T-bet down-modulation in tolerized Th1 effector CD4 cells confers a TCR-distal signaling defect that selectively impairs IFN-gamma expression

Costimulation Induces CD4 T Cell Antitumor Immunity via an Innate-like Mechanism

Chronic exposure to tumor-associated antigens inactivates cognate T cells, restricting the repertoire of tumor-specific effector T cells. This problem was studied here by transferring TCR transgenic CD4 T cells into recipient mice that constitutively express a cognate self-antigen linked to MHC II on CD11c-bearing cells. Immunotherapeutic agonists to CD134 plus CD137, "dual costimulation," induces specific CD4 T cell expansion and expression of the receptor for the Th2-associated IL-1 family cytokine IL-33. Rather than producing IL-4, however, they express the tumoricidal Th1 cytokine IFNγ when stimulated with IL-33 or IL-36 (a related IL-1 family member) plus IL-12 or IL-2. IL-36, which is induced within B16-F10 melanomas by dual costimulation, reduces tumor growth when injected intratumorally as a monotherapy and boosts the efficacy of tumor-nonspecific dual costimulated CD4 T cells. Dual costimulation thus enables chronic antigen-exposed CD4 T cells, regardless of tumor specificity, to elaborate tumoricidal function in response to tumor-associated cytokines.

Transcriptional regulatory networks for CD4 T cell differentiation

CD4(+) T cells play a central role in controlling the adaptive immune response by secreting cytokines to activate target cells. Naïve CD4(+) T cells differentiate into at least four subsets, Th1Th1 , Th2Th2 , Th17Th17 , and inducible regulatory T cellsregulatory T cells , each with unique functions for pathogen elimination. The differentiation of these subsets is induced in response to cytokine stimulation, which is translated into Stat activation, followed by induction of master regulator transcription factorstranscription factors . In addition to these factors, multiple other transcription factors, both subset specific and shared, are also involved in promoting subset differentiation. This review will focus on the network of transcription factors that control CD4(+) T cell differentiation.

Inflammation programs self-reactive CD8+ T cells to acquire T-box-mediated effector function but does not prevent deletional tolerance

CD8(+) T cells must detect foreign antigens and differentiate into effector cells to eliminate infections. But, when self-antigen is recognized instead, mechanisms of peripheral tolerance prevent acquisition of effector function to avoid autoimmunity. These distinct responses are influenced by inflammatory and regulatory clues from the tissue environment, but the mechanism(s) by which naive T cells interpret these signals to generate the appropriate immune response are unclear. The identification of the molecules operative in these cell-fate decisions is crucial for developing new treatment options for patients with cancer or autoimmunity, where manipulation of T cell activity is desired to alter the course of disease. With the use of an in vivo murine model to examine CD8(+) T cell responses to healthy self-tissue, we correlated self-tolerance with a failure to induce the T-box transcription factors T-bet and Eomes. However, inflammation associated with acute microbial infection induced T-bet and Eomes expression and promoted effector differentiation of self-reactive T cells under conditions that normally favor tolerance. In the context of a Listeria infection, these functional responses relied on elevated T-bet expression, independent of Eomes. Alternatively, infection with LCMV induced higher Eomes expression, which was sufficient in the absence of T-bet to promote effector cytokine production. Our results place T-box transcription factors at a molecular crossroads between CD8(+) T cell anergy and effector function upon recognition of peripheral self-antigen, and suggest that inflammation during T cell priming directs these distinct cellular responses.

Phenotypic and transcriptional profile correlates with functional plasticity of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells

