Differential Requirement of CD27 Costimulatory Signaling for Naïve Versus Alloantigen‐Primed Effector/Memory CD8+ T Cells

CD8⁺ memory T cells endanger allograft survival by causing acute and chronic rejection and prevent tolerance induction. We explored the role of CD27:CD70 T‐cell costimulatory pathway in alloreactive CD8⁺/CD4⁺ T‐cell activation. CD27‐deficient (CD27^?/?) and wild‐type (WT) B6 mice rejected BALB/c cardiac allografts at similar tempo, with or without depletion of CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells, suggesting that CD27 is not essential during primary T‐cell alloimmune responses. To dissect the role of CD27 in primed effector and memory alloreactive T cells, CD27^?/? or WT mice were challenged with BALB/c hearts either 10 or 40 days after sensitization with donor‐type skin grafts. Compared to WT controls, allograft survival was prolonged in day 40‐ but not day 10‐sensitized CD27^?/? recipients. Improved allograft survival was accompanied by diminished secondary responsiveness of memory CD8⁺ T cells, which resulted from deficiency in memory formation rather than their lack of secondary expansion. Chronic allograft vasculopathy and fibrosis were diminished in CD27^?/? recipients of class I‐ but not class II‐mismatched hearts as compared to WT controls. These data establish a novel role for CD27 as an important costimulatory molecule for alloreactive CD8⁺ memory T cells in acute and chronic allograft rejection.     

CD40‐Independent Help by Memory CD4 T Cells Induces Pathogenic Alloantibody But Does Not Lead to Long‐Lasting Humoral Immunity

CD40/CD154 interactions are essential for productive antibody responses to T‐dependent antigens. Memory CD4 T cells express accelerated helper functions and are less dependent on costimulation when compared with naïve T cells. Here, we report that donor‐reactive memory CD4 T cells can deliver help to CD40‐deficient B cells and induce high titers of IgG alloantibodies that contribute to heart allograft rejection in CD40?/? heart recipients. While cognate interactions between memory helper T and B cells are crucial for CD40‐independent help, this process is not accompanied by germinal center formation and occurs despite inducible costimulatory blockade. Consistent with the extrafollicular nature of T/B cell interactions, CD40‐independent help fails to maintain stable levels of serum alloantibody and induce differentiation of long‐lived plasma cells and memory B cells. In summary, our data suggest that while CD40‐independent help by memory CD4 T cells is sufficient to induce high levels of pathogenic alloantibody, it does not sustain long‐lasting anti‐donor humoral immunity and B cell memory responses. This information may guide the future use of CD40/CD154 targeting therapies in transplant recipients containing donor‐reactive memory T cells.

     

The Changed Balance of Regulatory and Naive T Cells Promotes Tolerance after TLI and Anti‐T‐Cell Antibody Conditioning

The goal of the study was to determine how the changed balance of host naïve and regulatory T cells observed after conditioning with total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and antithymocyte serum (ATS) promotes tolerance to combined organ and bone marrow transplants. Although previous studies showed that tolerance was dependent on host natural killer T (NKT) cells, this study shows that there is an additional dependence on host CD4⁺CD25⁺ Treg cells. Depletion of the latter cells before conditioning resulted in rapid rejection of bone marrow and organ allografts. The balance of T‐cell subsets changed after TLI and ATS with TLI favoring mainly NKT cells and ATS favoring mainly Treg cells. Combined modalities reduced the conventional naïve CD4⁺ T cells 2800‐fold. The host type Treg cells that persisted in the stable chimeras had the capacity to suppress alloreactivity to both donor and third party cells in the mixed leukocyte reaction. In conclusion, tolerance induction after conditioning in this model depends upon the ability of naturally occurring regulatory NKT and Treg cells to suppress the residual alloreactive T cells that are capable of rejecting grafts.     

