Keren Mizrahi

Physiological functions of TNF family receptor/ligand interactions in hematopoiesis and transplantation

Secretion of ligands of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily is a conserved response of parenchymal tissues to injury and inflammation that commonly perpetuates elimination of dysfunctional cellular components by apoptosis. The same signals of tissue injury that induce apoptosis in somatic cells activate stem cells and initiate the process of tissue regeneration as a coupling mechanism of injury and recovery. Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells upregulate the TNF family receptors under stress conditions and are transduced with trophic signals. The progeny gradually acquires sensitivity to receptor-mediated apoptosis along the differentiation process, which becomes the major mechanism of negative regulation of mature proliferating hematopoietic lineages and immune homeostasis. Receptor/ligand interactions of the TNF family are physiological mechanisms transducing the need for repair, which may be harnessed in pathological conditions and transplantation. Because these interactions are physiological mechanisms of injury, neutralization of these pathways has to be carefully considered in disorders that do not involve intrinsic aberrations of excessive susceptibility to apoptosis.

Low levels of allogeneic but not syngeneic hematopoietic chimerism reverse autoimmune insulitis in prediabetic NOD mice

The relative efficiencies of allogeneic and syngeneic bone marrow transplantation and the threshold levels of donor chimerism required to control autoimmune insulitis were evaluated in prediabetic NOD mice. Male and female NOD mice were conditioned by radiation and grafted with bone marrow cells from allogeneic and syngeneic sex-mismatched donors. Establishment of full allogeneic chimerism in peripheral blood reversed insulitis and restored glucose tolerance despite persistence of residual host immune cells. By contrast, sublethal total body irradiation (with or without syngeneic transplant) reduced the incidence and delayed the onset of diabetes. The latter pattern was also seen in mice that rejected the bone marrow allografts. Low levels of stable allogeneic hematopoietic chimerism (>1%) were sufficient to prevent the evolution of diabetes following allogeneic transplantation. The data indicate that immunomodulation attained at low levels of allogeneic, but not syngeneic, hematopoietic chimerism is effective in resolution of islet inflammation at even relatively late stages in the evolution of the prediabetic state in a preclinical model. However, our data question the efficacy and rationale behind syngeneic (autologous-like) immuno-hematopoietic reconstitution in type 1 diabetes.

Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors Support Murine Hematopoietic Progenitor Function in the Early Stages of Engraftment

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family receptors/ligands are important participants in hematopoietic homeostasis, in particular as essential negative expansion regulators of differentiated clones. As a prominent injury cytokine, TNF‐α has been traditionally considered to suppress donor hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell function after transplantation. We monitored the involvement of TNF receptors (TNF‐R) 1 and 2 in murine hematopoietic cell engraftment and their inter‐relationship with Fas. Transplantation of lineage‐negative (lin−) bone marrow cells (BMC) from TNF receptor‐deficient mice into wild‐type recipients showed defective early engraftment and loss of durable hematopoietic contribution upon recovery of host hematopoiesis. Consistently, cells deficient in TNF receptors had reduced competitive capacity as compared to wild‐type progenitors. The TNF receptors were acutely upregulated in bone marrow (BM)‐homed donor cells (wild‐type) early after transplantation, being expressed in 60%–75% of the donor cells after 6 days. Both TNF receptors were detected in fast cycling, early differentiating progenitors, and were ubiquitously expressed in the most primitive progenitors with long‐term reconstituting potential (lin−c‐kit+ stem cell antigen (SCA)‐1+). BM‐homed donor cells were insensitive to apoptosis induced by TNF‐α and Fas‐ligand and their combination, despite reciprocal inductive cross talk between the TNF and Fas receptors. The engraftment supporting effect of TNF‐α is attributed to stimulation of progenitors through TNF‐R1, which involves activation of the caspase cascade. This stimulatory effect was not observed for TNF‐R2, and this receptor did not assume redundant stimulatory function in TNFR1‐deficient cells. It is concluded that TNF‐α plays a tropic role early after transplantation, which is essential to successful progenitor engraftment. STEM CELLS 2010;28:1270–1280

Participation of adult bone marrow-derived stem cells in pancreatic regeneration: neogenesis versus endogenesis.

