3+PD-1lo cells represent a dendritic cell-primed precursor cell population for PD-1hi Tfh-like cells that may contribute to the generation of bnAbs in the absence of high-level viremia.