Hanspeter Waldner

Halofuginone Inhibits TH17 Cell Differentiation by Activating the Amino Acid Starvation Response

Starving T Cells The TH17 lineage of CD4+ helper T cells, characterized by the ability to secrete IL-17, is an important mediator of inflammation and autoimmunity. Dampening the responses of these cells or inhibiting their differentiation is of great therapeutic interest. Sundrud et al. (p. 1334; see the Perspective by Blander and Amsen) now show that the small molecule halofuginone inhibits the differentiation of TH17 cells but not other CD4+ T cell helper lineages both in vitro and in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. This selective inhibition was mediated by activation of the amino acid starvation response. Amino acid depletion mimicked the effects of halofuginone, whereas excess amino acids rescued TH17 differentiation. The results highlight the importance of amino acid metabolism in regulating inflammation. Activation of the amino acid starvation response inhibits differentiation of a subset of inflammatory T cells. A central challenge for improving autoimmune therapy is preventing inflammatory pathology without inducing generalized immunosuppression. T helper 17 (TH17) cells, characterized by their production of interleukin-17, have emerged as important and broad mediators of autoimmunity. Here we show that the small molecule halofuginone (HF) selectively inhibits mouse and human TH17 differentiation by activating a cytoprotective signaling pathway, the amino acid starvation response (AAR). Inhibition of TH17 differentiation by HF is rescued by the addition of excess amino acids and is mimicked by AAR activation after selective amino acid depletion. HF also induces the AAR in vivo and protects mice from TH17-associated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These results indicate that the AAR pathway is a potent and selective regulator of inflammatory T cell differentiation in vivo.

The role of innate immune responses in autoimmune disease development

Autoimmune diseases are systemic or organ-specific disorders that are the result of an attack of the immune system against the bodys own tissue. Development of autoimmune disease is generally avoided by distinct mechanisms that silence adaptive self-reactive T or B cells. The innate immune system is critically involved in the defense against pathogens and the induction of primary adaptive immune responses. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are key receptors that activate the innate immunity in response to pathogen recognition. Recent data show that activation of innate immune cells such as dendritic cells (DCs) can break this state of tolerance and induce autoimmunity by priming autoreactive T cells. Here we review recent examples of how innate immune responses influence the adaptive immunity in the induction or regulation of autoimmune disease.

Opioid growth factor and low-dose naltrexone impair central nervous system infiltration by CD4 + T lymphocytes in established experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a model of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by infiltrating myelin-reactive T lymphocytes and demyelinating lesions. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the animal model widely utilized to study MS. EAE is mediated by CD4+ T cells and can be induced in EAE-susceptible mice through immunization with a myelin antigen, such as proteolipid protein 139–151 (PLP139-151) in SJL mice. In this PLP-induced EAE model, autoreactive CD4+ T cells migrate from peripheral tissues into the CNS where they are reactivated resulting in CNS damage. Th1 and Th17 cells produce the pro-inflammatory cytokines IFNγ and IL-17, respectively, that have been shown to have pathogenic roles in EAE and MS. Anti-inflammatory Th2, IL-4 secreting cells, have been indicated to inhibit EAE exacerbation. However, given the inflammatory environment of EAE, Th2 effector cells are outnumbered by Th1/Th17 cells. Regulatory CD4+ T cells suppress immune reactions and have been demonstrated to be dysfunctional in MS patients. Opioid growth factor (OGF), chemically termed [Met5]-enkephalin, is a negative growth factor that interacts with the OGF receptor. The OGF-OGFr axis can be activated through exogenous administration of OGF or a low dosage of naltrexone (LDN), an opioid antagonist. We have previously demonstrated that modulation of the OGF-OGFr axis results in alleviation from relapse-remitting EAE, and that CNS-infiltrating CD3+ T cells are diminished with exogenous OGF or intermittent blockade with LDN administration. In this paper, we aimed to determine whether OGF or LDN alter the Th effector responses of CD4+ T lymphocytes within the CNS in established EAE. We report in these studies that the numbers of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the CNS of EAE mice are decreased following treatment with OGF for five days but not LDN. However, modulation of the OGF-OGFr axis did not result in changes to CD4+ Th effector cell responses in the CNS of EAE mice.

The type 1 diabetes resistance locus B10 Idd9.3 mediates impaired B-cell lymphopoiesis and implicates microRNA-34a in diabetes protection

NOD.B10 Idd9.3 mice are congenic for the insulin‐dependent diabetes (Idd) Idd9.3 locus, which confers significant type 1 diabetes (T1D) protection and encodes 19 genes, including microRNA (miR)‐34a, from T1D‐resistant C57BL/10 mice. B cells have been shown to play a critical role in the priming of autoantigen‐specific CD4+ T cells in T1D pathogenesis in non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mice. We show that early B‐cell development is impaired in NOD.B10 Idd9.3 mice, resulting in the profound reduction of transitional and mature splenic B cells as compared with NOD mice. Molecular analysis revealed that miR‐34a expression was significantly higher in B‐cell progenitors and marginal zone B cells from NOD.B10 Idd9.3 mice than in NOD mice. Furthermore, miR‐34a expression in these cell populations inversely correlated with levels of Foxp1, an essential regulator of B‐cell lymphopoiesis, which is directly repressed by miR‐34a. In addition, we show that islet‐specific CD4+ T cells proliferated inefficiently when primed by NOD.B10 Idd9.3 B cells in vitro or in response to endogenous autoantigen in NOD.B10 Idd9.3 mice. Thus, Idd9.3‐encoded miR‐34a is a likely candidate in negatively regulating B‐cell lymphopoiesis, which may contribute to inefficient expansion of islet‐specific CD4+ T cells and to T1D protection in NOD.B10 Idd9.3 mice.

