Congenital CMV infection drives oligoclonal expansion of cytotoxic γδ T cells from early fetal progenitors

Abstract

Gamma delta T cells ({gamma}{delta} T cells) emerge early during human gestation and are uniquely equipped to protect the fetus and infant following in utero infection with viruses such as cytomegalovirus (CMV). Previous research showed that fetal {gamma}{delta} T cells in early gestation are transcriptionally pre-programmed for effector functions in the thymus. Infants with congenital CMV infection (cCMV) exhibit expansions of {gamma}{delta} T cells with CMV-reactive TCRs; however, the functional and transcriptional programming of these innate-like effector cells has not been characterized. Here, we analyzed cord blood mononuclear cells from cCMV+ and uninfected neonates in Uganda using flow cytometry and single-cell RNA and TCR sequencing. We find that {gamma}{delta} T cells in cCMV+ neonates are more differentiated, activated, cytotoxic, and proliferative. TCR repertoires of cCMV+ infants exhibit oligoclonal expansions with an enrichment of {gamma}{delta}TCRs that possess shorter CDR3 lengths and fewer N additions, which suggest they arise from early fetal progenitor cells. These expanded {gamma}{delta} T cell clonotypes in cCMV+ infants are more frequently public and exhibit cytotoxic transcriptional programming. These findings demonstrate that cCMV infection drives an oligoclonal expansion of highly cytotoxic effector {gamma}{delta} T cells with fetal-like TCR features, underscoring their specialized roles in early-life immunity.