Scientific Resources

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) contribute significantly to the tolerogenic nature of the liver. The mechanisms,however,underlying liver-associated Treg induction are still elusive. We recently identified the vitamin A metabolite,retinoic acid (RA),as a key controller that promotes TGF-β-dependent Foxp3(+) Treg induction but inhibits TGF-β-driven Th17 differentiation. To investigate whether the RA producing hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are part of the liver tolerance mechanism,we investigated the ability of HSC to function as regulatory APC. Different from previous reports,we found that highly purified HSC did not express costimulatory molecules and only upregulated MHC class II after in vitro culture in the presence of exogenous IFN-γ. Consistent with an insufficient APC function,HSC failed to stimulate naive OT-II TCR transgenic CD4(+) T cells and only moderately stimulated α-galactosylceramide-primed invariant NKT cells. In contrast,HSC functioned as regulatory bystanders and promoted enhanced Foxp3 induction by OT-II TCR transgenic T cells primed by spleen dendritic cells,whereas they greatly inhibited the Th17 differentiation. Furthermore,the regulatory bystander capacity of the HSC was completely dependent on their ability to produce RA. Our data thus suggest that HSC can function as regulatory bystanders,and therefore,by promoting Tregs and suppressing Th17 differentiation,they might represent key players in the mechanism that drives liver-induced tolerance. View Publication

New vaccines against pertussis are needed to evoke full protection and long-lasting immunological memory starting from the first administration in neonates--the major target of the life-threatening pertussis infection. A novel live attenuated Bordetella pertussis vaccine strain,BPZE1,has been developed by eliminating or detoxifying three important B. pertussis virulence factors: pertussis toxin,dermonecrotic toxin,and tracheal cytotoxin. We used a human preclinical ex vivo model based on monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) to evaluate BPZE1 immunogenicity. We studied the effects of BPZE1 on MDDC functions,focusing on the impact of Bordetella-primed dendritic cells in the regulation of Th and suppressor T cells (Ts). BPZE1 is able to activate human MDDCs and to promote the production of a broad spectrum of proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines. Moreover,conversely to its parental wild-type counterpart BPSM,BPZE1-primed MDDCs very efficiently migrate in vitro in response to the lymphatic chemokine CCL21,due to the inactivation of pertussis toxin enzymatic activity. BPZE1-primed MDDCs drove a mixed Th1/Th17 polarization and also induced functional Ts. Experiments performed in a Transwell system showed that cell contact rather than the production of soluble factors was required for suppression activity. Overall,our findings support the potential of BPZE1 as a novel live attenuated pertussis vaccine,as BPZE1-challenged dendritic cells might migrate from the site of infection to the lymph nodes,prime Th cells,mount an adaptive immune response,and orchestrate Th1/Th17 and Ts responses. View Publication

The cancer testis antigen (CTA) preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma (PRAME) is overexpressed by many hematologic malignancies,but is absent on normal tissues,including hematopoietic progenitor cells,and may therefore be an appropriate candidate for T cell-mediated immunotherapy. Because it is likely that an effective antitumor response will require high-avidity,PRAME-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs),we attempted to generate such CTLs using professional and artificial antigen-presenting cells loaded with a peptide library spanning the entire PRAME protein and consisting of 125 synthetic pentadecapeptides overlapping by 11 amino acids. We successfully generated polyclonal,PRAME-specific CTL lines and elicited high-avidity CTLs,with a high proportion of cells recognizing a previously uninvestigated HLA-A*02-restricted epitope,P435-9mer (NLTHVLYPV). These PRAME-CTLs could be generated both from normal donors and from subjects with PRAME(+) hematologic malignancies. The cytotoxic activity of our PRAME-specific CTLs was directed not only against leukemic blasts,but also against leukemic progenitor cells as assessed by colony-forming-inhibition assays,which have been implicated in leukemia relapse. These PRAME-directed CTLs did not affect normal hematopoietic progenitors,indicating that this approach may be of value for immunotherapy of PRAME(+) hematologic malignancies. View Publication

Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) is an aggressive disease,incurable by standard chemotherapy. NK314,a new anticancer agent possessing inhibitory activity specific for topoisomerase IIα (Top2α),inhibited the growth of various ATL cell lines (50% inhibitory concentration: 23-70nM) with more potent activity than that of etoposide. In addition to the induction of DNA double-strand breaks by inhibition of Top2α,NK314 induced degradation of the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs),resulting in impaired DNA double-strand break repair. The contribution of DNA-PK to inhibition of cell growth was affirmed by the following results: NK314 inhibited cell growth of M059J (a DNA-PKcs-deficient cell line) and M059K (a cell line with DNA-PKcs present) with the same potency,whereas etoposide exhibited weak inhibition of cell growth with M059K cells. A DNA-PK specific inhibitor,NU7026,enhanced inhibitory activity of etoposide on M059K as well as on ATL cells. These results suggest that NK314 is a dual inhibitor of Top2α and DNA-PK. Because ATL cells express a high amount of DNA-PKcs,NK314 as a dual molecular targeting anticancer agent is a potential therapeutic tool for treatment of ATL. View Publication