The role of CD4(+) T cells in the control of infectious pathogens is highly complex with a myriad of functions but how these T cells acquire differential functional potentiality remains poorly defined. Here we show that human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD4(+) T cells directed towards different viral antigens expressed predominantly TNF-α alone or TNF-α and IFN-γ. TNF-α(+) and IFN-γ(+) CD4(+) T cells expressed significantly higher levels of T-box transcription factors T-bet with graded loss of Eomesodermin (Eomes) expression (T-bet(Hi)Eomes(Hi/Lo)) when compared with TNF-α(+) CD4(+) T cells expressing lower levels of both T-bet and Eomes (T-bet(-)Eomes(-)). Furthermore, TNF-α(+) and IFN-γ(+) CD4(+) T cells expressed significantly higher levels of perforin and interleukin (IL)-2 and displayed a terminally differentiated phenotype (CCR7(-)CD27(-)CD45RA(-)CD57(+)CD62L(-)). In contrast, TNF-α(+) alone CMV-specific CD4(+) T cells were predominantly early-memory phenotype with a proportion of these cells displaying T memory stem-cell phenotype (CD95(+)CD45RA(+)CCR7(+)CD27(+)). In vitro stimulation of CMV-specific CD4(+) T cells with viral antigen in the presence of IL-12 was sufficient to dramatically change the transcriptional and functional profile of TNF-α(+) CD4(+) T cells, whereas TNF-α(+) and IFN-γ(+) CD4(+) T cells remained unaltered. These findings illustrate an intrinsic link between cytokine expression, transcriptional regulation and cellular differentiation, and their impact on functional plasticity of virus-specific CD4(+) T cells.

CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation induces Eomesodermin in CD4 T cells to program cytotoxic Th1 differentiation

Cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells are emerging as a therapeutically useful T cell lineage that can effectively target tumors, but until now the pathways that govern their differentiation have been poorly understood. We demonstrate that CD134 (OX40) costimulation programs naive self- and virus-reactive CD4 T cells to undergo in vivo differentiation into cytotoxic Th1 effectors. CD137 (4-1BB) costimulation maximized clonal expansion, and IL-2 was necessary for cytotoxic Th1 differentiation. Importantly, the T-box transcription factor Eomesodermin was critical for inducing the cytotoxic marker granzyme B. CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation also imprinted a cytotoxic phenotype on bystanding CD4 T cells. Thus, to our knowledge, the current study identifies for the first time a specific costimulatory pathway and an intracellular mechanism relying on Eomesodermin that induces both Ag-specific and bystander cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells. This mechanism might be therapeutically useful because CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation induced CD4 T cell-dependent tumoricidal function in a mouse melanoma model.

Nuclear factor-kappaB modulates regulatory T cell development by directly regulating expression of Foxp3 transcription factor

Naturally derived regulatory T (Treg) cells are characterized by stable expression of the transcription factor Foxp3 and characteristic epigenetic imprinting at the Foxp3 gene locus. Here, we found that enhancing nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB activity via a constitutive active inhibitor of kappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta) transgene in T cells led to increased number of Foxp3(+) cells in the thymus and can rescue Foxp3 expression in thymocytes deficient in other pleiotropic signaling molecules. Enhancing the signal strength of the NF-kappaB pathway also induced Foxp3 expression in otherwise conventionally selected T cells. NF-kappaB directly promoted the transcription of Foxp3, and upon T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation, c-Rel, a NF-kappaB family member, bound to Foxp3 enhancer region, which is specifically demethylated in natural Treg cells. Hence, NF-kappaB signaling pathway is a key regulator of Foxp3 expression during natural Treg cell development.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b regulates expansion but not functional activity of self-reactive CD4 T cells

Cbl-b is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that limits Ag responsiveness in T cells by targeting TCR-inducible signaling molecules. Cbl-b deficiency thus renders T cells hyperresponsive to antigenic stimulation and predisposes individuals toward developing autoimmunity. In part because Cbl-b(-/-) T cells do not require CD28 costimulation to become activated, and insufficient costimulation is a critical parameter that confers anergy induction over effector differentiation, it has been hypothesized that Cbl-b(-/-) T cells are resistant to anergy. This possibility has been supported in models in which anergy is normally induced in vitro, or in vivo following exposure to soluble Ag boluses. In the current study, we characterized the response of Cbl-b(-/-) CD4 T cells in an in vivo system in which anergy is normally induced by a constitutively expressed peripheral self-Ag. Cbl-b expression increased in self-Ag-induced anergic wild-type CD4 T cells, and Cbl-b(-/-) CD4 T cells underwent more robust proliferation and expansion upon initially encountering cognate self-Ag compared with wild-type counterparts. Nevertheless, both wild-type and Cbl-b(-/-) CD4 T cells ultimately developed the same impaired ability to respond to antigenic restimulation. The more extensive expansion that occurred during the initial induction of anergy did, however, allow the anergic CD4 T cells to expand to greater numbers when they were functionally resuscitated following replacement of the initial source of tolerizing self-Ag with a viral form of the same Ag.

