Tissue-resident memory T cells mediate immune homeostasis in the human pancreas through the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway

We investigated the distinct state of pancreas resident memory T cells (TRM) by whole transcriptome profiling of sorted CD8+TRM cells from donor-matched pancreata, jejunum, and PLN compared to circulating blood CD8+TEM cells from living healthy donors. We identified 2029 genes differentially expressed in pancreas TRM with comparison to both PLN and jejunum TRM. Strong correlation was observed in the differentially upregulated and downregulated genes between pancreas vs. jejunum TRM and pancreas vs. PLN TRM which together define a pancreas-specific gene signature. Overall design: Examination of TRM gene expression profiles from donor-matched pancreas, jejunum, pancreas draining lymph node (PLN) and blood CD8+ TEM from living healthy donors.