Involvement of cytotoxic Eomes-expressing CD4 ⁺ T cells in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a putative autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS), commonly presents as relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), characterized by recurrent episodes of peripheral disabling symptoms resulting from inflammatory CNS damage. Many RRMS patients transition to a chronic disease course with progressive neurological dysfunctions (secondary progressive MS, SPMS), with the progression rate varying between patients and over time. SPMS pathogenesis is now linked to immune-cell-mediated processes, although the mechanisms driving SPMS transition and progression remain elusive, and SPMS lacks biomarkers and effective treatments. We report the crucial involvement of cytotoxic CD4⁺ T cells expressing Eomes (Eomes⁺ Th cells) in SPMS pathogenesis-a Th cell subset previously identified in a mouse model of late/chronic autoimmune CNS inflammation. Few Eomes⁺ Th cells circulate in RRMS patient peripheral blood (<i>n</i> = 44), primary progressive MS (PPMS) patients (<i>n</i> = 25), or healthy controls (<i>n</i> = 42), but Eomes⁺ Th cells were significantly increased in SPMS (<i>n</i> = 105, <i>P</i> < 0.0001). Strikingly, lymphocytes isolated from SPMS autopsy brain samples revealed CD4⁺ T cells infiltrating CNS that coexpressed Eomes and the cytotoxic molecule granzyme B. In particular, the Eomes⁺ Th cell levels were increased in SPMS patients in progressive disease phases versus SPMS patients without current disability increases (<i>P</i> < 0.0001). Moreover, Eomes level acted as a biomarker to predict SPMS patients at risk of disease worsening with over 80% accuracy (ROC-AUC = 0.8276). Overall, our results indicate that granzyme B-expressing Eomes⁺ T helper cells are involved in the pathogenesis of SPMS, with significant implications for SPMS biomarkers and therapeutic targets.