@ARTICLE{10.3389/fimmu.2019.00887, AUTHOR={Khanniche, Asma and Zhou, Ling and Jiang, Bin and Song, Jing and Jin, Yanhua and Yin, Jian and Wang, Shujun and Ji, Ping and Shen, Hao and Wang, Ying and Xu, Huji}, TITLE={Restored and Enhanced Memory T Cell Immunity in Rheumatoid Arthritis After TNFα Blocker Treatment}, JOURNAL={Frontiers in Immunology}, VOLUME={10}, YEAR={2019}, URL={https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00887}, DOI={10.3389/fimmu.2019.00887}, ISSN={1664-3224}, ABSTRACT={TNFα inhibitors have shaped the landscape of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy with high clinical efficiency. However, their impact on T cell recall responses is not well-elucidated. We aimed to analyze the immune profiles of memory T cells in RA patients undergoing TNFα inhibitor Golimumab (GM) treatment. Frequencies of peripheral T cell subsets and cytokine expression profiles in memory T cells (TM) upon PMA/Ionomycine stimulation were determined by flow cytometry. Antigen-specific CD8 T cell immunity was analyzed through stimulating PBMCs with CMV-EBV-Flu (CEF) viral peptide pool and subsequent intracellular IFNγ staining. Both peripheral CD8 and CD4 T cells from GM treated patients had a shift pattern characterized by an enlarged effector TM and a reduced central TM cell population when compared to GM untreated group. An increase in the frequencies of TNFα+, IL-2+, and IL-17+ CD8 TM cells was observed whereas only TNFα+CD4 TM cells increased in GM treated patients. Moreover, GM treated patients contained more peripheral IFNγ-producing CD8 T cells specific to CEF viral peptides. Together, these results show a distinct T cell subset pattern and enhanced memory T cell immunity upon GM treatment, suggesting an immunoregulatory effect of TNF inhibitor Golimumab on peripheral memory T cell responses.} }