scholarly journals Reporters of TCR signaling identify arthritogenic T cells in murine and human autoimmune arthritis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith F. Ashouri ◽  
Lih-Yun Hsu ◽  
Steven Yu ◽  
Dmitry Rychkov ◽  
Yiling Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Cytokine Signaling ◽  
Autoimmune Arthritis ◽  
Receptor Signaling ◽  
Tcr Signaling ◽  
Autoreactive T Cells

AbstractHow pathogenic CD4 T cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) develop remains poorly understood. We used Nur77—a marker of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling—to identify antigen-activated CD4 T cells in the SKG mouse model of autoimmune arthritis and in patients with RA. Using a fluorescent reporter of Nur77 expression in SKG mice, we found that higher levels of Nur77-eGFP in SKG CD4 T cells marked their autoreactivity, arthritogenic potential, and ability to more readily differentiate into IL-17 producing cells. The T cells with increased autoreactivity, nonetheless had diminished ex vivo inducible TCR signaling, perhaps reflective of adaptive inhibitory mechanisms induced by chronic auto-antigen exposure in vivo. The enhanced autoreactivity was associated with upregulation of IL-6 cytokine signaling machinery, which might in part be attributable to a reduced amount of expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3)—a key negative regulator of IL-6 signaling. As a result, the more autoreactive GFPhi CD4 T cells from SKGNur mice were hyper-responsive to IL-6 receptor signaling. Consistent with findings from SKGNur mice, SOCS3 expression was similarly downregulated in RA synovium. This suggests that, despite impaired TCR signaling, autoreactive T cells exposed to chronic antigen stimulation exhibit heightened sensitivity to IL-6 which contributes to the arthritogenicity in SKG mice, and perhaps in patients with RA.Significance StatementHow arthritis-causing T cells trigger rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not understood since it is difficult to differentiate T cells activated by inflammation in arthritic joints from those activated through their TCR by self-antigens. We developed a model to identify and study antigen-specific T cell responses in arthritis. Nur77—a specific marker of TCR signaling—was used to identify antigen-activated CD4 T cells in the SKG arthritis model and patients with RA. Nur77 could distinguish highly arthritogenic and autoreactive T cells in SKG mice. The enhanced autoreactivity was associated with increased IL-6-receptor-signaling, likely contributing to their arthritogenicity. These data highlight a functional correlate between Nur77 expression, arthritogenic T cell populations, and heightened IL-6 sensitivity in SKG mice with translatable implications for human RA.

scholarly journals Reporters of TCR signaling identify arthritogenic T cells in murine and human autoimmune arthritis

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (37) ◽  
pp. 18517-18527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith F. Ashouri ◽  
Lih-Yun Hsu ◽  
Steven Yu ◽  
Dmitry Rychkov ◽  
Yiling Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Cytokine Signaling ◽  
Autoimmune Arthritis ◽  
Interleukin 17 ◽  
Tcr Signaling ◽  
Fluorescent Reporter

How pathogenic cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) T cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develop remains poorly understood. We used Nur77—a marker of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling—to identify antigen-activated CD4 T cells in the SKG mouse model of autoimmune arthritis and in patients with RA. Using a fluorescent reporter of Nur77 expression in SKG mice, we found that higher levels of Nur77-eGFP in SKG CD4 T cells marked their autoreactivity, arthritogenic potential, and ability to more readily differentiate into interleukin-17 (IL-17)–producing cells. The T cells with increased autoreactivity, nonetheless had diminished ex vivo inducible TCR signaling, perhaps reflective of adaptive inhibitory mechanisms induced by chronic autoantigen exposure in vivo. The enhanced autoreactivity was associated with up-regulation of IL-6 cytokine signaling machinery, which might be attributable, in part, to a reduced amount of expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3)—a key negative regulator of IL-6 signaling. As a result, the more autoreactive GFPhiCD4 T cells from SKGNur mice were hyperresponsive to IL-6 receptor signaling. Consistent with findings from SKGNur mice,SOCS3expression was similarly down-regulated in RA synovium. This suggests that despite impaired TCR signaling, autoreactive T cells exposed to chronic antigen stimulation exhibit heightened sensitivity to IL-6, which contributes to the arthritogenicity in SKG mice, and perhaps in patients with RA.

scholarly journals Naive arthritogenic SKG T cells have a defect in anergy and a repertoire pruned by superantigen

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith F Ashouri ◽  
Elizabeth McCarthy ◽  
Steven Yu ◽  
Noah Perlmutter ◽  
Charles Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Antigen Receptor ◽  
Cell Subpopulation ◽  
Cytokine Signaling ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tcr Signaling