Regenerative medicine opens new avenues and promises towards more effective therapies for autoimmune disorders. Current therapeutic strategies for type I diabetes focus on three major directions, with distinct advantages and disadvantages: arrest of autoimmunity, islet transplantation and generation of neoislets. There is mounting evidence that candidate stem cells residing in the hematopoietic compartments participate in regeneration of pancreatic islets following chemical and autoimmune injury in vivo. The apparent major mechanisms include immunomodulation, revascularization, support of endogenous beta-cell regeneration and differentiation into insulin-producing cells. Review of the current evidence suggests that some divergent observations depend primarily on the experimental design, which both limits and accentuates developmental events. The flood of publications reporting negative results appears to reflect primarily suboptimal experimental conditions for differentiation of putative stem cells, rather than limited developmental plasticity. Stem cells modulate the course of autoimmune diabetes through multiple mechanisms, including de novo generation of units capable to sense, produce and secrete insulin. Therefore, the charged debate over controversies surrounding developmental plasticity should not impede attempts to design curative therapies for this disease.

Immunosuppressive therapy exacerbates autoimmunity in NOD mice and diminishes the protective activity of regulatory T cells

Mounting evidence indicates that immunosuppressive therapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation are relatively inefficient approaches to treat autoimmune diabetes. In this study we assessed the impact of immunosuppression on inflammatory insulitis in NOD mice, and the effect of radiation on immunomodulation mediated by adoptive transfer of various cell subsets. Sublethal radiation of NOD females at the age of 14 weeks (onset of hyperglycemia) delayed the onset of hyperglycemia, however two thirds of the mice became diabetic. Adoptive transfer of splenocytes into irradiated NON and NOD mice precipitated disease onset despite increased contents of CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T cells in the pancreas and regional lymphatics. Similar phenotypic changes were observed when CD25(+) T cells were infused after radiation, which also delayed disease onset without affecting its incidence. Importantly, irradiation increased the susceptibility to diabetes in NOD and NON mice (71-84%) as compared to immunomodulation with splenocytes and CD25(+) T cells in naïve recipients (44-50%). Although irradiation had significant and durable influence on pancreatic infiltrates and the fractions of functional CD25(+)FoxP3(+) Treg cells were elevated by adoptive cell transfer, this approach conferred no protection from disease progression. Irradiation was ineffective both in debulking of pathogenic clones and in restoring immune homeostasis, and the consequent homeostatic expansion evolves as an unfavorable factor in attempts to restore self-tolerance and might even provoke uncontrolled proliferation of pathogenic clones. The obstacles imposed by immunosuppression on abrogation of autoimmune insulitis require replacement of non-specific immunosuppressive therapy by selective immunomodulation that does not cause lymphopenia.

TNF‐α Has Tropic Rather than Apoptotic Activity in Human Hematopoietic Progenitors: Involvement of TNF Receptor‐1 and Caspase‐8

Tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) has been suggested to exert detrimental effects on hematopoietic progenitor function that might limit the success of transplants. In this study, we assessed the influences of TNF‐α and its two cognate receptors on the function of fresh umbilical cord blood (UCB) and cryopreserved mobilized peripheral blood (mPB). CD34+ progenitors from both sources are less susceptible to spontaneous apoptosis than lineage‐committed cells and are not induced into apoptosis by TNF‐α. Consequently, the activity of UCB‐derived severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) reconstituting cells and long‐term culture‐initiating cells is unaffected by this cytokine. On the contrary, transient exposure of cells from both sources to TNF‐α stimulates the activity of myeloid progenitors, which persists in vivo in UCB cell transplants. Progenitor stimulation is selectively mediated by TNF‐R1 and involves activation of caspase‐8, without redundant activity of TNF‐R2. Despite significant differences between fresh UCB cells and cryopreserved mPB cells in susceptibility to apoptosis and time to activation, TNF‐α is primarily involved in tropic signaling in hematopoietic progenitors from both sources. Cytokine‐mediated tropism cautions against TNF‐α neutralization under conditions of stress hematopoiesis and may be particularly beneficial in overcoming the limitations of UCB cell transplants. Stem Cells2013;31:156–166

