scholarly journals CD4+ T cells from chronic Chagas disease patients with different degrees of cardiac compromise exhibit distinct expression patterns of inhibitory receptors TIGIT, Tim-3 and Lag-3

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula B. Alcaraz ◽  
Magali C. Girard ◽  
M. Paula Beati ◽  
Raul Chadi ◽  
Marisa Fernandez ◽  
...  

AbstractT cells are central to adaptive immune response against T. cruzi infection. In the chronic stage of Chagas disease, circulating parasite-specific memory T cells show reduced functionality and increased expression of inhibitory receptors, possibly as a result of persistent antigenic stimulation. This exhausted phenotype has been linked to progression of cardiac pathology while, contrariwise, the presence of polyfunctional T cells shows association with therapeutic success and more efficient control of infection. Given this, we hypothesized that inhibitory receptors TIGIT, Tim-3 and Lag-3 may be involved in immune modulation of anti-T. cruzi T cell response, and therefore may play a role in the containment or the unleashing of inflammatory phenomena that ultimately lead to tissue damage and pathology. In this preliminary study, we assess the frequency of CD4+ T cells expressing each of these receptors and their relation to cellular activation. Samples from chronic Chagas disease patients with different degrees of cardiac compromise, and non-infected donors were analyzed under different stimulation conditions. Our results show that the frequency of TIGIT+ CD4+ T cells is increased in Chagas patients, while Tim-3+ cells are more abundant in patients with signs of cardiac alterations. In addition, the frequency of Lag-3+ cells increases in non-activated CD4+ T cells from Chagas patients without demonstrable cardiopathy upon pathogen-specific in vitro antigenic stimulation.

Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 4057-4057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Marie Boughan ◽  
Xiaohua Chen ◽  
Paul Szabolcs

Abstract Background: AML remains a disease diagnosed in the aging population with chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplant in some cases being the standard of care. Although response rates remain around 50-60%, treatment related mortality and disease relapse remain high. Adoptive immunotherapy, especially those targeting T cell co-inhibitory receptors, has proven successful in solid malignancies however, AML remains less explored. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated the feasibility to generate autologous AML reactive T cells in vitro (Mehta/Szabolcs; Immunotherapy 2016). It was noted that "resistant" AML blasts over expressed a number of genes associated with immunosuppressive characteristics. Over expression of these genes may induce T cell functional exhaustion. Therefore, we hypothesized that blocking PD-1 and/or CTLA-4 during co-culture with IFNg activated AML blasts, may enhance T cell activation and cytotoxicity. To test this hypothesis, we tested CTL responses against AML blasts and IFNg ELISpot formation after blocking with PD-1, CTLA-4 or both receptors, and compared the response in untreated T cells. Gene expression profiles of co-stimulatory/co-inhibitory receptors were also monitored to test for correlation. Methods: We evaluated 12 patients with newly diagnosed AML under an IRB approved protocol with written informed consent of patients. Mononuclear cell preparation was generated from fresh marrow samples or drawn from a biorepository of previously cryopreserved leukophereses. T cells were then purified using immunomagnetic CD3/CD28 beads (Life technologies) and cultivated in media with IL-2 and IL-7 for 2 weeks. AML blasts were cultured over a supporting layer of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from healthy BM donors for 1 week and then cryopreserved. T cells were then co-cultured with restored and irradiated autologous AML cells at an effector: target (E: T) ratio of 5:1 to 40:1. AML and T cells were co-cultured in the presence of Ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4), or Nivolumab (anti-PD-1), or a combination of both drugs. T cells and AML were re stimulated in X-vivo 15 with IL-12, IL-15 and IL-2 weekly x 3weeks. T cell response to AML was quantitated by IFNg ELISpot assay and Europium TDA (EuTDA) CTL assays independently. Co-stimulatory/co-inhibitory expression on T cells was examined with RT-q PCR assay. Paired-sample student t test was used for statistical analysis with p<0.05. Results and Discussion: Out of 12 samples, 10 (83%) yielded viable AML cells available for cytotoxicity assay. One third (33%) of co-cultures exhibited a positive T cell response in CTL assays ("killers"). There was no difference in CTL activity by blockade of either PD-1 or CTL-4 (Fig 1). IFN-ɣ spot formation in ELISpot was observed in 4/10 samples (40%) with statistical significance noted in cells blocked with PD-1 as compared to all other blockade types (Fig 2). The results indicated that in vitro priming with autologous AML blasts or together with blocking PD-1 can enhance T cell response in 33-40%. By gene expression analysis, the ratio of co-stimulatory to co-inhibitory genes was calculated. In PD-1 blocked cells, the ratio of activation/inhibition was not impacted in T cells from "killers" (0.9; p=0.1), however, T cells from "non-killer cells" had a diminished ratio due to higher expression of co-inhibitory molecules (0.4; p=0.04) (Fig 3). This trend was also present in CTLA-4 blocked cells (0.85; p=0.4 in killers vs 0.54; p=0.03 in non-killers) (data not shown). Interestingly, dual blockage failed to influence gene expression ratio, data not shown. Conclusion: The above studies demonstrate that cytotoxicity can be achieved in T cells when primed against autologous AML. PD-1 blockade can enhance IFNg production and cytotoxic responses, but CTLA-4 and dual blockade failed to enhance T cell function. The upregulation of an inhibitory pattern of genes in T cells that did not express cytotoxicity (non-killers) could allude to an "inhibitory phenotype" that may be resistant to immunotherapy drug blockade and requires further study. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. e35966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael J. Argüello ◽  
María C. Albareda ◽  
María G. Alvarez ◽  
Graciela Bertocchi ◽  
Alejandro H. Armenti ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1758-1764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Goldmann ◽  
Stephan M. Ensminger ◽  
Bernd M. Spriewald

