Regulator of G-protein signaling 1 critically supports CD8 T cell-mediated intestinal immunity.

Members of the Regulator of G-protein signaling (Rgs) family regulate the extent and timing of G protein signaling by increasing the GTPase activity of Gα protein subunits. The Rgs family member is one of the most up-regulated genes in tissue-resident memory (T) T cells when compared to their circulating T cell counterparts. Functionally, Rgs1 preferentially deactivates Gαq, and Gαi protein subunits and can therefore also attenuate chemokine receptor-mediated immune cell trafficking. The impact of expression on tissue-resident T cell generation, their maintenance, and the immunosurveillance of barrier tissues, however, is only incompletely understood. Here we report that Rgs1 expression is readily induced in naïve OT-I T cells following intestinal infection with -OVA. In bone marrow chimeras, and T cells were generally present in comparable frequencies in distinct T cell subsets of the intestinal mucosa, mesenteric lymph nodes, and spleen. After intestinal infection with -OVA, however, OT-I T cells outnumbered the co-transferred OT-I T cells in the small intestinal mucosa already early after infection. The underrepresentation of the OT-I T cells persisted to become even more pronounced during the memory phase (d30 post-infection). Remarkably, upon intestinal reinfection, mice with intestinal OT-I T cells were able to prevent the systemic dissemination of the pathogen more efficiently than those with OT-I T cells. While the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated yet, these data thus identify as a critical regulator for the generation and maintenance of tissue-resident CD8 T cells as a prerequisite for efficient local immunosurveillance in barrier tissues in case of reinfections with potential pathogens.