Bryostatin-1 enhances the proliferation and functionality of exhausted CD8+ T cells by upregulating MAP Kinase 11.

Introduction: Bryostatin-1, a potent agonist of the protein kinase C, has been studied for HIV and cancer therapies. In HIV research, it has shown anti-HIV effects during acute infection and reactivation of latent HIV in chronic infection. As effective CD8+ T cell responses are essential for eliminating reactivated virus and achieving a cure, it is important to investigate how bryostatin-1 affects HIV-specific CD8+ T cells. HIV-specific CD8+ T cells often become exhausted, showing reduced proliferative potential and impaired cytokine production, a dysfunction also observed in cancer. Therefore, we further investigated how bryostatin-1 directly impacts exhausted CD8+ T cells. Methods: PBMCs from people with HIV (PWH) were treated with bryostatin-1 and tracked with proliferation dye for cell expansion. One day 6, HIV-specific CD8+ T cells were detected by tetramers staining and examined by flow cytometry. By utilizing an established Results: We found that bryostatin-1 improved the expansion and decreased PD-1 expression of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells. Bryostatin-1 enhanced the functionality and proliferation while decreasing inhibitory receptor expression of Discussion: Our data demonstrate that bryostatin-1 induces a MAPK 11-dependent improvement in the proliferative and functional capacity of exhausted T cells. This study provides a rationale for bryostatin-1's potential to help eradicate the HIV reservoir during treatment, and it may also contribute to cancer immunotherapy by functionally improving exhausted CD8+ T cells.