Human lungs maintain tissue-resident memory T cells against a broad spectrum of pathogens

Lung tissue-resident memory T (T_RM) cells are critical for frontline immunity, yet they undergo rapid attrition in the mouse lung. Whether this paradigm applies to humans has remained unknown. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of T cells from human lungs, characterizing the prevalence and properties of lung T_RM cells specific to a broad spectrum of pathogens. Using a T cell receptor-guided approach that integrates single-cell transcriptomics with paired T cell receptor repertoire profiling, we mapped the pathogen specificity of more than 87,000 lung T cells across 40 individuals, the majority of whom harbored T_RM cells specific to multiple pathogens. We confirmed that a large fraction of lung T_RM clones persist in the lung for many months to years. Thus, in contrast to those of mice, human lungs retain a stable and varied pool of pathogen-specific T_RM cells, suggesting that strategies to bolster these responses could provide durable protection against severe lung infections.