Killer Treg cells ameliorate inflammatory insulitis in non-obese diabetic mice through local and systemic immunomodulation

Treg cells endowed with enhanced killing activity through decoration with Fas-ligand (FasL) protein (killer Treg) have been effective in delay of hyperglycemia in prediabetic non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. In this study, we assessed the therapeutic efficacy of these cells, harvested from age-matched euglycemic NOD donors, on the course of disease in new-onset diabetics. One dose of 4 × 10(6) killer Treg cells stabilized blood glucose associated with increased insulin levels in 5 of 9 mice and partially reversed the severity of islet inflammation, whereas naive Treg cells did not modulate the course of disease significantly. Killer Treg cells were shown to operate through induction of cell apoptosis within the pancreatic lymph nodes, resulting in reduced efficiency of adoptive disease transfer to NOD/SCID recipients. A second mechanism of action consisted of increased fractions of CD4(+)CD25(-)FoxP3(+) T cells in the pancreas and all lymphoid organs. Immunomodulation with FasL rather than Treg cells enhanced the expression of CD25 and FoxP3 in the thymus, suggesting a possible contribution of thymic output to prolonged stabilization of the glucose levels. Autologous Treg cells evolve as excellent vehicles for targeted delivery of FasL as an immunomodulatory protein, which delete pathogenic cells at the site of inflammation and induce systemic dominance of suppressor subsets.

Resistance of Hematopoietic Progenitors to Fas-Mediated Apoptosis Is Actively Sustained by NFκB with a Characteristic Transcriptional Signature

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a good source of hematopoietic progenitors with increasing implementation in the clinical transplant setting. This study evaluates the molecular mechanisms of progenitor resistance to apoptosis triggered by Fas cross-linking. CD34(+) and lineage-negative progenitors survive short-term ex vivo incubation and are not induced into apoptosis by Fas cross-linking. Furthermore, brief exposure of UCB cells to Fas-ligand for 24-48 h does not impair quantitative severe combine immune deficiency (SCID) reconstitution activity and appears to foster myelomonocyte reconstitution. The transcriptome of Fas receptor-positive CD34(+) cells that survived an apoptotic challenge showed significant transcriptional upregulation of caspase-8, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation gene-1 (MALT1), HtrA2, and GSK3β in addition to higher levels of c-FLICE inhibitory protein (FLIP), Bcl-2, and cytosolic inhibitor of apoptosis protein (cIAP) in all Fas-positive cells. Most prominent is the transcriptional upregulation of several key components the NFκB1 pathway including the membrane receptors TGF-β, interleukin-1 (IL-1), and TCR, the associated factor TNF receptor-associated factor-6 (TRAF6), and the converting enzymes TGF-β-activated kinase-1 (TAK1), double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR), and α-catalytic subunit of IκB kinase (IKKα), that promote activation and nuclear translocation of this transcription factor. These data indicate that hematopoietic progenitors are not insensitive to apoptosis but are actively shielded from the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. This may occur through inherent transcriptional upregulation of the entire NFκB pathway in the presence of competent apoptotic signaling.