In vitro and in vivo differentiated effector CD8 T cells display divergent histone acetylation patterns within the Ifng locus

Epigenetic remodeling of genes encoding effector cytokines that permit accessibility to the transcriptional machinery is a central event in the differentiation of naive T cells into effectors that can attack pathogens and tumors. Covalent modifications of histones that cause a loosening of nucleosomal structures occur not only in promoter regions, but also at upstream and downstream enhancer elements that integrate various cellular stimuli to modulate the rate of transcriptional initiation. This knowledge derives mostly from the analysis of in vitro differentiated effector T cells. Here, we compared acetylation of histone H3 (AcH3) at several sites within the Ifng locus in CD8 T cells that underwent effector differentiation in vitro vs. in vivo. While AcH3 was similar at the proximal promoter, it displayed a reciprocal pattern at two well-characterized upstream and downstream sites. These data suggest that certain epigenetic remodeling events may be artifactual consequences of in vitro culturing conditions, and indicate the importance of using in vivo models to study effector cytokine gene remodeling.

Self-antigen prevents CD8 T cell effector differentiation by CD134 and CD137 dual costimulation

We compared how CD4 vs CD8 cells attain the capacity to express the effector cytokine IFN-gamma under both immunogenic and tolerogenic conditions. Although the Ifng gene locus was epigenetically repressed in naive Ag-inexperienced CD4 cells, it had already undergone partial remodeling toward a transcriptionally competent configuration in naive CD8 cells. After TCR stimulation, CD8 cells fully remodeled the Ifng locus and gained the capacity to express high levels of IFN-gamma more rapidly than CD4 cells. Enforced dual costimulation through OX40 and 4-1BB redirected CD8 cells encountering soluble exogenous peptide to expand and differentiate into IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha double-producing effectors rather than becoming tolerant. Despite this and the stronger tendency of CD8 compared with CD4 cells to differentiate into IFN-gamma-expressing effectors, when parenchymal self-Ag was the source of tolerizing Ag, enforced dual costimulation selectively boosted expansion but did not push effector differentiation in CD8 cells while both expansion and effector differentiation were dramatically boosted in CD4 cells. Notably, enforced dual costimulation was able to push effector differentiation in CD8 cells encountering cognate parenchymal self-Ag when CD4 cells were simultaneously engaged. Thus, the ability of enforced OX40 plus 4-1BB dual costimulation to redirect CD8 cells to undergo effector differentiation was unexpectedly influenced by the source of tolerizing Ag and help was selectively required to facilitate CD8 cell effector differentiation when the tolerizing Ag derived from self.

Histone acetylation at the Ifng promoter in tolerized CD4 cells is associated with increased IFN-gamma expression during subsequent immunization to the same antigen

When naive CD4(+) Th cells encounter cognate pathogen-derived Ags they expand and develop the capacity to express the appropriate effector cytokines for neutralizing the pathogen. Central to this differentiation process are epigenetic modifications within the effector cytokine genes that allow accessibility to the transcriptional machinery. In contrast, when mature self-reactive CD4 cells encounter their cognate epitopes in the periphery they generally undergo a process of tolerization in which they become hyporesponsive/anergic to antigenic stimulation. In the current study, we used a TCR transgenic adoptive transfer system to demonstrate that in a dose-dependent manner parenchymal self-Ag programs cognate naive CD4 cells to acetylate histones bound to the promoter region of the Ifng gene (which encodes the signature Th1 effector cytokine) during peripheral tolerization. Although the Ifng gene gains transcriptional competence, these tolerized CD4 cells fail to express substantial amounts of IFN-gamma in response to antigenic stimulation apparently because a blockage in TCR-mediated signaling also develops. Nevertheless, responsiveness to antigenic stimulation is partially restored when self-Ag-tolerized CD4 cells are retransferred into mice infected with a virus expressing the same Ag. Additionally, there is preferential boosting in the ability of these CD4 cells to express IFN-gamma relative to other cytokines with expression that also becomes impaired. Taken together, these results suggest that epigenetic modification of the Ifng locus during peripheral CD4 cell tolerization might allow for preferential expression of IFN-gamma during recovery from tolerance.

