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Eomesodermin and T-bet mark developmentally distinct human natural killer cells.

ABSTRACT: Immaturity of the immune system of human fetuses and neonates is often invoked to explain their increased susceptibility to infection; however, the development of the fetal innate immune system in early life remains incompletely explored. We now show that the most mature NK cells found in adult (or postnatal) human circulation (CD94^-CD16⁺) are absent during ontogeny. Human fetal NK cells were found to express the 2 signature T-box transcription factors essential for the development of all murine NK and NK-like cells, eomesodermin (Eomes) and T-bet. The single-cell pattern of Eomes and T-bet expression during ontogeny, however, revealed a stereotyped pattern of reciprocal dominance, with immature NK cells expressing higher amounts of Eomes and more mature NK cells marked by greater abundance of T-bet. We also observed a stereotyped pattern of tissue-specific NK cell maturation during human ontogeny, with fetal liver being more restrictive to NK cell maturity than fetal bone barrow, spleen, or lung. These results support the hypothesis that maturation of human NK cells has a discrete restriction until postnatal life, and provide a framework to better understand the increased susceptibility of fetuses and newborns to infection.

SUBMITTER: Collins A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5333970 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Eomesodermin and T-bet mark developmentally distinct human natural killer cells.

Collins Amélie A Rothman Nyanza N Liu Kang K Reiner Steven L SL

JCI insight 20170309 5

Immaturity of the immune system of human fetuses and neonates is often invoked to explain their increased susceptibility to infection; however, the development of the fetal innate immune system in early life remains incompletely explored. We now show that the most mature NK cells found in adult (or postnatal) human circulation (CD94<sup>-</sup>CD16<sup>+</sup>) are absent during ontogeny. Human fetal NK cells were found to express the 2 signature T-box transcription factors essential for the dev ...[more]

PMID: 28289707

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Project description:Unlike mice and humans, porcine γδ T cells represent a prominent subset of T cells in blood and secondary lymphatic organs. GATA-3, T-bet and Eomesodermin (Eomes) are transcription factors with crucial functions in T-cell development and functional differentiation, but their expression has not been investigated in porcine γδ T cells so far. We analyzed the expression of these transcription factors in γδ thymocytes, mature γδ T cells from blood, spleen, lymph nodes, and lung tissue as well as in vitro stimulated γδ T cells on the protein level by flow cytometry. GATA-3 was present in more than 80% of all γδ-thymocytes. Extra-thymic CD2- γδ T cells expressed high levels of GATA-3 in all investigated organs and had a CD8α-/dimCD27+perforin- phenotype. T-bet expression was mainly found in a subset of CD2+ γδ T cells with an opposing CD8αhighCD27dim/-perforin+ phenotype. Eomes+ γδ T cells were also found within CD2+ γδ T cells but were heterogeneous in regard to expression of CD8α, CD27, and perforin. Eomes+ γδ T cells frequently co-expressed T-bet and dominated in the spleen. During aging, CD2-GATA-3+ γδ T cells strongly prevailed in young pigs up to an age of about 2 years but declined in older animals where CD2+T-bet+ γδ T cells became more prominent. Despite high GATA-3 expression levels, IL-4 production could not be found in γδ T cells by intracellular cytokine staining. Experiments with sorted and ConA + IL-2 + IL-12 + IL-18-stimulated CD2- γδ T cells showed that proliferating cells start expressing CD2 and T-bet, produce IFN-γ, but retain GATA-3 expression. In summary, our data suggest a role for GATA-3 in the development of γδ-thymocytes and in the function of peripheral CD2-CD8α-/dimCD27+perforin- γδ T cells. In contrast, T-bet expression appears to be restricted to terminal differentiation stages of CD2+ γδ T cells, frequently coinciding with perforin expression. The functional relevance of high GATA-3 expression levels in extra-thymic CD2- γδ T cells awaits further clarification. However, their unique phenotype suggests that they represent a thymus-derived separate lineage of γδ T cells in the pig for which currently no direct counterpart in rodents or humans has been described.

Project description:An emerging cellular immunotherapy for cancer is based on the cytolytic activity of natural killer (NK) cells against a wide range of tumors. Although in vitro activation, or "priming," of NK cells by exposure to pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-2, has been extensively studied, the biological consequences of NK cell activation in response to target cell interactions have not been thoroughly characterized. We investigated the consequences of co-incubation with K562, CTV-1, Daudi RPMI-8226, and MCF-7 tumor cell lines on the phenotype, cytokine expression profile, and transcriptome of human NK cells. We observe the downregulation of several activation receptors including CD16, CD62L, C-X-C chemokine receptor (CXCR)-4, natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D), DNAX accessory molecule (DNAM)-1, and NKp46 following tumor-priming. Although this NK cell phenotype is typically associated with NK cell dysfunction in cancer, we reveal the upregulation of NK cell activation markers, such as CD69 and CD25; secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIP-1) α /β and IL-1β/6/8; and overexpression of numerous genes associated with enhanced NK cell cytotoxicity and immunomodulatory functions, such as FAS, TNFSF10, MAPK11, TNF, and IFNG. Thus, it appears that tumor-mediated ligation of receptors on NK cells may induce a primed state which may or may not lead to full triggering of the lytic or cytokine secreting machinery. Key signaling molecules exclusively affected by tumor-priming include MAP2K3, MARCKSL1, STAT5A, and TNFAIP3, which are specifically associated with NK cell cytotoxicity against tumor targets. Collectively, these findings help define the phenotypic and transcriptional signature of NK cells following their encounters with tumor cells, independent of cytokine stimulation, and provide insight into tumor-specific NK cell responses to inform the transition toward harnessing the therapeutic potential of NK cells in cancer.

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Eomesodermin and T-bet mark developmentally distinct human natural killer cells.

Publications

Eomesodermin and T-bet mark developmentally distinct human natural killer cells.

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