Ag-driven CD8+ T cell clonal expansion is a prominent feature of MASH in humans and mice.
Abbigayl E C BurtisDestiny M C DeNicolaMegan E FergusonRadleigh G SantosClemencia PinillaMichael S KrissDavid J OrlickyBeth A Jirón TamburiniAustin E GillenMatthew A BurchillPublished in: Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) (2024)
MASH-induced human cirrhosis and diet-induced MASH in mice resulted in the accumulation of activated and clonally expanded T cells in the liver. The clonally expanded T cells in the liver expressed markers of chronic antigenic stimulation, including PD1, TIGIT, and TOX. Overall, this study establishes for the first time that T cells undergo Ag-dependent clonal expansion and functional differentiation during the progression of MASH. These studies could lead to the identification of antigenic targets that drive T cell activation, clonal expansion, and recruitment to the liver during MASH.