ABSTRACTOral tolerance is a promising approach to induce unresponsiveness to various antigens. The development of tolerogenic vaccines could be exploited in modulating the immune response in autoimmune disease and allograft rejection. In this study, we investigated a nonviral gene transfer strategy for inducing oral tolerance via antigen-encoding chitosan-DNA nanoparticles (NP). Oral application of ovalbumin (OVA)-encoding chitosan-DNA NP (OVA-NP) suppressed the OVA-specific delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and anti-OVA antibody formation, as well as spleen cell proliferation following OVA stimulation. Cytokine expression patterns following OVA stimulationin vitroshowed a shift from a Th1 toward a Th2/Th3 response. The OVA-NP-induced tolerance was transferable from donor to naïve recipient mice via adoptive spleen cell transfer and was mediated by CD4+CD25+T cells. These findings indicate that nonviral oral gene transfer can induce regulatory T cells for antigen-specific immune modulation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. e0009059
Author(s):  
Elena Pérez-Antón ◽  
Adriana Egui ◽  
M. Carmen Thomas ◽  
Bartolomé Carrilero ◽  
Marina Simón ◽  
...  

Background Signs of senescence and the late stages of differentiation associated with the more severe forms of Chagas disease have been described in the Trypanosoma cruzi antigen-specific CD4+ T-cell population. However, the mechanisms involved in these functions are not fully known. To date, little is known about the possible impact of benznidazole treatment on the T. cruzi-specific functional response of CD4+ T cells. Methodology/Principal findings The functional capacity of CD4+ T cells was analyzed by cytometric assays in chronic Chagas disease patients, with indeterminate form (IND) and cardiac alterations (CCC) (25 and 15, respectively) before and after benznidazole treatment. An increase in the multifunctional capacity (expression of IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α, perforin and/or granzyme B) of the antigen-specific CD4+ T cells was observed in indeterminate versus cardiac patients, which was associated with the reduced coexpression of inhibitory receptors (2B4, CD160, CTLA-4, PD-1 and/or TIM-3). The functional profile of these cells shows statistically significant differences between IND and CCC (p<0.001), with a higher proportion of CD4+ T cells coexpressing 2 and 3 molecules in IND (54.4% versus 23.1% and 4.1% versus 2.4%, respectively). A significant decrease in the frequencies of CD4+ T cells that coexpress 2, 3 and 4 inhibitory receptors was observed in IND after 24–48 months of treatment (p<0.05, p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively), which was associated with an increase in antigen-specific multifunctional activity. The IND group showed, at 9–12 months after treatment, an increase in the CD4+ T cell subset coproducing three molecules, which were mainly granzyme B+, perforin+ and IFN-γ+ (1.4% versus 4.5%). Conclusions/Significance A CD4+ T cell dysfunctional process was detected in chronic Chagas disease patients, being more exacerbated in those patients with cardiac symptoms. After short-term benznidazole treatment (9–12 months), indeterminate patients showed a significant increase in the frequency of multifunctional antigen-specific CD4+ T cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. e0009473
Author(s):  
María Ailén Natale ◽  
Todd Minning ◽  
María Cecilia Albareda ◽  
Melisa Daiana Castro Eiro ◽  
María Gabriela Álvarez ◽  
...  

