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The differentiation of effector CD8(+) T cells is a dynamically regulated process that varies during different infections and is influenced by the inflammatory milieu of the host. In this study,we define three signals regulating CD8(+) T cell responses during tuberculosis by focusing on cytokines known to affect disease outcome: IL-12,type I IFN,and IL-27. Using mixed bone marrow chimeras,we compared wild-type and cytokine receptor knockout CD8(+) T cells within the same mouse following aerosol infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Four weeks postinfection,IL-12,type 1 IFN,and IL-27 were all required for efficient CD8(+) T cell expansion in the lungs. We next determined if these cytokines directly promote CD8(+) T cell priming or are required only for expansion in the lungs. Using retrogenic CD8(+) T cells specific for the M. tuberculosis Ag TB10.4 (EsxH),we observed that IL-12 is the dominant cytokine driving both CD8(+) T cell priming in the lymph node and expansion in the lungs; however,type I IFN and IL-27 have nonredundant roles supporting pulmonary CD8(+) T cell expansion. Thus,IL-12 is a major signal promoting priming in the lymph node,but a multitude of inflammatory signals converge in the lung to promote continued expansion. Furthermore,these cytokines regulate the differentiation and function of CD8(+) T cells during tuberculosis. These data demonstrate distinct and overlapping roles for each of the cytokines examined and underscore the complexity of CD8(+) T cell regulation during tuberculosis. View Publication

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects ∼200 million people worldwide. The majority of infected individuals develop persistent infection,resulting in chronic inflammation and liver disease,including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The ability of HCV to establish persistent infection is partly due to its ability to evade the immune response through multiple mechanisms,including suppression of NK cells. NK cells control HCV replication during the early phase of infection and regulate the progression to chronic disease. In particular,IFN-$\gamma$ produced by NK cells limits viral replication in hepatocytes and is important for the initiation of adaptive immune responses. However,NK cell function is significantly impaired in chronic HCV patients. The cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for impaired NK cell function in HCV infection are not well defined. In this study,we analyzed the interaction of human NK cells with CD33(+) PBMCs that were exposed to HCV. We found that NK cells cocultured with HCV-conditioned CD33(+) PBMCs produced lower amounts of IFN-$\gamma$,with no effect on granzyme B production or cell viability. Importantly,this suppression of NK cell-derived IFN-$\gamma$ production was mediated by CD33(+)CD11b(lo)HLA-DR(lo) myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) via an arginase-1-dependent inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin activation. Suppression of IFN-$\gamma$ production was reversed by l-arginine supplementation,consistent with increased MDSC arginase-1 activity. These novel results identify the induction of MDSCs in HCV infection as a potent immune evasion strategy that suppresses antiviral NK cell responses,further indicating that blockade of MDSCs may be a potential therapeutic approach to ameliorate chronic viral infections in the liver. View Publication

The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck squamous cell carcinoma has increased in recent decades,though HPV prevention vaccines may reduce this rise in the future. HPV-related cancers express the viral oncoproteins E6 and E7. The latter inactivates the tumor suppressor protein retinoblastoma (Rb),which leads to the overexpression of p16(INK4) protein,providing unique Ags for therapeutic HPV-specific cancer vaccination. We developed potential adenoviral vaccines that express a fusion protein of HPV-16 E6 and E7 (Ad.E6E7) alone or fused with p16 (Ad.E6E7p16) and also encoding an anti-programmed death (PD)-1 Ab. Human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) transduced with Ad.E6E7 or Ad.E6E7p16 with or without Ad.αPD1 were used to activate autologous CD8 CTL in vitro. CTL responses were tested against naturally HPV-infected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells using IFN-γ ELISPOT and [(51)Cr]release assay. Surprisingly,stimulation and antitumor activity of CTL were increased after incubation with Ad.E6E7p16-transduced DC (DC.E6E7p16) compared with Ad.E6E7 (DC.E6E7),a result that may be due to an effect of p16 on cyclin-dependent kinase 4 levels and IL-12 secretion by DC. Moreover,the beneficial effect was most prominent when anti-PD-1 was introduced during the second round of stimulation (after initial priming). These data suggest that careful sequencing of Ad.E6E7.p16 with Ad.αPD1 could improve antitumor immunity against HPV-related tumors and that p16 may enhance the immunogenicity of DC,through cyclin-dependent pathways,Th1 cytokine secretion,and by adding a nonviral Ag highly overexpressed in HPV-induced cancers. View Publication

