Characterization of KIR+CD8+ Regulatory T Cells in Humans by scRNA- and TCR-seq

Previous studies have demonstrated the regulatory functions of Ly49+CD8+ T cells toward self-reactive CD4+ T cells in mice. Recently, we found KIR+CD8+ T cells are the equivalent of mouse Ly49+CD8+ T cells in humans. They are increased in patients with autoimmune or infectious diseases as a negative feedback mechanism to suppress the arising pathogenic cells and maintain peripheral tolerance. Here, we describe the methods on how we characterize the KIR+CD8+ T cells from different diseases using single-cell RNA and TCR sequencing.