Identification of GP33-specific CD8 T cell clones responding to chronic infection with LCMV-Clone13

T cells specific for a certain antigen are a heterogeneous population characterized by cells expressing different T Cell Receptors (TCRs). As the TCR determines the avidity of a T cell clone for its cognate antigen, this feature has also a significant impact on the fate of such clone during antigenic challenge. In the context of chronic viral infection, T cells specific for the chronic virus differentiate into exhausted cells with limited functionality. We find that, in the process of exhaustion following infection with LCMV-Clone13, certain clones of CD8 T cells specific for the LCMV immunodominant epitope GP33 are enriched compared to others. 3 C57BL/6 mice were infected with LCMV-Clone13 and eutnaized 27 days after infection. Spleens were collected and splenocytes pooled together before proceding to staining with GP33-loaded tetramers to ientify GP33-specific CD8 T cells. These cells were then sorted by FACS and then used for scRNAseq of their TCRs.