Distinct immune-effector and metabolic profile of CD8 T cells in patients with autoimmune polyarthritis induced by therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Objectives: Rheumatic immune-related adverse events (irAE) such as (poly)arthritis in patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment pose a major clinical challenge. ICI therapy improves CD8 T cell (CD8) function, but CD8 contributes to chronic inflammation in autoimmune arthritis (AA). Thus, we investigated whether immune functional and metabolic changes in CD8 explain the development of musculoskeletal irAE in ICI-treated patients.