How autoreactive CD4 T cells develop to cause rheumatoid arthritis remains unknown. We used a reporter for antigen-receptor signaling in the SKG autoimmune arthritis model to profile a T cell subpopulation enriched for arthritogenic naive CD4 T cells before arthritis onset by bulk and single cell RNA and T cell antigen-receptor (TCR) sequencing. Our analyses reveal that despite their impaired proximal TCR signaling, a subset of SKG naive CD4 T cells that have recently encountered endogenous antigen upregulate gene programs associated with positive regulation of T cell activation and cytokine signaling at higher levels than wild type cells in the pre-disease state. These arthritogenic cells also induce genes associated with negative regulation of T cell activation but do so less efficiently than wild type cells. Furthermore, their TCR sequences exhibit a previously unrecognized biased peripheral TCR Vβ repertoire likely driven by endogenous viral superantigens. These particular Vβs, known to recognize endogenous mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) superantigen, are further expanded in arthritic joints. Our results demonstrate that autoreactive naive CD4 T cells which recognize endogenous viral superantigens are poised to cause disease by their altered transcriptome.

scholarly journals THU0046 A PIPELINE TO STUDY ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC CD4+ T CELLS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 235.1-236
Author(s):  
R. Kumar ◽  
N. Yoosuf ◽  
C. Gerstner ◽  
S. Turcinov ◽  
K. Chemin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Tenascin C ◽  
Tetramer Staining ◽  
Tcr Repertoire ◽  
Citrullinated Antigen

Background:Autoimmunity to citrullinated autoantigens forms a critical component of disease pathogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Presence of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) in patients has high diagnostic value. Recently, several citrullinated antigen specific CD4+T cells have been described. However, detailed studies of their T-cell receptor usage and in-vivo profile suffer from the disadvantage that these cells are present at very low frequencies. In this context, we here present a pipeline for TCR repertoire analysis of antigen-specific CD4+T cells from RA patients, including both citrulline and influenza (control) specificities using in-vitro peptide challenge induced-cell expansion.Objectives:To enable studies of the T cell repertoire of citrullinated antigen-specific CD4+T cells in rheumatoid arthritisMethods:Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (n=7) and synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) (n=5) from HLA-DR*0401-postive RA patients were cultured in the presence of citrullinated Tenascin C peptide cocktails or influenza peptides (positive control). Citrulline reactive cells were further supplemented with recombinant human IL-15 and IL-7 on day 2. All cultures were replenished with fresh medium on day 6 and rIL-2 was added every 2 days from then. Assessment of proportion of peptide-HLA-tetramer positive cells was performed using flow cytometry whereby individual antigen-specific CD4+T cells were sorted into 96-well plates containing cell lysis buffer, followed by PCR-based alpha/beta TCR sequencing. TCR sequencing data was demultiplexed and aligned for TCR gene usage using MiXCR. Some tetramer positive cells were sorted into complete medium containing human IL-2 and PHA for expansion of antigen-specific cells. Cells were supplemented with irradiated allogenic PBMCs (30 times number of antigen specific cells). Clones of antigen specific CD4+T cells were further subjected to tetramer staining to confirm expansion of cells.Results:As evidenced by increase in frequency of tetramer positive CD4+T cells, in vitro peptide stimulation resulted in expansion of both influenza specific (Fig. 1a) and citrullinated antigen specific (Fig. 1b) CD4+T cells. Polyclonal in-vitro expansion of tenascin C tetramer positive sorted cells followed by tetramer staining further confirmed antigen specificity and enrichment for antigen specific CD4+T cells after polyclonal stimulation (Fig.1c). TCR repertoire analysis in PB and SF dataset from the first patient showed clonal expansion of influenza specific cells in both sites. Synovial fluid had more diversity of expanding clones as compared to paired PB, with few expanded clones being shared among SF and PB. We observed a more diverse TCR repertoire in citrulline specific CD4+T cells. We also observed sharing of TCR alpha chains among different citrulline specific CD4+T cell clones.Fig. 1In-vitroexpansion of antigen specific CD4+T cells:Conclusion:This method provides a highly suitable approach for investigating TCR specificities of antigen specific CD4+T cells under conditions of low cell yields. Building on this dataset will allow us to assess specific features of TCR usage of autoreactive T cells in RA.PBMCs were cultured in presence of (a) influenza (HA, MP54) and (b) citrullinated tenascin peptides. The proportion of antigen specific CD4+T cells was assessed using HLA-class II tetramer staining. We observed an increase in frequency of (a) Infleunza specific cells (red dots in upper left and lower right quadrants) and (b) citrullinated tenascin C specific cells (red dots in lower right quadrant), at day 13 post culture as compared to day 3. (c) Sorting of citrullinated tenascin specific CD4+T cells, followed by PHA expansion resulted in visible increase in proportion of citrullinated tenascin specific CD4+T cells.Disclosure of Interests:Ravi kumar: None declared, Niyaz Yoosuf: None declared, Christina Gerstner: None declared, Sara Turcinov: None declared, Karine Chemin: None declared, Vivianne Malmström Grant/research support from: VM has had research grants from Janssen Pharmaceutica