An Anti‐CD154 Domain Antibody Prolongs Graft Survival and Induces Foxp3+ iTreg in the Absence and Presence of CTLA‐4 Ig

The use of monoclonal antibodies targeting the CD154 molecule remains one of the most effective means of promoting graft tolerance in animal models, but thromboembolic complications during early clinical trials have precluded their use in humans. Furthermore, the role of Fc‐mediated deletion of CD154‐expressing cells in the observed efficacy of these reagents remains controversial. Therefore, determining the requirements for anti‐CD154‐induced tolerance will instruct the development of safer but equally efficacious treatments. To investigate the mechanisms of action of anti‐CD154 therapy, two alternative means of targeting the CD40–CD154 pathway were used: a nonagonistic anti‐CD40 antibody and an Fc‐silent anti‐CD154 domain antibody. We compared these therapies to an Fc‐intact anti‐CD154 antibody in both a fully allogeneic model and a surrogate minor antigen model in which the fate of alloreactive cells could be tracked. Results indicated that anti‐CD40 mAbs as well as Fc‐silent anti‐CD154 domain antibodies were equivalent to Fc‐intact anti‐CD154 mAbs in their ability to inhibit alloreactive T cell expansion, attenuate cytokine production of antigen‐specific T cells and promote the conversion of Foxp3⁺ iTreg. Importantly, iTreg conversion observed with Fc‐silent anti‐CD154 domain antibodies was preserved in the presence of CTLA4‐Ig, suggesting that this therapy is a promising candidate for translation to clinical use.

     

LFA‐1 Antagonism Inhibits Early Infiltration of Endogenous Memory CD8 T Cells into Cardiac Allografts and Donor‐Reactive T Cell Priming

Alloreactive memory T cells are present in virtually all transplant recipients due to prior sensitization or heterologous immunity and mediate injury undermining graft outcome. In mouse models, endogenous memory CD8 T cells infiltrate MHC‐mismatched cardiac allografts and produce IFN‐γ in response to donor class I MHC within 24 h posttransplant. The current studies analyzed the efficacy of anti‐LFA‐1 mAb to inhibit early CD8 T cell cardiac allograft infiltration and activation. Anti‐LFA‐1 mAb given to C57BL/6 6 (H‐2^b) recipients of A/J (H‐2^a) heart grafts on days –1 and 0 completely inhibited CD8 T cell allograft infiltration, markedly decreased neutrophil infiltration and significantly reduced intragraft expression levels of IFN‐γ‐induced genes. Donor‐specific T cells producing IFN‐γ were at low/undetectable numbers in spleens of anti‐LFA‐1 mAb treated recipients until day 21. These effects combined to promote substantial prolongation (from day 8 to 27) in allograft survival. Delaying anti‐LFA‐1 mAb treatment until days 3 and 4 posttransplant did not inhibit early memory CD8 T cell infiltration and proliferation within the allograft. These data indicate that peritransplant anti‐LFA‐1 mAb inhibits early donor‐reactive memory CD8 T cell allograft infiltration and inflammation suggesting an effective strategy to attenuate the negative effects of heterologous immunity in transplant recipients.     

Expression of CD39 by Human Peripheral Blood CD4+CD25+ T Cells Denotes a Regulatory Memory Phenotype

We have shown that CD39 and CD73 are coexpressed on the surface of murine CD4⁺Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells (Treg) and generate extracellular adenosine, contributing to Treg immunosuppressive activity. We now describe that CD39, independently of CD73, is expressed by a subset of blood‐derived human CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127lo Treg, defined by robust expression of Foxp3. A further distinct population of CD4⁺CD39⁺ T lymphocytes can be identified, which do not express CD25 and FoxP3 and exhibit the memory effector cellular phenotype. Differential expression of CD25 and CD39 on circulating CD4⁺ T cells distinguishes between Treg and pathogenic cellular populations that secrete proinflammatory cytokines such as IFNγ and IL‐17. These latter cell populations are increased, with a concomitant decrease in the CD4⁺CD25⁺CD39⁺ Tregs, in the peripheral blood of patients with renal allograft rejection. We conclude that the ectonucleotidase CD39 is a useful and dynamic lymphocytes surface marker that can be used to identify different peripheral blood T cell‐populations to allow tracking of these in health and disease, as in renal allograft rejection.     

