Repression of SMAD3 by STAT3 and c-Ski induces conventional dendritic cell differentiation

A pleiotropic immunoregulatory cytokine, TGF-β, signals via the receptor-regulated SMADs: SMAD2 and SMAD3, which are constitutively expressed in normal cells. Here, we show that selective repression of SMAD3 induces cDC differentiation from the CD115+ common DC progenitor (CDP). SMAD3 was expressed in haematopoietic cells including the macrophage DC progenitor. However, SMAD3 was specifically down-regulated in CD115+ CDPs, SiglecH- pre-DCs, and cDCs, whereas SMAD2 remained constitutive. SMAD3-deficient mice showed a significant increase in cDCs, SiglecH- pre-DCs, and CD115+ CDPs compared with the littermate control. SMAD3 repressed the mRNA expression of FLT3 and the cDC-related genes: IRF4 and ID2. We found that one of the SMAD transcriptional corepressors, c-SKI, cooperated with phosphorylated STAT3 at Y705 and S727 to repress the transcription of SMAD3 to induce cDC differentiation. These data indicate that STAT3 and c-Ski induce cDC differentiation by repressing SMAD3: the repressor of the cDC-related genes during the developmental stage between the macrophage DC progenitor and CD115+ CDP.

Resistance of Rheumatoid Synovial Dendritic Cells to the Immunosuppressive Effects of IL-10

IL-10 down-regulates the APC function of many dendritic cells (DC), including human peripheral blood (PB) DC. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), synovial fluid (SF) DC express markers of differentiation and are effective APC despite abundant synovial IL-10. The regulation of DC responsiveness to IL-10 was therefore examined by comparing the effect of IL-10 on normal PB and RA SF DC. Whereas IL-10 down-modulated APC function and MHC class II and B7 expression of PB DC, IL-10 had no such effect on SF DC. Since SF DC have differentiated in vivo in the presence of proinflammatory cytokines, PB DC were cocultured in the presence of IL-10 and either GM-CSF, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, or TGF-β. GM-CSF, IL-1β, and TNF-α were all able to restore APC function. Whereas the effects of IL-10 on PB DC were shown to be mediated by IL-10R1, neither PB nor RA SF DC constitutively expressed IL-10R1 mRNA or detectable surface protein. In contrast, IL-10R1 protein was demonstrated in PB and SF DC whole cell lysates, suggestive of predominant intracellular localization of the receptor. Thus, DC responsiveness to IL-10 may be regulated through modulation of cell surface IL-10R1 expression or signaling.

CD34+ Cell-Derived CD14+ Precursor Cells Develop into Langerhans Cells in a TGF-β1-Dependent Manner

Langerhans cells (LC) are CD1a+E-cadherin (E-cad)+Birbeck granule+ but CD11b−CD36−factor XIIIa (FXIIIa)− members of the dendritic cell (DC) family. Evidence holds that LC originate from CD1a+CD14− rather than CD14+CD1a− progenitors, both of which arise from GM-CSF/TNF-α-stimulated CD34+ stem cells. The CD14+CD1a− progenitors, on the other hand, can give rise to a separate DC type characterized by its CD1a+CD11b+CD36+FXIIIa+E-cad−BG− phenotype (non-LC DC). Although GM-CSF/TNF-α are important for both LC and non-LC DC differentiation, TGF-β1 is thought to preferentially promote LC development in vitro and in vivo. However, the hemopoietic biology of this process and the nature of TGF-β1-responsive LC precursors (LCp) are not well understood. Here we show that CD14+ precursors in the presence, but not in the absence, of TGF-β1 give rise to a progeny that fulfills all major criteria of LC. In contrast, LC development from CD1a+ progenitors was TGF-β1 independent. Further studies revealed that CD14+ precursors contain a CD11b+ and a CD11b− subpopulation. When either subset was stimulated with GM-CSF/TNF-α and TGF-β1, only CD14+CD11b− cells differentiated into LC. The CD11b+ cells, on the other hand, acquired non-LC DC features only. The higher doubling rates of cells entering the CD14+ LCp rather than the CD1a+ LCp pathway add to the importance of TGF-β1 for LC development. Because CD14+CD11b− precursors are multipotent cells that can enter LC or macrophage differentiation, it is suggested that these cells, if present at the tissue level, endow a given organ with the property to generate diverse cell types in response to the local cytokine milieu.

Murine Langerhans Cells Cultured Under Serum-Free Conditions Mature into Potent Stimulators of Primary Immune Responses In Vitro and In Vivo

The ability of Ag-pulsed dendritic cells (DC) to induce primary immune responses has led them to be used for vaccination purposes. However, irrelevant Ags (e.g., FCS) can also be taken up by DC during their isolation and culture and then presented in vivo. To circumvent this, we have established a serum-free (SF) culture system. Murine epidermal cell (EC) suspensions were prepared with and without FCS and cultured for 3 days either in SF or FCS-containing medium. In spite of the lower Langerhans cell (LC) yields under SF conditions, both SF- and FCS-cultured LC (SF-cLC, FCS-cLC) underwent a similar maturation process, as evidenced by a similar increase in the cell surface expression of MHC class II and of costimulatory molecules. The further observation that SF-EC cultures elaborated comparable amounts of granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF as FCS-cultured EC, but were relatively impaired in their IL-1α and TNF-α production, supports the role of GM-CSF in LC maturation and, less so, in LC survival. Functionally, freshly isolated SF-LC compared with FCS-LC in their Ag-processing capacity. Three-day-cultured SF-LC were as potent stimulators of polyclonal T cell responses and of the primary allogeneic MLR as FCS-cLC, but were relatively poor activators of naive, syngeneic CD4+ T cells. In vivo, hapten-modified SF-cLC induced a contact hypersensitivity response similar in magnitude and kinetics to that evoked by FCS-cLC. Our data show that, in the absence of serum and exogenous cytokines, LC mature into potent activators of T cell responses and could thus be a valuable cellular source for DC-based immunotherapy.