Ly6Chi monocytes balance regulatory and cytotoxic CD4 T cell responses to control virus-induced immunopathology

Abstract

Gammaherpesviruses (γHVs) have coevolved with their host, leading to a remarkably high infection prevalence and establishment of latency. The lifelong persistence of γHVs in hosts appears to broadly shape host immunity, and we show here that pulmonary infection with Murid herpesvirus 4 (MuHV-4), a mouse γHV, drives the recruitment of Ly6C^hi monocytes (MOs) into the airway, thereby modulating the host immune response. The absence of Ly6C^hi MOs is associated with severe virus-induced immunopathology and the systemic release of inflammatory mediators. Mechanistically, MuHV-4-imprinted MOs recruit CD4 T cells to the airways and trigger immunosuppressive signaling pathways through the PD-L1/PD-1 axis, thereby dampening the deleterious activation of cytotoxic CD4 T cells. These results uncover a role for Ly6C^hi MOs in modulating CD4 T cell functions and reveal pathways that could be targeted therapeutically to reduce detrimental immunopathological responses associated with respiratory viral infections.