Alloreactive (CD4-Independent) CD8+ T Cells Jeopardize Long-Term Survival of Intrahepatic Islet Allografts

Despite success of early islet allograft engraftment and survival in humans, late islet allograft loss has emerged as an important clinical problem. CD8⁺ T cells that are independent of CD4⁺ T cell help can damage allograft tissues and are resistant to conventional immunosuppressive therapies. Previous work demonstrates that islet allografts do not primarily initiate rejection by the (CD4-independent) CD8-dependent pathway. This study was performed to determine if activation of alloreactive CD4-independent, CD8⁺ T cells, by exogenous stimuli, can precipitate late loss of islet allografts. Recipients were induced to accept intrahepatic islet allografts (islet 'acceptors') by short-term immunotherapy with donor-specific transfusion (DST) and anti-CD154 mAb. Following the establishment of stable long-term islet allograft function for 60–90 days, recipients were challenged with donor-matched hepatocellular allografts, which are known to activate (CD4-independent) CD8⁺ T cells. Allogeneic islets engrafted long-term were vulnerable to damage when challenged locally with donor-matched hepatocytes. Islet allograft loss was due to allo specific immune damage, which was CD8- but not CD4-dependent. Selection of specific immunotherapy to suppress both CD4- and CD8-dependent immune pathways at the time of transplant protects islet allografts from both early and late immune damage.     

Fc‐Disabled Anti‐Mouse CD40L Antibodies Retain Efficacy in Promoting Transplantation Tolerance

CD40L antibodies have proven to be powerful immunosuppressive agents in nonhuman primates but unfortunately perturb blood coagulation. Neither the therapeutic nor the prothrombotic mechanism of anti‐CD40L is defined sufficiently to determine whether these effects can be uncoupled. Recent evidence suggests that the Fc region of anti‐CD40L antibodies interacting with Fc receptors plays an important role in stabilizing platelet aggregates. An Fc‐disabled, aglycosylated anti‐CD40L heavy chain variant was therefore created to determine whether it might still be useful in promoting transplantation tolerance. In a number of mouse models an engineered aglycosyl anti‐CD40L recapitulated the effects of the intact anti‐CD40L antibody in tolerance protocols involving transplantation of allogeneic bone marrow and skin. In contrast, another anti‐CD40L variant with a conventional rat γ2b heavy chain was less effective in ensuring long‐term skin graft survival, possibly associated with its faster clearance from the circulation. These results show that short pulses of anti‐CD40L antibody therapy may still be useful in tolerance protocols even when the Fc region is disabled.     

CD4+CD25+调节性T细胞对小鼠肝脏移植自发性免疫耐受的影响

目的 研究CD4+CD25+调节性T细胞在诱导自发性肝脏免疫耐受中的作用.方法 向受体和供体注射抗CD25抗体(PC61)后进行小鼠原位肝脏移植,观测其生存时间.术后20～30 d切取移植肝脏行HE染色,同时观察CD4+CD25+T细胞对CD4+T细胞和CD8+T细胞功能的影响.结果 去除受体而不是供体小鼠的CD4+CD25+T细胞可以导致肝移植排斥反应.而且,去除CD4+CD25+T细胞使移植物的白细胞浸润明显增多,组织损伤加重.同时,去除CD4+CD25+T细胞导致CD4+T细胞的增殖活性和CD8+T细胞的细胞毒活性明显增强.结论 受体来源的CD4+CD25+调节性T细胞在小鼠肝脏移植免疫耐受诱导中起重要作用.

