Regulatory KIR+ RA+ T cells accumulate with age and are highly activated during viral respiratory disease.

Abstract

Severe respiratory viral infectious diseases such as influenza and COVID‐19 especially affect the older population. This is partly ascribed to diminished CD8+ T‐cell responses a result of aging. The phenotypical diversity of the CD8+ T‐cell population has made it difficult to identify the impact of aging on CD8+ T‐cell subsets associated with diminished CD8+ T‐cell responses. Here we identify a novel human CD8+ T‐cell subset characterized by expression of Killer‐cell Immunoglobulin‐like Receptors (KIR+) and CD45RA (RA+). These KIR+RA+ T cells accumulated with age in the blood of healthy individuals (20–82 years of age, n = 50), expressed high levels of aging‐related markers of T‐cell regulation, and were functionally capable of suppressing proliferation of other CD8+ T cells. Moreover, KIR+RA+ T cells were a major T‐cell subset becoming activated in older adults suffering from an acute respiratory viral infection (n = 36), including coronavirus and influenza virus infection. In addition, older adults with influenza A infection showed that higher activation status of their KIR+RA+ T cells associated with longer duration of respiratory symptoms. Together, our data indicate that KIR+RA+ T cells are a unique human T‐cell subset with regulatory properties that may explain susceptibility to viral respiratory disease at old age.