Epigenetic regulation of established human type 1 versus type 2 cytokine responses

BACKGROUND

Multiple biologic factors influence maintenance of immunologic responsiveness. Here, we studied whether epigenetics has a regulatory function in maintaining pre-established T(H)1-like and T(H)2-like immunity in human beings.

OBJECTIVE

We focused on delineating the role of endogenous histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity in regulating cytokine recall responses.

METHODS

Using RT-PCR and ELISA, the effect of increasing cellular acetylation on T(H)1/T(H)2 cytokine expression was systematically examined in 58 children by inhibiting HDAC activity with trichostatin A.

RESULTS

Phytohemagglutinin activation selectively stimulates antigen-experienced CD45RO+ T cells, eliciting recall cytokine responses. Trichostatin A reduced HDAC activity by approximately 1/3. The resulting cellular hyperacetylation led to increased T(H)2-associated (IL-13, 139%; IL-5, 168%; P < .0001) and reduced T(H)1-associated recall responses (IFN-gamma, 76%; CXCL10, 47%; P < .0001). IL-2 and IL-10 production were reduced 25% to 55% (P < .0001). These alterations in T(H)2-associated and T(H)1-associated recall responses were associated with increased expression of Gata-3 and sphingosine kinase 1, a T(H)1-negative regulator, independent of T-bet expression. Overall, inhibition of endogenous HDAC activity shifted T(H)1:T(H)2 ratios by 3-fold to 8-fold (P < or = .0001), skewing recall responses toward a more T(H)2-like phenotype, independent of the stimulus used.

CONCLUSION

Endogenous HDAC activity plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of pre-established T(H)1-like and T(H)2-like responses, inhibiting excessive T(H)2 immunity.

NF-kappaB-regulated suppression of T-bet in T cells represses Th1 immune responses in pregnancy

The molecular mechanisms that suppress Th1 immune responses in pregnancy are unknown. We assessed the expression of the Th1 cytokine transcription factor T-bet. We isolated PBMC and T cells from non-pregnant and pregnant women and demonstrated that T-bet is specifically down-regulated in pregnancy under basal and stimulated conditions. Low levels of T-bet protein were detected in the nuclear fraction of unstimulated PBMC from non-pregnant, but not pregnant women. Nuclear levels of T-bet increased in response to PMA/ionomycin in PBMC from non-pregnant, but not pregnant women. T-bet expression was greater in whole cell lysates of stimulated CD3(+) T cells from non-pregnant relative to pregnant women. NF-kappaB is specifically down-regulated in T cells in pregnant women, resulting in suppressed expression of Th1 cytokines IL-2, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. In this study, down-regulation of NF-kappaB also resulted in diminished expression of T-bet. PMA induces NF-kappaB translocation, T-bet expression and IL-2, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha production. Conversely, pre-incubation with SN50, and NF-kappaB oligodeoxyribonucleotide decoys suppressed PMA-induced NF-kappaB translocation and gene transcription, respectively, resulting in diminished T-bet expression and Th1 cytokine production. Therefore, maintenance of the cytokine environment for pregnancy success is mediated via strict regulation of Th1 immune responses, more specifically through control of NF-kappaB and T-bet transcription.

Effects of LPS-mediated bystander activation in the innate immune system

LPS induces dendritic cell (DC) activation, but the precise in vivo mechanism is unclear since DCs express low levels of TLR4. Here, it is shown that DCs can be activated in response to LPS through a bystander mechanism. This result was obtained using chimeric mice reconstituted with LPS-responsive and nonresponsive bone marrow cells. Thus, after indirect in vivo conditioning by LPS, bystander-activated DCs (LPS nonresponsive) up-regulated CD86. This up-regulation occurred even when LPS-responsive cells were MyD88 deficient. Functional analysis demonstrated that in vivo LPS conditioning endowed both the LPS-responsive and bystander cells with the ability to produce IFN-gamma in response to TLR9 stimulation in vitro. IFN-gamma production was also shown to be important for enhanced T-bet gene expression but not important for up-regulation of CD86. To investigate aspects of the mechanism, we used intracellular cytokine staining and found that NKDCs were responsible for at least some of the IFN-gamma production. Thus, our in vivo results demonstrated that bacterial LPS can bridge activation of various cellular populations of the innate immune system through a bystander mechanism.