Abstract：

Objective To examine the contribution of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells to liver transplant tolerance. Methods After injection of anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody (mAb, PC61), mouse orthotopic liver transplantation was performed and survivals were determined. The paraffin-embedded sections of hepatic allografts were cut and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE). Furthermore, the effect of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells on proliferative response of CD4+ T cells and cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells was examined by depleting these regulatory T cells. Results Depletion of these cells in the recipients but not in the donors before liver transplantation caused rejection. Histological analyses of hepatic allografts with PC61 treatment showed extensive leukocyte infiltration and tissue destruction, whereas those in the control group showed minimal changes. Moreover, elimination of CD4+CD25+ T cells resulted in the enhancement of both proliferative response of CD4+ T cells and cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells against donor-type alloantigen. Conclusions These results suggest that CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells were important for tolerance induction to hepatic allografts.     

Anti‐TCRβ mAb Induces Long‐Term Allograft Survival by Reducing Antigen‐Reactive T Cells and Sparing Regulatory T Cells

TCR specific antibodies may modulate the TCR engagement with antigen–MHC complexes, and in turn regulate in vivo T cell responses to alloantigens. Herein, we found that in vivo administration of mAbs specific for mouse TCRβ (H57–597), TCRα or CD3 promptly reduced the number of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in normal mice, but H57–597 mAb most potently increased the frequency of CD4⁺Foxp3⁺ Treg cells. When mice were injected with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) superantigen and H57–597 mAb, the expansion of SEB‐reactive Vβ8⁺ T cells was completely abrogated while SEB‐nonreactive Vβ2⁺ T cells remained unaffected. More importantly, transient H57–597 mAb treatment exerted long‐lasting effect in preventing T cell responses to alloantigens, and produced long‐term cardiac allograft survival (>100 days) in 10 out of 11 recipients. While Treg cells were involved in maintaining donor‐specific long‐term graft survival, T cell homeostasis recovered over time and immunity was retained against third party allografts. Moreover, transient H57–597 mAb treatment significantly prolonged survival of skin allografts in naïve recipients as well as heart allografts in skin‐sensitized recipients. Thus, transient modulation of the TCRβ chain by H57–597 mAb exhibits potent, long‐lasting therapeutic effects to control alloimmune responses.     

Allografts Stimulate Cross‐Reactive Virus‐Specific Memory CD8 T Cells with Private Specificity

Viral infections have been associated with the rejection of transplanted allografts in humans and mice, and the induction of tolerance to allogeneic tissues in mice is abrogated by an ongoing viral infection and inhibited in virus‐immune mice. One proposed mechanism for this ‘heterologous immunity’ is the induction of alloreactive T cell responses that cross‐react with virus‐derived antigens. These cross‐reactive CD8 T cells are generated during acute viral infection and survive into memory, but their ability to partake in the immune response to allografts in vivo is not known. We show here that cross‐reactive, virus‐specific memory CD8 T cells from mice infected with LCMV proliferated in response to allografts. CD8 T cells specific to several LCMV epitopes proliferated in response to alloantigens, with the magnitude and hierarchy of epitope‐specific responses varying with the private specificities of the host memory T cell repertoire, as shown by adoptive transfer studies. Last, we show that purified LCMV‐specific CD8 T cells rejected skin allografts in SCID mice. These findings therefore implicate a potential role for heterologous immunity in virus‐induced allograft rejection.     

