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Eskandari SK, Allos H, Al Dulaijan BS, Melhem G, Sulkaj I, Alhaddad JB, Saad AJ, Deban C, Chu P, Choi JY, Kollar B, Pomahac B, Riella LV, Berger SP, Sanders JSF, Lieberman J, Li L, Azzi JR. mTORC1 Inhibition Protects Human Regulatory T Cells From Granzyme-B-Induced Apoptosis. Front Immunol 2022; 13:899975. [PMID: 35757726 PMCID: PMC9229986 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.899975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have shown great promise as a means of cellular therapy in a multitude of allo- and auto-immune diseases—due in part to their immunosuppressive potency. Nevertheless, the clinical efficacy of human Tregs in patients has been limited by their poor in vivo homeostasis. To avert apoptosis, Tregs require stable antigenic (CD3ζ/T-cell-receptor-mediated), co-stimulatory (CD28-driven), and cytokine (IL-2-dependent) signaling. Notably, this sequence of signals supports an activated Treg phenotype that includes a high expression of granzymes, particularly granzyme B (GrB). Previously, we have shown that aside from the functional effects of GrB in lysing target cells to modulate allo-immunity, GrB can leak out of the intracellular lysosomal granules of host Tregs, initiating pro-apoptotic pathways. Here, we assessed the role of inhibiting mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), a recently favored drug target in the transplant field, in regulating human Treg apoptosis via GrB. Using ex vivo models of human Treg culture and a humanized mouse model of human skin allotransplantation, we found that by inhibiting mTORC1 using rapamycin, intracytoplasmic expression and functionality of GrB diminished in host Tregs; lowering human Treg apoptosis by in part decreasing the phosphorylation of S6K and c-Jun. These findings support the already clinically validated effects of mTORC1 inhibition in patients, most notably their stabilization of Treg bioactivity and in vivo homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siawosh K Eskandari
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Hazim Allos
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Basmah S Al Dulaijan
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Gandolina Melhem
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ina Sulkaj
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Graduate Program in Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Juliano B Alhaddad
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Anis J Saad
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Christa Deban
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Philip Chu
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - John Y Choi
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Branislav Kollar
- Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery, University of Freiburg Medical Center, Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bohdan Pomahac
- Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Leonardo V Riella
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Center of Transplantation Sciences, Division of Nephrology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Stefan P Berger
- Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Jan S F Sanders
- Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Judy Lieberman
- Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Li Li
- Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jamil R Azzi
- Transplantation Research Center, Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Division of Nephrology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Eskandari SK, Sulkaj I, Melo MB, Li N, Allos H, Alhaddad JB, Kollar B, Borges TJ, Eskandari AS, Zinter MA, Cai S, Assaker JP, Choi JY, Al Dulaijan BS, Mansouri A, Haik Y, Tannous BA, van Son WJ, Leuvenink HGD, Pomahac B, Riella LV, Tang L, Seelen MAJ, Irvine DJ, Azzi JR. Regulatory T cells engineered with TCR signaling-responsive IL-2 nanogels suppress alloimmunity in sites of antigen encounter. Sci Transl Med 2020; 12:eaaw4744. [PMID: 33177180 PMCID: PMC8519505 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaw4744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Adoptive cell transfer of ex vivo expanded regulatory T cells (Tregs) has shown immense potential in animal models of auto- and alloimmunity. However, the effective translation of such Treg therapies to the clinic has been slow. Because Treg homeostasis is known to require continuous T cell receptor (TCR) ligation and exogenous interleukin-2 (IL-2), some investigators have explored the use of low-dose IL-2 injections to increase endogenous Treg responses. Systemic IL-2 immunotherapy, however, can also lead to the activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells, causing adverse therapeutic outcomes. Here, we describe a drug delivery platform, which can be engineered to autostimulate Tregs with IL-2 in response to TCR-dependent activation, and thus activate these cells in sites of antigen encounter. To this end, protein nanogels (NGs) were synthesized with cleavable bis(N-hydroxysuccinimide) cross-linkers and IL-2/Fc fusion (IL-2) proteins to form particles that release IL-2 under reducing conditions, as found at the surface of T cells receiving stimulation through the TCR. Tregs surface-conjugated with IL-2 NGs were found to have preferential, allograft-protective effects relative to unmodified Tregs or Tregs stimulated with systemic IL-2. We demonstrate that murine and human NG-modified Tregs carrying an IL-2 cargo perform better than conventional Tregs in suppressing alloimmunity in murine and humanized mouse allotransplantation models. In all, the technology presented in this study has the potential to improve Treg transfer therapy by enabling the regulated spatiotemporal provision of IL-2 to antigen-primed Tregs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siawosh K Eskandari
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Ina Sulkaj
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Mariane B Melo
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Na Li
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Hazim Allos
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Juliano B Alhaddad
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Branislav Kollar
- Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Thiago J Borges
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Arach S Eskandari
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, Netherlands
| | - Max A Zinter
- Experimental Therapeutics and Molecular Imaging Unit, Department of Neurology, Neuro-Oncology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Songjie Cai
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jean Pierre Assaker
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - John Y Choi
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Basmah S Al Dulaijan
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Amr Mansouri
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Yousef Haik
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Bakhos A Tannous
- Experimental Therapeutics and Molecular Imaging Unit, Department of Neurology, Neuro-Oncology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Willem J van Son
- Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Henri G D Leuvenink
- Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Bohdan Pomahac
- Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Leonardo V Riella
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Li Tang
- Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marc A J Seelen
- Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Jamil R Azzi
- Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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