Trafficking, persistence, and activation state of adoptively transferred allogeneic and autologous SIV-specific CD8+ T-cell clones during acute and chronic SIV infection of rhesus macaques1

Despite multiple lines of evidence suggesting their involvement, the precise role of CD8 + T-cells in controlling HIV replication remains unclear. To determine whether CD8 + T cells can limit retroviral replication in the absence of other immune responses, we transferred 1-13 × 10 9 allogeneic in vitro expanded SIV-specific CD8 + T-cell clones matched for the relevant restricting MHC-I allele into rhesus macaques near the time of intravenous (i.v.) SIV challenge. Additionally, in vitro expanded autologous SIV-specific CD8 + T-cell clones were infused 4-9 months post-infection. Infused cells did not appreciably impact acute or chronic viral replication. The partially MHC-matched allogeneic cells were not detected in the blood or most tissues after 3 days but persisted longer in the lungs as assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Autologous cells transferred i.v. or intraperitoneally (i.p.) were found in BAL and blood samples for up to 8 weeks post-infusion. Interestingly, despite having a nominally activated phenotype (CD69 + HLA-DR + ), many of these cells persisted in the BAL without dividing. This suggests that expression of such markers by T cells at mucosal sites may not reflect recent activation, but may instead identify stable resident memory T cells. The lack of impact following transfer of such a large number of functional antigen-specific CD8 + T cells on SIV replication may reflect the magnitude of the immune response required to contain the virus.