Immunomodulation with donor regulatory T cells armed with Fas-ligand alleviates graft-versus-host disease

Infusion of large numbers of donor regulatory T cells (Tregs) is an effective approach to suppress graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). We have reported previously that enhancing the killing activity of CD25(+) Tregs by decoration with short-lived Fas-ligand (FasL) protein (killer Tregs) is effective in abrogation of autoimmunity. In this study, we assessed the therapeutic efficacy of killer Tregs in murine models of lethal GvHD. In a model in which disease-associated mortality was not prevented by infusion of naive donor Tregs (3 days after transplant) at an effector:suppressor ratio of 10:1, killer Tregs rescued 70% of the mice and improved the clinical and histologic scores. We found that both effector lymphocytes and therapeutic Tregs migrate to and proliferate in the mesenteric lymph nodes of irradiated recipients; however, only killer Tregs increased fractional apoptosis of effector lymphocytes. Although the lymphoid organs were primarily reconstituted from the bone marrow with little contribution of the infused effector and suppressor subsets, immunomodulation with FasL caused a durable rise in fractions of CD4(+)FoxP3(+) Tregs. Our findings demonstrate that a short-lived apoptotic protein increases the suppressive activity of Tregs and ameliorates GvHD severity.

Surge in regulatory cells does not prevent onset of hyperglycemia in NOD mice

Abstract Immune profiling of non-obese diabetic (NOD) is a widely employed tool to assess the mechanisms of inflammatory insulitis. Our analysis of the female NOD colony revealed similar distribution of lymphoid lineages to wild type mice, and at various ages of prediabetic and diabetic mice. The profiles of mesenteric and pancreatic lymph nodes differ and often change reciprocally due to directed migration of T cells towards the site of inflammation. Significant events in our colony include early decline in CD4+CD25+CD62L+ Treg, accompanied by gradual increase in CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Treg in peripheral lymphoid organs and pancreatic infiltrates. Impressively, aged euglycemic mice display significant transient rise in CD4+CD25-FoxP3+ Treg in the thymus, pancreas and draining lymph nodes. A significant difference was superior viability of effector and suppressor cells from new onset diabetics in the presence of high interleukin-2 (IL-2) concentrations in vitro as compared to cells of prediabetic mice. Overall, we found no correlation between FoxP3+ Treg in the pancreatic lymph nodes and the inflammatory scores of individual NOD mice. CD25-FoxP3+ Treg are markedly increased in the pancreatic infiltrates in late stages of inflammation, possibly an effort to counteract destructive insulitis. Considering extensive evidence that Treg in aged NOD mice are functionally sufficient, quantitative profiling evolves as an unreliable tool to assess mechanism and causes of inflammation under baseline conditions. Immune profiles are modulated by thymic output, cell migration, shedding of markers, proliferation, survival and in-situ evolution of regulatory cells.Immune profiling of non-obese diabetic (NOD) is a widely employed tool to assess the mechanisms of inflammatory insulitis. Our analysis of the female NOD colony revealed similar distribution of lymphoid lineages to wild type mice, and at various ages of prediabetic and diabetic mice. The profiles of mesenteric and pancreatic lymph nodes differ and often change reciprocally due to directed migration of T cells towards the site of inflammation. Significant events in our colony include early decline in CD4(+)CD25(+)CD62L(+) Treg, accompanied by gradual increase in CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) Treg in peripheral lymphoid organs and pancreatic infiltrates. Impressively, aged euglycemic mice display significant transient rise in CD4(+)CD25(-)FoxP3(+) Treg in the thymus, pancreas and draining lymph nodes. A significant difference was superior viability of effector and suppressor cells from new onset diabetics in the presence of high interleukin-2 (IL-2) concentrations in vitro as compared to cells of prediabetic mice. Overall, we found no correlation between FoxP3(+) Treg in the pancreatic lymph nodes and the inflammatory scores of individual NOD mice. CD25(-)FoxP3(+) Treg are markedly increased in the pancreatic infiltrates in late stages of inflammation, possibly an effort to counteract destructive insulitis. Considering extensive evidence that Treg in aged NOD mice are functionally sufficient, quantitative profiling evolves as an unreliable tool to assess mechanism and causes of inflammation under baseline conditions. Immune profiles are modulated by thymic output, cell migration, shedding of markers, proliferation, survival and in-situ evolution of regulatory cells.