IL-27 induces IFN/STAT1-dependent genes and leads to enhanced function of TIGIT+ HIVGag-specific T cells

HIV-specific T cells have diminished effector function and fail to control/eliminate the virus. IL-27, a member of the IL-6/IL-12 cytokine superfamily has been shown to inhibit HIV replication however whether IL-27 can enhance function on HIV-specific T cell is largely unknown. Because of the important implication in cure strategies, in the present manuscript, we investigated the role of IL-27 signaling in human T cells by evaluating the global transcriptional changes and its impact in the function of HIV-specific T cells. We found that T cells from people living with HIV (PLWH), expressed higher levels of STAT1 that leads to enhanced STAT1 activation upon IL-27 stimulation. IL-27 induced transcriptional changes associated with IFN/STAT1-dependent pathways in CD4 and CD8 T cells. More importantly, IL-27 promoted cytokine secretion of TIGIT+HIVGag-specific T cell function by modulating the expression levels of T-bet. This new immunomodulatory property of IL-27 on HIV-specific T cell function suggests its potential therapeutic use in cure strategies. CD4 Naïve, CD4 Memory, CD8 Naïve, CD8 Memory T-cells; from 8 donors (5 HIV infected, 3 healthy); treated with IL-27, IL-6, IFN-alpha, or vehicle