The innate immune adaptor MyD88 is dispensable for spontaneous autoimmune demyelination in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that is mediated by myelin-reactive T cells resulting in CNS demyelination, however the mechanisms that control their activation are unclear. Mice that are transgenic for a myelin proteolipid protein (PLP)-specific TCR spontaneously develop experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of MS. They mimic the spontaneous onset of MS and thus offer the unique opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that may contribute to the development of spontaneous CNS autoimmunity. MyD88 is an adaptor protein that mediates signal transduction by TLRs, IL-1R and IL-18R, resulting in the activation of innate immune cells, including DCs. We investigated the requirement of MyD88 in the pathogenesis of spontaneous EAE in PLP TCR transgenic SJL mice. We show that genetic loss of MyD88 does not intrinsically preclude development of spontaneous EAE and autoimmune demyelination in these mice. EAE was associated with functionally mature peripheral DCs that promoted superior PLP-specific Th1 and Th17 responses compared to those from disease-free mice. Together, our data suggest that MyD88-independent innate immune signaling critically contributes to priming of myelin-reactive T cells and development of spontaneous EAE in MyD88-deficient PLP TCR transgenic mice.

Accelerated Type 1 Diabetes Induction in Mice by Adoptive Transfer of Diabetogenic CD4+ T Cells

The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse spontaneously develops autoimmune diabetes after 12 weeks of age and is the most extensively studied animal model of human Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cell transfer studies in irradiated recipient mice have established that T cells are pivotal in T1D pathogenesis in this model. We describe herein a simple method to rapidly induce T1D by adoptive transfer of purified, primary CD4+ T cells from pre-diabetic NOD mice transgenic for the islet-specific T cell receptor (TCR) BDC2.5 into NOD.SCID recipient mice. The major advantages of this technique are that isolation and adoptive transfer of diabetogenic T cells can be completed within the same day, irradiation of the recipients is not required, and a high incidence of T1D is elicited within 2 weeks after T cell transfer. Thus, studies of pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions in T1D can proceed at a faster rate than with methods that rely on heterogenous T cell populations or clones derived from diabetic NOD mice.

Identifying type 1 diabetes candidate genes by DNA microarray analysis of islet-specific CD4 + T cells.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease resulting from the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells and is fatal unless treated with insulin. During the last four decades, multiple insulin-dependent diabetes (Idd) susceptibility/resistance loci that regulate T1D development have been identified in humans and non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, an established animal model for T1D. However, the exact mechanisms by which these loci confer diabetes risk and the identity of the causative genes remain largely elusive. To identify genes and molecular mechanisms that control the function of diabetogenic T cells, we conducted DNA microarray analysis in islet-specific CD4 + T cells from BDC2.5 TCR transgenic NOD mice that contain the Idd9 locus from T1D-susceptible NOD mice or T1D-resistant C57BL/10 mice. Here we describe in detail the contents and analyses for these gene expression data associated with our previous study [1]. Gene expression data are available at the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (accession number GSE64674).

Genome-Wide Transcriptional Analyses of Islet-Specific CD4+ T Cells Identify Idd9 Genes Controlling Diabetogenic T Cell Function

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a polygenic disease with multiple insulin-dependent diabetes (Idd) loci predisposing humans and NOD mice to disease. NOD.B10 Idd9 congenic mice, in which the NOD Idd9 chromosomal region is replaced by the Idd9 from T1D-resistant C57BL/10 mice, are significantly protected from T1D development. However, the genes and pathways conferring T1D development or protection by Idd9 remain to be fully elucidated. We have developed novel NOD.B10-Idd9 (line 905) congenic mice that predominantly harbor islet-reactive CD4+ T cells expressing the BDC2.5 TCR (BDC-Idd9.905 mice). To establish functional links between the Idd9 genotype and its phenotype, we used microarray analyses to investigate the gene expression profiles of ex vivo and Ag-activated CD4+ T cells from these mice and BDC2.5 (BDC) NOD controls. Among the differentially expressed genes, those located within the Idd9 region were greatly enriched in islet-specific CD4+ T cells. Bioinformatics analyses of differentially expressed genes between BDC-Idd9.905 and BDC CD4+ T cells identified Eno1, Rbbp4, and Mtor, all of which are encoded by Idd9 and part of gene networks involved in cellular growth and development. As predicted, proliferation and Th1/Th17 responses of islet-specific CD4+ T cells from BDC-Idd9.905 mice following Ag stimulation in vitro were reduced compared with BDC mice. Furthermore, proliferative responses to endogenous autoantigen and diabetogenic function were impaired in BDC-Idd9.905 CD4+ T cells. These findings suggest that differential expression of the identified Idd9 genes contributed to Idd9-dependent T1D susceptibility by controlling the diabetogenic function of islet-specific CD4+ T cells.