Pseudo-Pelger-Huët anomaly (PPHA) has been documented in association with transplant medications and other drugs. This iatrogenic neutrophilic dysplasia is reversible with cessation or adjustment of medications but is frequently confused with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) based on the conventional concept that PPHA is a marker for dysplasia. We investigated the clinicopathologic features in iatrogenic PPHA and compared them with MDS-related PPHA. The 13 cases studied included 5 bone marrow/stem cell transplantations,3 solid organ transplantations,1 autoimmune disease,3 chronic lymphocytic leukemias,and 1 breast carcinoma. For 12 cases,there was follow-up evaluation,and all demonstrated at least transient normalization of neutrophilic segmentation. All 9 cases of MDS demonstrated at least 2 of the following pathologic abnormalities on bone marrow biopsy: hypercellularity (8/9),morphologic dysplasia (8/9),clonal cytogenetic abnormality (7/9),and increased blasts (3/9),whereas these abnormalities were typically absent in iatrogenic PPHA. Iatrogenic PPHA displayed a higher proportion of circulating PPHA cells than in MDS (mean,47.4%; SD,31.6% vs mean,12.3%; SD,9.8; P textless .01). A diagnostic algorithm is proposed in which isolated PPHA is indicative of transient or benign PPHA unless proven otherwise. View Publication

Bright/Arid3a has been characterized both as an activator of immunoglobulin heavy-chain transcription and as a proto-oncogene. Although Bright expression is highly B lineage stage restricted in adult mice,its expression in the earliest identifiable hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) population suggests that Bright might have additional functions. We showed that textgreater99% of Bright(-/-) embryos die at midgestation from failed hematopoiesis. Bright(-/-) embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5) fetal livers showed an increase in the expression of immature markers. Colony-forming assays indicated that the hematopoietic potential of Bright(-/-) mice is markedly reduced. Rare survivors of lethality,which were not compensated by the closely related paralogue Bright-derived protein (Bdp)/Arid3b,suffered HSC deficits in their bone marrow as well as B lineage-intrinsic developmental and functional deficiencies in their peripheries. These include a reduction in a natural antibody,B-1 responses to phosphocholine,and selective T-dependent impairment of IgG1 class switching. Our results place Bright/Arid3a on a select list of transcriptional regulators required to program both HSC and lineage-specific differentiation. View Publication

Macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) is an evolutionarily conserved intracellular bulk degradation pathway that plays critical roles in eliminating intracellular pathogens,presenting endogenous Ags,and regulating T lymphocyte survival and proliferation. In this study,we have investigated the role of autophagy in regulating the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) compartment in T lymphocytes. We found that ER content is expanded in mature autophagy-related protein (Atg) 7-deficient T lymphocytes. Atg7-deficient T cells stimulated through the TCR display impaired influx,but not efflux,of calcium,and ER calcium stores are increased in Atg7-deficient T cells. Treatment with the ER sarco/ER Ca(2+)-ATPase pump inhibitor thapsigargin rescues the calcium influx defect in Atg7-deficient T lymphocytes,suggesting that this impairment is caused by an intrinsic defect in ER. Furthermore,we found that the stimulation-induced redistribution of stromal interaction molecule-1,a critical event for the store-operated Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) channel opening,is impaired in Atg7-deficient T cells. Together,these findings indicate that the expanded ER compartment in Atg7-deficient T cells contains increased calcium stores,and the inability of these stores to be depleted causes defective calcium influx in these cells. Our results demonstrate that autophagy plays an important role in maintaining ER and calcium homeostasis in T lymphocytes. View Publication

The identity of T-cell progenitors that seed the thymus has remained controversial,largely because many studies differ over whether these progenitors retain myeloid potential. Contradictory reports diverge in their use of various in vitro and in vivo assays. To consolidate these discordant findings,we compared the myeloid potential of 2 putative thymus seeding populations,common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) and multipotent progenitors (MPPs),and the earliest intrathymic progenitor (DN1),using 2 in vitro assays and in vivo readouts. These assays gave contradictory results: CLP and DN1 displayed surprisingly robust myeloid potential on OP9-DL1 in vitro stromal cocultures but displayed little myeloid potential in vivo,as well as in methylcellulose cultures. MPP,on the other hand,displayed robust myeloid potential in all settings. We conclude that stromal cocultures reveal cryptic,but nonphysiologic,myeloid potentials of lymphoid progenitors,providing an explanation for contradictory findings in the field and underscoring the importance of using in vivo assays for the determination of physiologic lineage potentials. View Publication

