Skin and gut imprinted T helper cell subsets exhibit distinct functional phenotypes in central nervous system autoimmunity

We developed an experimental framework to probe the idea that the site of priming in the systemic immune compartment is a determinant of T helper cell-induced immunopathology in remote organs. By site-specific in vivo labeling of antigen-specific T cells in inguinal (i) or gut draining mesenteric (m) lymph nodes, we show that i-T cells and m-T cells isolated from the inflamed central nervous system in a model for Multiple Sclerosis are distinct. Overall design: Comparison of DNA accessibility by Omni-ATAC-seq in sorted effector i- and m-T cells (mD2RED CD4+ CD44high) and naive i- and m-T cells (mD2RED CD4+ CD44int) from spleen.