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are innate sensors of viral infections and important mediators of antiviral innate immunity through their ability to produce large amounts of IFN-α. Moreover,Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and 9 (TLR9) ligands,such as HIV and CpG respectively,turn pDCs into TRAIL-expressing killer pDCs able to lyse HIV-infected CD4+ T cells. NK cells can regulate antiviral immunity by modulating pDC functions,and pDC production of IFN-α as well as cell-cell contact is required to promote NK cell functions. Impaired pDC-NK cell crosstalk was reported in the setting of HIV-1 infection,but the impact of HIV-1 on TRAIL expression and innate antiviral immunity during this crosstalk is unknown. Here,we report that low concentrations of CCR5-tropic HIV-1Ba-L promote the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-α,TNF-α,IFN-γ and IL-12,and CCR5-interacting chemokines (MIP-1α and MIP-1β) in NK-pDCs co-cultures. At high HIV-1BaL concentrations,the addition of NK cells did not promote the release of these mediators,suggesting that once efficiently triggered by the virus,pDCs could not integrate new activating signals delivered by NK cells. However,high HIV-1BaL concentrations were required to trigger IFN-α-mediated TRAIL expression at the surface of both pDCs and NK cells during their crosstalk. Interestingly,we identified the alarmin HMGB1,released at pDC-NK cell synapse,as an essential trigger for the secretion of IFN-α and IFN-related soluble mediators during the interplay of HIV-1 exposed pDCs with NK cells. Moreover,HMGB1 was found crucial for mTRAIL translocation to the plasma membrane of both pDCs and NK cells during their crosstalk following pDC exposure to HIV-1. Data from serum analyses of circulating HMGB1,HMGB1-specific antibodies,sTRAIL and IP-10 in a cohort of 67 HIV-1+ patients argue for the in vivo relevance of these observations. Altogether,these findings identify HMGB1 as a trigger for IFN-α-mediated TRAIL expression at the surface of pDCs and NK cells,and they suggest a novel mechanism of innate control of HIV-1 infection. View Publication

T-bet is essential for natural regulatory T cells (nTreg) to regulate Th1 inflammation,but whether T-bet controls other Treg functions after entering the inflammatory site is unknown. In an islet allograft model,T-bet(-/-) nTreg,but not induced Treg,failed to prolong graft survival as effectively as wild-type Treg. T-bet(-/-) nTreg had no functional deficiency in vitro but failed to home from the graft to draining lymph nodes (dLN) as efficiently as wild type. T-bet regulated expression of adhesion- and migration-related molecules,influencing nTreg distribution in tissues,so that T-bet(-/-) nTreg remained in the grafts rather than migrating to lymphatics and dLN. In contrast,both wild-type and T-bet(-/-) CD4(+) conventional T cells and induced Treg migrated normally toward afferent lymphatics. T-bet(-/-) nTreg displayed instability in the graft,failing to suppress Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells and prevent their infiltration into the graft and dLN. Thus,T-bet regulates nTreg migration into afferent lymphatics and dLN and consequently their suppressive stability in vivo. View Publication