scholarly journals CCL21 mediates CD4+ T-cell costimulation via a DOCK2/Rac-dependent pathway

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Gollmer ◽  
François Asperti-Boursin ◽  
Yoshihiko Tanaka ◽  
Klaus Okkenhaug ◽  
Bart Vanhaesebroeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
Tcr Signaling ◽  
Activation Markers

Abstract CD4+ T cells use the chemokine receptor CCR7 to home to and migrate within lymphoid tissue, where T-cell activation takes place. Using primary T-cell receptor (TCR)–transgenic (tg) CD4+ T cells, we explored the effect of CCR7 ligands, in particular CCL21, on T-cell activation. We found that the presence of CCL21 during early time points strongly increased in vitro T-cell proliferation after TCR stimulation, correlating with increased expression of early activation markers. CCL21 costimulation resulted in increased Ras- and Rac-GTP formation and enhanced phosphorylation of Akt, MEK, and ERK but not p38 or JNK. Kinase-dead PI3KδD910A/D910A or PI3Kγ-deficient TCR-tg CD4+ T cells showed similar responsiveness to CCL21 costimulation as control CD4+ T cells. Conversely, deficiency in the Rac guanine exchange factor DOCK2 significantly impaired CCL21-mediated costimulation in TCR-tg CD4+ T cells, concomitant with impaired Rac- but not Ras-GTP formation. Using lymph node slices for live monitoring of T-cell behavior and activation, we found that G protein-coupled receptor signaling was required for early CD69 expression but not for Ca2+ signaling. Our data suggest that the presence of CCL21 during early TCR signaling lowers the activation threshold through Ras- and Rac-dependent pathways leading to increased ERK phosphorylation.

Abstract 129: Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 1 in Dendritic Cells Inhibits Myocardial Inflammation in Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis

2012 ◽  
Vol 111 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuko Tajiri ◽  
Kyoko Imanaka-Yoshida ◽  
Michiaki Hiroe ◽  
Nobutake Shimojo ◽  
Satoshi Sakai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Dendritic Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Cytokine Signaling ◽  
Autoimmune Myocarditis ◽  
Dc Function ◽  
Autoreactive T Cell ◽  
Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis ◽  
Experimental Autoimmune

Introduction: Autoimmunity is considered to play an important role in the development of myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. Recent reports have indicated that a subgroup of myocarditis patients may benefit from immune-targeted therapies. Suppressor of cytokine signaling1 (SOCS1) is an intracellular, cytokine-inducible protein that regulates the responses of immune cells to cytokines. We therefore hypothesized that overexpression of SOCS1 may inhibit the inflammation of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. Methods and Results: Myocarditis was induced by subcutaneous immunization with cardiac specific peptides derived from α-myosin heavy chain in BALB/c mice on days 0 and 7. Plasmid DNA encoding SOCS1 (pSOCS1) was injected intraperitoneally into mice on days 0, 5 and 10. pSOCS1 treatment significantly decreased heart-to-body weight ratios and the number of infiltrating cells in the heart. Echocardiography showed preserved contractile function in pSOCS1-treated mice. Although autoimmune myocarditis is a CD4+ T cell-mediated disease, pSOCS1 treatment does not have a direct suppressive effect on autoreactive T-cell activation. The introduced pSOCS1 suppressed proinflammatory cytokine production and STAT1 phosphorylation in dendritic cells (DCs). In addition, the proliferative responses of autoreactive CD4+ T cells co-cultured with DCs from pSOCS1-treated mice were much weaker than those of cells cultured with DCs from control plasmid-injected mice. These results suggested that the inoculated pSOCS1 may have been transfected into DCs and impaired DC function in vivo. Conclusion: The administration of pSOCS1 protected mice from the development of experimental autoimmune myocarditis, which was mediated by the inhibition of DC function that in turn reduced the activation of autoreactive CD4+ T cells.

