Nonspecific CD8 ⁺ T Cells and Dendritic Cells/Macrophages Participate in Formation of CD8 ⁺ T Cell-Mediated Clusters against Malaria Liver-Stage Infection

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CD8 + T cells are the major effector cells that protect against malaria liver-stage infection, forming clusters around Plasmodium -infected hepatocytes and eliminating parasites after a prolonged interaction with these hepatocytes. We aimed to investigate the roles of specific and nonspecific CD8 + T cells in cluster formation and protective immunity. To this end, we used Plasmodium berghei ANKA expressing ovalbumin as well as CD8 + T cells from transgenic mice expressing a T cell receptor specific for ovalbumin (OT-I) and CD8 + T cells specific for an unrelated antigen, respectively. While antigen-specific CD8 + T cells were essential for cluster formation, both antigen-specific and nonspecific CD8 + T cells joined the clusters. However, nonspecific CD8 + T cells did not significantly contribute to protective immunity. In the livers of infected mice, specific CD8 + T cells expressed high levels of CD25, compatible with a local, activated effector phenotype. In vivo imaging of the liver revealed that specific CD8 + T cells interact with CD11c + cells around infected hepatocytes. The depletion of CD11c + cells virtually eliminated the clusters in the liver, leading to a significant decrease in protection. These experiments reveal an essential role of hepatic CD11c + dendritic cells and presumably macrophages in the formation of CD8 + T cell clusters around Plasmodium -infected hepatocytes. Once cluster formation is triggered by parasite-specific CD8 + T cells, specific and unrelated activated CD8 + T cells join the clusters in a chemokine- and dendritic cell-dependent manner. Nonspecific CD8 + T cells seem to play a limited role in protective immunity against Plasmodium parasites.