Immune recognition by T cells relies on the presentation of pathogen-derived peptides by infected cells,but the persistence of chronic infections calls for new approaches to modulate immune recognition. Ag cross-presentation,the process by which pathogen Ags are internalized,degraded,and presented by MHC class I,is crucial to prime CD8 T cell responses. The original degradation of Ags is performed by pH-dependent endolysosomal cathepsins. In this article,we show that HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) prescribed to HIV-infected persons variably modulate cathepsin activities in human APCs,dendritic cells and macrophages,and CD4 T cells,three cell subsets infected by HIV. Two HIV PIs acted in two complementary ways on cathepsin hydrolytic activities: directly on cathepsins and indirectly on their regulators by inhibiting Akt kinase activities,reducing NADPH oxidase 2 activation,and lowering phagolysosomal reactive oxygen species production and pH,which led to enhanced cathepsin activities. HIV PIs modified endolysosomal degradation and epitope production of proteins from HIV and other pathogens in a sequence-dependent manner. They altered cross-presentation of Ags by dendritic cells to epitope-specific T cells and T cell-mediated killing. HIV PI-induced modulation of Ag processing partly changed the MHC self-peptidome displayed by primary human cells. This first identification,to our knowledge,of prescription drugs modifying the regulation of cathepsin activities and the MHC-peptidome may provide an alternate therapeutic approach to modulate immune recognition in immune disease beyond HIV. View Publication

Natural killer (NK) cells play a key role in immunity,but how HLA class I (HLA-I) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 3DL1 (KIR3DL1) polymorphism impacts disease outcome remains unclear. KIR3DL1 (*001/*005/*015) tetramers were screened for reactivity against a panel of HLA-I molecules. This revealed different and distinct hierarchies of specificity for each KIR3DL1 allotype,with KIR3DL1*005 recognizing the widest array of HLA-I ligands. These differences were further reflected in functional studies using NK clones expressing these specific KIR3DL1 allotypes. Unexpectedly,the Ile/Thr80 dimorphism in the Bw4-motif did not categorically define strong/weak KIR3DL1 recognition. Although the KIR3DL1*001,*005,and *015 polymorphisms are remote from the KIR3DL1-HLA-I interface,the structures of these three KIR3DL1-HLA-I complexes showed that the broader HLA-I specificity of KIR3DL1*005 correlated with an altered KIR3DL1*005 interdomain positioning and increased mobility within its ligand-binding site. Collectively,we provide a generic framework for understanding the impact of KIR3DL1 polymorphism on the recognition of HLA-I allomorphs. View Publication

The activation of the complement system is a key initiating step in the protective innate immune-inflammatory response against injury,although it may also cause harm if left unchecked. The structurally related soluble complement inhibitors C4b-binding protein (C4BP) and factor H (FH) exert a tight regulation of the classical/lectin and alternative pathways of complement activation,respectively,attenuating the activity of the C3/C5 convertases and,consequently,avoiding serious damage to host tissues. We recently reported that the acute-phase C4BP isoform C4BP lacking the β-chain plays a pivotal role in the modulation of the adaptive immune responses. In this study,we demonstrate that FH acts in the early stages of monocyte to dendritic cell (DC) differentiation and is able to promote a distinctive tolerogenic and anti-inflammatory profile on monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) challenged by a proinflammatory stimulus. Accordingly,FH-treated and LPS-matured MoDCs are characterized by altered cytoarchitecture,resembling immature MoDCs,lower expression of the maturation marker CD83 and the costimulatory molecules CD40,CD80,and CD86,decreased production of key proinflammatory Th1-cytokines (IL-12,TNF-α,IFN-γ,IL-6,and IL-8),and preferential production of immunomodulatory mediators (IL-10 and TGF-β). Moreover,FH-treated MoDCs show low Ag uptake and,when challenged with LPS,display reduced CCR7 expression and chemotactic migration,impaired CD4(+) T cell alloproliferation,inhibition of IFN-γ secretion by the allostimulated T cells,and,conversely,induction of CD4(+)CD127(low/negative)CD25(high)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells. Thus,this novel noncanonical role of FH as an immunological brake able to directly affect the function of MoDCs in an inflammatory environment may exhibit therapeutic potential in hypersensitivity,transplantation,and autoimmunity. View Publication

