development-stem-cell-derived-antigen-specific-regulatory-t-cells

Development of Stem Cell-derived Antigen-specific Regulatory T Cells Against Autoimmunity

Autoimmune diseases arise due to the loss of immunological self-tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important mediators of immunologic ...

The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of antigen (Ag)-specific CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) is a highly promising treatment for a variety of diseases. Naive or central memory T-cell-derived effector CTLs are optimal populations for ACT-based immunotherapy because these cells have a high proliferative potential, are less prone to apoptosis than terminally differentiated cells, and have the higher ability to respond to homeostatic cytokines. However, such ACT with T-cell persistence is often not feasible due to difficulties in obtaining sufficient cells from patients. Here we present that in vitro differentiated HSCs of engineered PSCs can develop in vivo into tumor Ag-specific naive CTLs, which efficiently suppress melanoma growth. Mouse-induced PSCs (iPSCs) were retrovirally transduced with a construct encoding chicken ovalbumin (OVA)-specific T-cell receptors (TCRs) and survival-related proteins (i.e., BCL-xL and survivin). The gene-transduced iPSCs were cultured on the delta-like ligand 1-expressing OP9 (OP9-DL1) murine stromal cells in the presence of murine recombinant cytokines (rFlt3L and rIL-7) for a week. These iPSC-derived cells were then intravenously adoptively transferred into recipient mice, followed by intraperitoneal injection with an agonist α-Notch 2 antibody and cytokines (rFlt3L and rIL-7). Two weeks later, naive OVA-specific CD8(+) T cells were observed in the mouse peripheral lymphatic system, which were responsive to OVA-specific stimulation. Moreover, the mice were resistant to the challenge of B16-OVA melanoma induction. These results indicate that genetically modified stem cells may be used for ACT-based immunotherapy or serve as potential vaccines.

Melanoma Immunotherapy in Mice Using Genetically Engineered Pluripotent Stem Cells.

The signalling mechanisms of costimulation in the development of memory T cells remain to be clarified. Here, we show that the transcription factor c-Myc in CD8(+) T cells is controlled by costimulatory molecules, which modulates the development of memory CD8(+) T cells. C-Myc expression was dramatically reduced in Cd28(-/-) or Ox40(-/-) memory CD8(+) T cells, and c-Myc over-expression substantially reversed the defects in the development of T-cell memory following viral infection. C-Myc regulated the expression of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis, which promoted the generation of virus-specific memory CD8(+) T cells. Moreover, over-expression of survivin with bcl-xL, a downstream molecule of NF-κB and intracellular target of costimulation that controls survival, in Cd28(-/-) or Ox40(-/-) CD8(+) T cells, reversed the defects in the generation of memory T cells in response to viral infection. These results identify c-Myc as a key controller of memory CD8(+) T cells from costimulatory signals.

C-Myc regulation by costimulatory signals modulates the generation of CD8+ memory T cells during viral infection.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have the potential to produce almost all of the cells in the body, including regulatory T cells (Tregs). However, the exact conditions required for the development of antigen (Ag)-specific Tregs from PSCs (i.e., PSC-Tregs) are not well delineated. Ag-specific PSC-Tregs can be tissue/organ-associated and migrate to local inflamed tissues/organs to suppress the autoimmune response after adoptive transfer, thereby avoiding potential overall immunosuppression from non-specific Tregs. In this study, we developed a new approach to generate functional Ag-specific Tregs from induced PSCs (iPSCs), i.e., iPSC-Tregs, which had the ability to generate an Ag-specific immunosuppressive response in a murine model of arthritis. We retrovirally transduced murine iPSCs with a construct containing genes of Ag-specific T cell receptor (TCR) and the transcriptional factor FoxP3. We differentiated the iPSCs into Ag-specific iPSC-Tregs using in vitro or in vivo Notch signaling, and demonstrated that adoptive transfer of such Tregs dramatically suppressed autoimmunity in a well-established Ag-induced arthritis model, including the inflammation, joint destruction, cartilage prostaglandin depletion, osteoclast activity, and Th17 production. Our results indicate that PSCs can be used to develop Ag-specific Tregs, which have a therapeutic potential for Treg-based therapies of autoimmune disorders.

Article	Year
Melanoma Immunotherapy in Mice Using Genetically Engineered Pluripotent Stem Cells. Cell transplantation\| PubMed ID: 26777320	2016
C-Myc regulation by costimulatory signals modulates the generation of CD8+ memory T cells during viral infection. Open biology\| PubMed ID: 26791245	2016
Stem cell-derived tissue-associated regulatory T cells ameliorate the development of autoimmunity. Scientific reports\| PubMed ID: 26846186	2016

Praneet Sandhu

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