mTOR regulates memory CD8 T cell differentiation

Memory CD8 T cells are a critical component of protective immunity and inducing effective memory T cell responses is a major goal of vaccines against chronic infections and tumors 1-3. Considerable effort has gone into designing vaccine regimens that will increase the magnitude of the memory response but there has been minimal emphasis on developing strategies to improve the functional qualities of memory T cells 4. In this study we show that mTOR, the mammalian target of rapamycin 5, is a major regulator of memory CD8 T cell differentiation and in contrast to what we expected the mTOR specific inhibitor rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug, had surprising immunostimulatory effects on the generation of memory CD8 T cells. Treatment of mice with rapamycin following acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection enhanced not only the quantity but also the quality of virus specific CD8 T cells. Similar effects were seen after immunization of mice with a non-replicating VLP based vaccine. In addition, rapamycin treatment also enhanced memory T cell responses in non-human primates following vaccination with MVA (modified vaccinia virus - Ankara). Rapamycin was effective during both the expansion and contraction phases of the T cell response; during the expansion phase it increased the number of memory precursors and during the contraction phase (effector to memory transition) it accelerated the memory T cell differentiation program. Experiments using RNAi to inhibit mTOR, raptor or FKBP12 expression in antigen specific CD8 T cells showed that mTOR acts intrinsically through the mTORC1 pathway to regulate memory T cell differentiation. Thus, these studies identify a molecular pathway regulating memory formation and provide an effective strategy for improving the functional qualities of vaccine or infection induced memory T cells.