Psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis joints differ in the composition of CD8+ tissue-resident memory T cell subsets.

CD69+CD103+ tissue-resident memory T (T _RM ) cells are important drivers of inflammation. To decipher their role in inflammatory arthritis, we apply single-cell, high-dimensional profiling to T cells from the joints of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We identify three groups of synovial CD8+CD69+CD103+ T _RM cells: cytotoxic and regulatory T (Treg)-like T _RM cells are present in both PsA and RA, while CD161+CCR6+ type 17-like T _RM cells with a pro-inflammatory cytokine profile (IL-17A+TNFα+IFNγ+) are specifically enriched in PsA. In contrast, only one population of CD4+CD69+CD103+ T _RM cells is detected and at similarly low frequencies in both diseases. Type 17-like CD8+ T _RM cells have a distinct transcriptomic signature and a polyclonal, but distinct, TCR repertoire. Type 17-like cells are also enriched in CD8+CD103- T cells in PsA compared with RA. These findings illustrate differences in the immunopathology of PsA and RA, with a particular enrichment for type 17 CD8+ T cells in the PsA joint.
Competing Interests: Declaration of interests This study was supported in part by a Sanofi iAward to G.A.M.P., B.W.K., and L.S.T. T.L. is an employee of Sanofi. L.S.T. has previously received speaker fees and/or research support from GSK, Novo Nordisk A/S, UCB, and Novartis, outside this work. B.W.K. has received research support from Eli-Lilly, Novartis, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and UCB Pharma and has been an advisor or received speaker fees from Eli-Lilly, Janssen, and Novartis, outside this work.
(Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)