Neutrophils inhibit CD8+T cells immune response by arginase-1 signaling in patients with sepsis

BACKGROUND: Patients with sepsis often exhibit an acute inflammatory response, followed by an immunosuppressive phase with a poor immune response.However, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. METHODS:We sought to comprehensively characterize the transcriptional changes in neutrophils of patients with sepsis by transcriptome sequencing.Additionally, we conducted a series of experiments, including real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and flow cytometry to investigate the role of arginase-1 signaling in sepsis. RESULTS:Through the analysis of gene expression profiles, we identified that the negative regulation of T cell activation signaling was enriched, and the expression of arginase-1 was high in neutrophils from patients with sepsis.Furthermore, we conducted flow cytometry and found that the function of CD8 + T cells in septic patients was impaired.Moreover, neutrophils from septic patients inhibited the percentage of polyfunctional effector CD8 + T cells through arginase-1.Additionally, the proportions of granzyme B + IFN -γ + CD8 + T and TNF -α + IFN -γ + CD8 + T cells increased after inhibition of arginase-1 signaling. CONCLUSION:The impaired effector function of CD8 + T cells could be restored by blocking arginase-1 signaling in patients with sepsis.