In chronic Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi-specific T-cell function decreases over time, and alterations in the homeostatic IL-7/IL-7R axis are evident, consistent with a process of immune exhaustion. IL-27 is an important immunoregulatory cytokine that shares T-cell signaling with IL-7 and other cytokines of the IL-12 family and might be involved in the transcriptional regulation of T-cell function. Here, we evaluated the expression and function of IL-27R in antigen-experienced T cells from subjects with chronic Chagas disease and assessed whether in vitro treatment with IL-27 and IL-7 might improve T. cruzi-specific polyfunctional T-cell responses. In vitro exposure of PBMCs to T. cruzi induced a downregulation of IL-27R in CD4+ T cells and an upregulation in CD8+ T cells in subjects without heart disease, while IL-27R expression remained unaltered in subjects with more severe clinical stages. The modulation of IL-27R was associated with functional signaling through STAT3 and STAT5 and induction of the downstream genes TBX21, EOMES and CXCL9 in response to IL-27. In vitro treatment of PBMCs with IL-27 and IL-7 improved monofunctional and polyfunctional Th1 responses, accompanied by the induction of IL-10 and Bcl-2 expression in subjects without heart disease but did not improve those in subjects with cardiomyopathy. Our findings support the process of desensitization of the IL-27/IL-27R pathway along with disease severity and that the pro-inflammatory and immunomodulatory mechanisms of IL-27 might be interconnected.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Hernández-Torres ◽  
Rogério Silva do Nascimento ◽  
Monica Cardozo Rebouças ◽  
Alexandra Cassado ◽  
Kely Catarine Matteucci ◽  
...  

AbstractChagas disease is a life-threatening disorder caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Parasite-specific antibodies, CD8+ T cells, as well as IFN-γ and nitric oxide (NO) are key elements of the adaptive and innate immunity against the extracellular and intracellular forms of the parasite. Bim is a potent pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family implicated in different aspects of the immune regulation, such as negative selection of self-reactive thymocytes and elimination of antigen-specific T cells at the end of an immune response. Interestingly, the role of Bim during infections remains largely unidentified. To explore the role of Bim in Chagas disease, we infected WT, Bim+/−, Bim−/− mice with trypomastigotes forms of the Y strain of T. cruzi. Strikingly, our data revealed that Bim−/− mice exhibit a delay in the development of parasitemia followed by a deficiency in the control of parasite load in the bloodstream and a decreased survival compared to WT and Bim+/− mice. At the peak of parasitemia, peritoneal macrophages of Bim−/− mice exhibit decreased NO production, which correlated with a decrease in the pro-inflammatory Small Peritoneal Macrophage (SPM) subset. A similar reduction in NO secretion, as well as in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and IL-6, was also observed in Bim−/− splenocytes. Moreover, an impaired anti-T. cruzi CD8+ T-cell response was found in Bim−/− mice at this time point. Taken together, our results suggest that these alterations may contribute to the establishment of a delayed yet enlarged parasitic load observed at day 9 after infection of Bim−/− mice and place Bim as an important protein in the control of T. cruzi infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Patidar ◽  
Naveen Yadav ◽  
Sarat K. Dalai

IL-15 is one of the important biologics considered for vaccine adjuvant and treatment of cancer. However, a short half-life and poor bioavailability limit its therapeutic potential. Herein, we have structured IL-15 into a chimeric protein to improve its half-life enabling greater bioavailability for longer periods. We have covalently linked IL-15 with IgG2 base to make the IL-15 a stable chimeric protein, which also increased its serum half-life by 40 fold. The dimeric structure of this kind of IgG based biologics has greater stability, resistance to proteolytic cleavage, and less frequent dosing schedule with minimum dosage for achieving the desired response compared to that of their monomeric forms. The structured chimeric IL-15 naturally forms a dimer, and retains its affinity for binding to its receptor, IL-15Rβ. Moreover, with the focused action of the structured chimeric IL-15, antigen-presenting cells (APC) would transpresent chimeric IL-15 along with antigen to the T cell, that will help the generation of quantitatively and qualitatively better antigen-specific memory T cells. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate the biological activity of chimeric IL-15 with respect to its ability to induce IL-15 signaling and modulating CD8+ T cell response in favor of memory generation. Thus, a longer half-life, dimeric nature, and anticipated focused transpresentation by APCs to the T cells will make chimeric IL-15 a super-agonist for memory CD8+ T cell responses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (2) ◽  
pp. G231-G240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Hoang ◽  
Baokun He ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
Dat Q. Tran ◽  
J. Marc Rhoads ◽  
...  

Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (LR 17938) has been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). It is unclear if preventing NEC by LR 17938 is mediated by Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which is known to mediate proinflammatory responses to bacterial cell wall components. NEC was induced in newborn TLR2−/− or wild-type (WT) mice by the combination of gavage-feeding cow milk-based formula and exposure to hypoxia and cold stress. Treatment groups were administered formula supplemented with LR 17938 or placebo (deMan-Rogosa-Sharpe media). We observed that LR 17938 significantly reduced the incidence of NEC and reduced the percentage of activated effector CD4+T cells, while increasing Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in the intestinal mucosa of WT mice with NEC, but not in TLR2−/− mice. Dendritic cell (DC) activation by LR 17938 was mediated by TLR2. The percentage of tolerogenic DC in the intestine of WT mice was increased by LR 17938 treatment during NEC, a finding not observed in TLR2−/− mice. Furthermore, gut levels of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IFN-γ were decreased after treatment with LR 17938 in WT mice but not in TLR2−/− mice. In conclusion, the combined in vivo and in vitro findings suggest that TLR2 receptors are involved in DC recognition and DC-priming of T cells to protect against NEC after oral administration of LR 17938. Our studies further clarify a major mechanism of probiotic LR 17938 action in preventing NEC by showing that neonatal immune modulation of LR 17938 is mediated by a mechanism requiring TLR2. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (LR 17938) has been shown to protect against necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in neonates and in neonatal animal models. The role of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) as a sensor for gram-positive probiotics, activating downstream anti-inflammatory responses is unclear. Our current studies examined TLR2 −/− mice subjected to experimental NEC and demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory effects of LR 17938 are mediated via a mechanism requiring TLR2.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 95 (12) ◽  
pp. 3693-3701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ypke V. J. M. van Oosterhout ◽  
Liesbeth van Emst ◽  
Anton V. M. B. Schattenberg ◽  
Wil J. M. Tax ◽  
Dirk J. Ruiter ◽  
...  

Abstract This study evaluated the anti-graft versus host disease (GVHD) potential of a combination of immunotoxins (IT), consisting of a murine CD3 (SPV-T3a) and CD7 (WT1) monoclonal antibody both conjugated to deglycosylated ricin A. In vitro efficacy data demonstrated that these IT act synergistically, resulting in an approximately 99% elimination of activated T cells at 10−8 mol/L (about 1.8 μg/mL). Because most natural killer (NK) cells are CD7+, NK activity was inhibited as well. Apart from the killing mediated by ricin A, binding of SPV-T3a by itself impaired in vitro cytotoxic T-cell cytotoxicity. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that this was due to both modulation of the CD3/T-cell receptor complex and activation-induced cell death. These results warranted evaluation of the IT combination in patients with refractory acute GVHD in an ongoing pilot study. So far, 4 patients have been treated with 3 to 4 infusions of 2 or 4 mg/m2 IT combination, administered intravenously at 48-hour intervals. The T1/2 was 6.7 hours, and peak serum levels ranged from 258 to 3210 ng/mL. Drug-associated side effects were restricted to limited edema, fever, and a modest rise of creatine kinase levels. One patient developed low-titer antibodies against ricin A. Infusions were associated with an immediate drop of circulating T cells, followed by a more gradual but continuing elimination of T/NK cells. One patient mounted an extensive CD8 T-cell response directly after treatment, not accompanied with aggravating GVHD. Two patients showed nearly complete remission of GVHD, despite unresponsiveness to the extensive pretreatment. These findings justify further investigation of the IT combination for treatment of diseases mediated by T cells.


1977 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
A S Kong ◽  
S I Morse

The mitogenic response of murine lymphocytes to the lymphocytosis-promoting factor of Bordetella pertussis has been shown to be due to activation of T cells. The selectivity of responsiveness to LPF with respect to the population of T cells which is stimllated, differs from that of PHA as well as Con A, and the surface receptors are different. A population of adherent cells, which does not appear to consist of macrophages or other phagocytic cells, is required for the T-cell response.


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