CD4+CD25+调节性T细胞/辅助性T细胞17在脓毒症大鼠中的作用

目的 观察CD4+ CD25+调节T细胞(Treg)/辅助性T细胞17(Th17)细胞在脓毒症大鼠炎性免疫反应中的作用.方法 110只雄性SD大鼠随机分为正常对照组、假手术组、脓毒症(CLP)组,采用改良的盲肠结扎穿孔术(CLP)制作大鼠脓毒症模型.采用流式细胞术检测CD14+单核细胞表面人类白细胞抗原-DR基因(HLA-DR)表达率、Treg细胞及TH17细胞比例;酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)检测白细胞介素(IL)-6、IL-10、肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)-α、转化生长因子(TGF)-β、白细胞介素(IL)-17炎性因子蛋白表达.结果 与假手术组比较:(1)伴随着脓毒症病情的发展,大鼠出现明显的免疫抑制,CD14+单核细胞HLA-DR表达率＜30％,IL-10/TNF-α比值(27.41 ±7.04比6.63 ±2.60)明显增高(P＜0.01).(2)术后96 h脓毒症大鼠Treg细胞[(11.91±3.88)％比(6.57±2.60)％,P＜0.01]和Th17细胞[(5.14±0.29)％比(2.85±0.07)％,P＜0.01]表达明显增高.(3)术后96 h脓毒症组前炎性细胞因子IL-6[(42.31±15.89) ng/L比(6.32 ±3.18) ng/L,P＜0.01]、IL-10[(69.89 ±20.78) ng/L比(13.58±5.37) ng/L,P＜0.01]、TNF-α[(5.03±3.10) ng/L比(2.77±1.10) ng/L,P＜0.01]、TGF-β[(4.99±2.01) ng/L比(1.88±1.07) ng/L,P＜0.01]、IL-17[(92.77±11.64) ng/L比(7.58±2.30) ng/L,P＜0.01]表达明显增高.结论 伴随着脓毒症病情的发展,大鼠出现明显的免疫抑制;在大鼠脓毒症的发生发展中,Treg细胞介导的免疫抑制及Th17细胞介导免疫激活反应同时存在;脓毒症细胞因子微环境变化可能是导致Treg细胞/Th17细胞失衡的原因之一.     

Human CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells Suppress Anti-Porcine Xenogeneic Responses

Due to the shortage of human organs, xenotransplantation is being explored as an alternative to allotransplantation, but immune rejection remains a major hurdle to its implementation. We tested the ability of human CD4+CD25+ T cells (Treg cells) to suppress CD4+ T cell-mediated anti-porcine xenoresponses usingin vitroassays. Human Treg cells were hyporesponsive to porcine cell stimulation and suppressed the proliferative response of CD4+CD25- T cells in a dose-dependent manner, and comparison of the allo- and xenoresponses indicated that more Treg cells might be required to suppress the xenogeneic response than the allogeneic response. Stimulation of CD4+CD25- T cells with porcine cells resulted in secretion of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-10, IL-6 and IL-2, and Treg cells suppressed the secretion of these cytokines, as well as the CD4+CD25- T-cell cytolytic response against porcine cells. These results suggest a potential role for Treg cells in promoting xenograft survival.     

Delayed Anti‐CD3 Therapy Results in Depletion of Alloreactive T Cells and the Dominance of Foxp3+CD4+ Graft Infiltrating Cells

The engineered Fc‐nonbinding (crystallizable fragment‐nonbinding) CD3 antibody has lower mitogenicity and a precise therapeutic window for disease remission in patients with type 1 diabetes. Before anti‐CD3 can be considered for use in transplantation, the most effective timing of treatment relative to transplantation needs to be elucidated. In this study anti‐CD3F(ab′)₂ fragments or saline were administered intravenously for 5 consecutive days (early: d1–3 or delayed: d3–7) to mice transplanted with a cardiac allograft (H2^b‐to‐H2^k; d0). Survival of allografts was prolonged in mice treated with the early protocol (MST = 48 days), but most were rejected by d100. In contrast, in mice treated with the delayed protocol allografts continued to survive long term. The delayed protocol significantly inhibited donor alloreactivity at d30 as compared to the early protocol. A marked increase in Foxp3⁺ T cells (50.3 ± 1.6%) infiltrating the allografts in mice treated with the delayed protocol was observed (p < 0.0001 vs. early (24.9 ± 2.1%)) at d10; a finding that was maintained in the accepted cardiac allografts at d100. We conclude that the timing of treatment with anti‐CD3 therapy is critical for inducing long‐term graft survival. Delaying administration effectively inhibits the alloreactivity and promotes the dominance of intragraft Foxp3⁺ T cells allowing long‐term graft acceptance.     