T-cell-mediated processes play an essential role in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis,allergic contact dermatitis and psoriasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the IL-2-inducible tyrosine kinase (Itk),an enzyme acting downstream of the T-cell receptor (TCR),in T-cell-dependent skin inflammation using three approaches. Itk knockout mice display significantly reduced inflammatory symptoms in mouse models of acute and subacute contact hypersensitivity (CHS) reactions. Systemic administration of a novel small molecule Itk inhibitor,Compound 44,created by chemical optimization of an initial high-throughput screening hit,inhibited Itk's activity with an IC50 in the nanomolar range. Compound 44 substantially reduced proinflammatory immune responses in vitro and in vivo after systemic administration in two acute CHS models. In addition,our data reveal that human Itk,comparable to its murine homologue,is expressed mainly in T cells and is increased in lesional skin from patients with atopic dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. Finally,silencing of Itk by RNA interference in primary human T cells efficiently blocks TCR-induced lymphokine secretion. In conclusion,Itk represents an interesting new target for the therapy of T-cell-mediated inflammatory skin diseases. View Publication

Peripheral CD4(+)Vβ5(+) T cells are tolerized to an endogenous mouse mammary tumor virus superantigen either by deletion or TCR revision. Through TCR revision,RAG reexpression mediates extrathymic TCRβ rearrangement and results in a population of postrevision CD4(+)Vβ5(-) T cells expressing revised TCRβ chains. We have hypothesized that cell death pathways regulate the selection of cells undergoing TCR revision to ensure the safety and utility of the postrevision population. In this study,we investigate the role of Bcl-2-interacting mediator of cell death (Bim)-mediated cell death in autoantigen-driven deletion and TCR revision. Bim deficiency and Bcl-2 overexpression in Vβ5 transgenic (Tg) mice both impair peripheral deletion. Vβ5 Tg Bim-deficient and Bcl-2 Tg mice exhibit an elevated frequency of CD4(+) T cells expressing both the transgene-encoded Vβ5 chain and a revised TCRβ chain. We now show that these dual-TCR-expressing cells are TCR revision intermediates and that the population of RAG-expressing,revising CD4(+) T cells is increased in Bim-deficient Vβ5 Tg mice. These findings support a role for Bim and Bcl-2 in regulating the balance of survival versus apoptosis in peripheral T cells undergoing RAG-dependent TCR rearrangements during TCR revision,thereby ensuring the utility of the postrevision repertoire. View Publication

Retinoic acid (RA) imprints gut-homing specificity on T cells upon activation by inducing the expression of chemokine receptor CCR9 and integrin α4β7. CCR9 expression seemed to be more highly dependent on RA than was the α4β7 expression,but its molecular mechanism remained unclear. In this article,we show that NFAT isoforms NFATc1 and NFATc2 directly interact with RA receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) but play differential roles in RA-induced CCR9 expression on murine naive CD4(+) T cells. TCR stimulation for 6-24 h was required for the acquisition of responsiveness to RA and induced activation of NFATc1 and NFATc2. However,RA failed to induce CCR9 expression as long as TCR stimulation continued. After terminating TCR stimulation or adding cyclosporin A to the culture,Ccr9 gene transcription was induced,accompanied by inactivation of NFATc1 and sustained activation of NFATc2. Reporter and DNA-affinity precipitation assays demonstrated that the binding of NFATc2 to two NFAT-binding sites and that of the RAR/RXR complex to an RA response element half-site in the 5'-flanking region of the mouse Ccr9 gene were critical for RA-induced promoter activity. NFATc2 directly bound to RARα and RXRα,and it enhanced the binding of RARα to the RA response element half-site. NFATc1 also bound to the NFAT-binding sites and directly to RARα and RXRα,but it inhibited the NFATc2-dependent promoter activity. These results suggest that the cooperativity between NFATc2 and the RAR/RXR complex is essential for CCR9 expression on T cells and that NFATc1 interferes with the action of NFATc2. View Publication

Th17 cells play a significant role in inflammatory and autoimmune responses. Although a number of molecular pathways that contribute to the lineage differentiation of T cells have been discovered,the mechanisms by which lineage commitment occurs are not fully understood. Transcription factors play a key role in driving T cells toward specific lineages. We have identified a role for the transcription factor Kruppel-like factor (KLF) 4 in the development of IL-17-producing CD4(+) T cells. KLF4 was required for the production of IL-17,and further,chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated binding of KLF4 to the IL-17 promoter,indicating a direct effect on the regulation of IL-17. Further,KLF4-deficient T cells upregulated expression of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt similar to wild-type during the polarization process toward Th17,suggesting that these two transcription factors are regulated independently. View Publication