Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-Specific CD4+ T Cells Are Polyfunctional and Can Respond to HCMV-Infected Dendritic Cells In Vitro

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and periodic reactivation are generally well controlled by the HCMV-specific T cell response in healthy people. While the CD8(+) T cell response to HCMV has been extensively studied, the HCMV-specific CD4(+) T cell effector response is not as well understood, especially in the context of direct interactions with HCMV-infected cells. We screened the gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) responses to 6 HCMV peptide pools (pp65, pp71, IE1, IE2, gB, and US3, selected because they were the peptides most frequently responded to in our previous studies) in 84 donors aged 23 to 74 years. The HCMV-specific CD4(+) T cell response to pp65, IE1, IE2, and gB was predominantly Th1 biased, with neither the loss nor the accumulation of these responses occurring with increasing age. A larger proportion of donors produced an IL-10 response to pp71 and US3, but the IFN-(gamma) response was still dominant. CD4(+) T cells specific to the HCMV proteins studied were predominantly effector memory cells and produced both cytotoxic (CD107a expression) and cytokine (macrophage inflammatory protein 1 beta secretion) effector responses. Importantly, when we measured the CD4(+) T cell response to cytomegalovirus (CMV)-infected dendritic cells in vitro, we observed that the CD4(+) T cells produced a range of cytotoxic and secretory effector functions, despite the presence of CMV-encoded immune evasion molecules. CD4(+) T cell responses to HCMV-infected dendritic cells were sufficient to control the dissemination of virus in an in vitro assay. Together, the results show that HCMV-specific CD4(+) T cell responses, even those from elderly individuals, are highly functional and are directly antiviral. IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is carried for a lifetime and in healthy people is kept under control by the immune system. HCMV has evolved many mechanisms to evade the immune response, possibly explaining why the virus is never eliminated during the host's lifetime. The dysfunction of immune cells associated with the long-term carriage of HCMV has been linked with poor responses to new pathogens and vaccines when people are older. In this study, we investigated the response of a subset of immune cells (CD4(+) T cells) to HCMV proteins in healthy donors of all ages, and we demonstrate that the functionality of CD4(+) T cells is maintained. We also show that CD4(+) T cells produce effector functions in response to HCMV-infected cells and can prevent virus spread. Our work demonstrates that these HCMV-specific immune cells retain many important functions and help to prevent deleterious HCMV disease in healthy older people.