scholarly journals HDAC3 restrains CD8-lineage genes to maintain a bi-potential state in CD4+CD8+ thymocytes for CD4-lineage commitment

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Laura Philips ◽  
Jeong-Heon Lee ◽  
Krutika Gaonkar ◽  
Pritha Chanana ◽  
Ji Young Chung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Mhc Class Ii ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Lineage Commitment ◽  
Cytokine Signaling ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Kinetics Analysis ◽  
Tcr Signaling ◽  
Histone Deacetylase 3

CD4 and CD8 T cells are vital components of the immune system. We found that histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is critical for the development of CD4 T cells, as HDAC3-deficient DP thymocytes generate only CD8SP thymocytes in mice. In the absence of HDAC3, MHC Class II-restricted OT-II thymocytes are redirected to the CD8 cytotoxic lineage, which occurs with accelerated kinetics. Analysis of histone acetylation and RNA-seq reveals that HDAC3-deficient DP thymocytes are biased towards the CD8 lineage prior to positive selection. Commitment to the CD4 or CD8 lineage is determined by whether persistent TCR signaling or cytokine signaling predominates, respectively. Despite elevated IL-21R/γc/STAT5 signaling in HDAC3-deficient DP thymocytes, blocking IL-21R does not restore CD4 lineage commitment. Instead, HDAC3 binds directly to CD8-lineage promoting genes. Thus, HDAC3 is required to restrain CD8-lineage genes in DP thymocytes for the generation of CD4 T cells.

scholarly journals Bystander hyperactivation of preimmune CD8+ T cells in chronic HCV patients

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Alanio ◽  
Francesco Nicoli ◽  
Philippe Sultanik ◽  
Tobias Flecken ◽  
Brieuc Perot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Chronic Infection ◽  
Surface Expression ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Tcr Signaling ◽  
Cell Repertoire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Chronic Hcv

Chronic infection perturbs immune homeostasis. While prior studies have reported dysregulation of effector and memory cells, little is known about the effects on naïve T cell populations. We performed a cross-sectional study of chronic hepatitis C (cHCV) patients using tetramer-associated magnetic enrichment to study antigen-specific inexperienced CD8+ T cells (i.e., tumor or unrelated virus-specific populations in tumor-free and sero-negative individuals). cHCV showed normal precursor frequencies, but increased proportions of memory-phenotype inexperienced cells, as compared to healthy donors or cured HCV patients. These observations could be explained by low surface expression of CD5, a negative regulator of TCR signaling. Accordingly, we demonstrated TCR hyperactivation and generation of potent CD8+ T cell responses from the altered T cell repertoire of cHCV patients. In sum, we provide the first evidence that naïve CD8+ T cells are dysregulated during cHCV infection, and establish a new mechanism of immune perturbation secondary to chronic infection.

Paraneoplastic myasthenia gravis correlates with generation of mature naive CD4+ T cells in thymomas

Blood ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Ströbel ◽  
Markus Helmreich ◽  
Georgios Menioudakis ◽  
Sharon R. Lewin ◽  
Thomas Rüdiger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Myasthenia Gravis ◽  
Cell Sorting ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Matched Control ◽  
Cell Subset ◽  
Autoreactive T Cells ◽  
T Cell Subset ◽  
Age And Sex

Abstract Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the leading paraneoplastic manifestation of thymomas and is probably related to the capacity of thymomas to mature and export potentially autoreactive T cells. Why some thymomas are MG associated (MG+) and others are not (MG−) has been unclear. We addressed this question by comparing the percentages of intratumorous naive mature CD45RA+ thymocytes in 9 MG(+) and in 13 MG(−) thymomas by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. Our results show that intratumorous naive CD4 T cells were present in all MG(+) thymomas and in one MG(−) thymoma with the development of MG only 2 months after surgery. By contrast, the percentage of naive CD4+ T cells was significantly reduced in all 13 MG(−) thymomas (P < .0001). Alterations in intratumorous thymopoiesis were reflected by corresponding alterations of naive T-cell subset composition in the blood, in that only MG(−) patients had significantly decreased levels (P = .02) of naive CD4+ T cells compared with age- and sex-matched control persons. We conclude that paraneoplastic MG is highly associated with the efficiency of thymomas to produce and export naive CD4+T cells. The acquisition of the CD45RA+ phenotype on CD4+ T cells during terminal intratumorous thymopoiesis is associated with the presence of MG in most thymoma patients.

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