Enhanced STAT5a activation opposes Tox and rewires exhausted CD8 T cells towards a hybrid durable effector-like state during chronic stimulation [scRNA-seq_PostInfection]

Here, we discovered a reciprocal antagonism between Stat5a and Tox in TEX cells. Stat5a antagonized the Tox-mediated exhaustion program to achieve a durable and protective hybrid effector/NK-like differentiation state in settings that typically drive exhaustion. Stat5 also drove TEX progenitors to differentiate into the effector-like TEXint subset, a key developmental step for PD-1 blockade responsiveness. P14 CD8 Tcells post infection were assayed using 10x scRNAseq