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2 cells) are important for type 2 immune responses and are activated by the epithelial cytokines interleukin 33 (IL-33),IL-25 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). Here we demonstrated that IL-1β was a critical activator of ILC2 cells,inducing proliferation and cytokine production and regulating the expression of epithelial cytokine receptors. IL-1β also governed ILC2 plasticity by inducing low expression of the transcription factor T-bet and the cytokine receptor chain IL-12Rβ2,which enabled the conversion of these cells into an ILC1 phenotype in response to IL-12. This transition was marked by an atypical chromatin landscape characterized by the simultaneous transcriptional accessibility of the locus encoding interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and the loci encoding IL-5 and IL-13. Finally,IL-1β potentiated ILC2 activation and plasticity in vivo,and IL-12 acted as the switch that determined an ILC2-versus-ILC1 response. Thus,we have identified a previously unknown role for IL-1β in facilitating ILC2 maturation and plasticity. View Publication

Chronic viruses and cancers thwart immune responses in humans by inducing T cell dysfunction. Using a murine chronic virus that models human infections,we investigated the function of the adhesion molecule,P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1),that is upregulated on responding T cells. PSGL-1-deficient mice cleared the virus due to increased intrinsic survival of multifunctional effector T cells that had downregulated PD-1 as well as other inhibitory receptors. Notably,this response resulted in CD4(+)-T-cell-dependent immunopathology. Mechanistically,PSGL-1 ligation on exhausted CD8(+) T cells inhibited T cell receptor (TCR) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) signaling and upregulated PD-1,leading to diminished survival with TCR stimulation. In models of melanoma cancer in which T cell dysfunction occurs,PSGL-1 deficiency led to PD-1 downregulation,improved T cell responses,and tumor control. Thus,PSGL-1 plays a fundamental role in balancing viral control and immunopathology and also functions to regulate T cell responses in the tumor microenvironment. View Publication

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a potentially dangerous end organ pathology that affects upwards of 60% of lupus patients. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is important for B cell development,Fc receptor signaling,and macrophage polarization. In this study,we investigated the effects of a novel,highly selective and potent BTK inhibitor,BI-BTK-1,in an inducible model of LN in which mice receive nephrotoxic serum (NTS) containing anti-glomerular antibodies. Mice were treated once daily with vehicle alone or BI-BTK-1,either prophylactically or therapeutically. When compared with control treated mice,NTS-challenged mice treated prophylactically with BI-BTK-1 exhibited significantly attenuated kidney disease,which was dose dependent. BI-BTK-1 treatment resulted in decreased infiltrating IBA-1+ cells,as well as C3 deposition within the kidney. RT-PCR on whole kidney RNA and serum profiling indicated that BTK inhibition significantly decreased levels of LN-relevant inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Renal RNA expression profiling by RNA-seq revealed that BI-BTK-1 dramatically modulated pathways related to inflammation and glomerular injury. Importantly,when administered therapeutically,BI-BTK-1 reversed established proteinuria and improved renal histopathology. Our results highlight the important role for BTK in the pathogenesis of immune complex-mediated nephritis,and BTK inhibition as a promising therapeutic target for LN. View Publication

Small molecules are powerful tools for investigating protein function and can serve as leads for new therapeutics. Most human proteins,however,lack small-molecule ligands,and entire protein classes are considered 'undruggable'. Fragment-based ligand discovery can identify small-molecule probes for proteins that have proven difficult to target using high-throughput screening of complex compound libraries. Although reversibly binding ligands are commonly pursued,covalent fragments provide an alternative route to small-molecule probes,including those that can access regions of proteins that are difficult to target through binding affinity alone. Here we report a quantitative analysis of cysteine-reactive small-molecule fragments screened against thousands of proteins in human proteomes and cells. Covalent ligands were identified for textgreater700 cysteines found in both druggable proteins and proteins deficient in chemical probes,including transcription factors,adaptor/scaffolding proteins,and uncharacterized proteins. Among the atypical ligand-protein interactions discovered were compounds that react preferentially with pro- (inactive) caspases. We used these ligands to distinguish extrinsic apoptosis pathways in human cell lines versus primary human T cells,showing that the former is largely mediated by caspase-8 while the latter depends on both caspase-8 and -10. Fragment-based covalent ligand discovery provides a greatly expanded portrait of the ligandable proteome and furnishes compounds that can illuminate protein functions in native biological systems. View Publication