mRNA-seq analysis of mouse cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) over-expressing Akt isoforms

PI3K/Akt pathway plays a central role in T-cell activation and is impaired in Ag-specific CTLs during chronic viral infections. In this study, we genetically engineered HBV-specific CTLs and adoptively transferred these Akt-expressing viral Ag-specific CTLs into HBV-infected mice and monitored the virological and immunological responses. In the meantime, we also analyzed the mRNA profiles of control-CTLs and CTLs-overexpressing Akt1 and Akt2, respectively before adoptive transfer and after in vitro restimulation. We expect to elucidate the potential mechanisms about how the Akt signaling in CTLs prevents T-cell exhaustion and enhance T-cell expansion in the liver during persistent HBV infection from this mRNA-seq analysis.