Regulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and tryptophanyl-tRNA-synthetase by CTLA-4-Fc in human CD4+ T cells

Indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophanyl-tRNA-synthetase (TTS) are interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-inducible enzymes that are responsible for tryptophan degradation and for its use in protein synthesis, respectively. IFN-gamma-induced IDO has immunomodulatory properties in murine and human models. A concomitant increase of TTS has been postulated to protect the IDO-expressing cells from tryptophan catabolism. IDO can be induced in dendritic cells (DCs) by recombinant soluble cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4-Fc). We investigated the effects of CTLA-4-Fc on IDO and TTS mRNA expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and isolated leukocyte subsets. CTLA-4-Fc exposure induced increased IDO and TTS expression in unseparated PBMCs, as well as in monocyte-derived mature DCs. CD4(+) T cells isolated from CTLA-4-Fc-treated PBMCs showed increased IDO and TTS compared with untreated cells. CD8(+) T cells from CTLA-4-Fc-treated PBMCs expressed increased levels of TTS but not IDO. Pretreatment of PBMCs with CTLA-4-Fc inhibited the activation of CD4(+) T cells induced by influenza A virus (Flu) or phytohemagglutinin A (PHA), but had no effect on CD8(+) T cells. This is the first report of IDO and TTS regulation by the CTLA-4-B7 system in human CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, and raises the possibility that these 2 tryptophan-modulating enzymes provide an important mechanism for regulating immune responses.