Emergence of a senescent and inflammatory pulmonary CD4⁺T cell population prior to lung allograft failure

Abstract

Lung transplantation is a life-saving therapy for end-stage pulmonary disease, but its long-term outlook is poor due to a high incidence of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). CLAD results from alloimmune-mediated progressive fibrosis and culminates in death or the need for re-transplantation after a median of 6 years. Existing immunosuppression fails to prevent CLAD, suggesting the existence of alloimmune pathways resistant to these drugs. Here, we used mass cytometry to identify cell populations enriched in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of patients with subsequent allograft dysfunction. We show that CD4+CD57+PD1+T cells emerge in stable lung transplant recipients in the first year post-transplant, conferring heightened risks for CLAD and death or re-transplantation. CD4+CD57+PD1+T cells display features of senescence and secrete inflammatory cytokines. Cellular indexing by transcriptomes and epitopes (CITE-Seq) on BAL CD4+T cells revealed the existence of 2 oligoclonal CD57+subsets with putative cytotoxic and follicular helper functions. Finally, we observed that CD4+CD57+PD1+T cells are associated with lung allograft fibrosis in a mouse model and in human explanted CLAD lungs, where they localize near airway epithelium and B cells. Together, our findings reveal the existence of an inflammatory T cell population that predicts future lung allograft dysfunction and may represent a rational therapeutic target in lung transplant recipients.