The role of natural killer T cells in costimulation blockade‐based mixed chimerism

Distinct lymphocyte populations have been identified that either promote or impede the establishment of chimerism and tolerance through allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Natural killer T (NKT) cells have pleiotropic regulatory properties capable of either augmenting or downmodulating various immune responses. We investigated in this study whether NKT cells affect outcome in mixed chimerism models employing fully mismatched nonmyeloablative BMT with costimulation blockade (CB). The absence of NKT cells had no detectable effect on chimerism or skin graft tolerance after conditioning with 3Gy total body irradiation (TBI), and a limited positive effect with 1Gy TBI. Stimulation of NKT cells with alpha‐galactosylceramide (alpha‐gal) at the time of BMT prevented chimerism and tolerance. Activation of recipient (as opposed to donor) NKT cells was necessary and sufficient for the alpha‐gal effect. The detrimental effect of NKT activation was also observed in the absence of T cells after conditioning with in vivo T‐cell depletion (TCD). NKT cells triggered rejection of BM via NK cells as chimerism and tolerance were not abrogated when NKT cells were stimulated in the absence of both NK cells and T cells. Thus, activation of NKT cells at the time of BMT overcomes the effects of CB, inhibiting the establishment of chimerism and tolerance.     

Attenuation of Donor‐Reactive T Cells Allows Effective Control of Allograft Rejection Using Regulatory T Cell Therapy

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential for the establishment and maintenance of immune tolerance, suggesting a potential therapeutic role for Tregs in transplantation. However, Treg administration alone is insufficient in inducing long‐term allograft survival in normal hosts, likely due to the high frequency of alloreactive T cells. We hypothesized that a targeted reduction of alloreactive T effector cells would allow a therapeutic window for Treg efficacy. Here we show that preconditioning recipient mice with donor‐specific transfusion followed by cyclophosphamide treatment deleted 70–80% donor‐reactive T cells, but failed to prolong islet allograft survival. However, infusion of either 5 × 10⁶ Tregs with direct donor reactivity or 25 × 10⁶ polyclonal Tregs led to indefinite survival of BALB/c islets in more than 70% of preconditioned C57BL/6 recipients. Notably, protection of C3H islets in autoimmune nonobese diabetic mice required islet autoantigen‐specific Tregs together with polyclonal Tregs. Treg therapy led to significant reduction of CD8⁺ T cells and concomitant increase in endogenous Tregs among graft‐infiltrating cells early after transplantation. Together, these results demonstrate that reduction of the donor‐reactive T cells will be an important component of Treg‐based therapies in transplantation.     

Fates of CD4+ T cells in a tolerant environment depend on timing and place of antigen exposure

In experimental organ transplantation, tolerance is induced by administration of anti-CD40L mAb in conjunction with donor-specific splenocyte transfusion. Multiple, sometimes conflicting mechanisms of action resulting from this treatment have been reported. To resolve these issues, this study assessed the fates of graft reactive cells at different times and locations in the tolerant environment. Alloantigen-specific CD4(+) T cells transferred at time of tolerance induction (7 days before transplantation) became activated, expressed CD69 and CD44, and proliferated. Importantly, a large subset of this population became Foxp3(+) , more so in the lymph nodes than spleen, indicative of differentiation to a regulatory phenotype. In contrast, graft reactive CD4(+) T cells transferred to tolerogen-treated recipients at the time of transplantation failed either to proliferate or to differentiate, and instead were deleted via apoptosis. In untreated rejecting recipients graft reactive CD4(+) T cells became activated, proliferated and differentiated mainly in the spleen, and many of these cells were eventually deleted. These data resolve many apparent contradictions in the literature by showing that the timing of antigen exposure, the immunologic status of the recipients and secondary lymphoid organ location act together as key factors to determine the fate of graft reactive CD4(+) T cells.