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Tracking the role of Aire in immune tolerance to the eye with a TCR transgenic mouse model

ABSTRACT: Roughly one-half of mice with partial defects in two immune tolerance pathways (AireGW/+Lyn-/- mice) spontaneously develop severe damage to their retinas due to T cell reactivity to Aire-regulated interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP). Single cell T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing of CD4+ T cells specific for a predominate epitope of IRBP showed a remarkable diversity of autoantigen-specific TCRs with greater clonal expansions in mice with disease. TCR transgenic mice made with an expanded IRBP-specific TCR (P2.U2) of intermediate affinity exhibited strong but incomplete negative selection of thymocytes. This negative selection was absent in IRBP-/- mice and greatly defective in AireGW/+ mice. Most P2.U2+/- mice and all P2.U.2+/-AireGW/+ mice rapidly developed inflammation of the retina and adjacent uvea (uveitis). Aire-dependent IRBP expression in the thymus also promoted Treg differentiation, but the niche for this fate determination was small, suggesting differences in antigen presentation leading to negative selection vs. thymic Treg differentiation and a stronger role for negative selection in preventing autoimmune disease in the retina.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE216402 | GEO | 2024/02/14

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background. T cells in the thymus undergo opposing positive and negative selection processes so that the only T cells entering circulation are those bearing a T cell receptor (TCR) with a low affinity for self. The mechanism differentiating negative from positive selection is poorly understood, despite the fact that inherited defects in negative selection underlie organ-specific autoimmune disease in AIRE-deficient people and the non obese diabetic (NOD) mouse strain. Results. Here we use homogeneous populations of T cells undergoing either positive or negative selection in vivo together with genome-wide transcription profiling on microarrays to identify the gene expression differences underlying negative selection to an Aire-dependent organ-specific antigen, including the upregulation of a genomic cluster in the cytogenetic band 2F. Analysis of defective negative selection in the autoimmune-prone NOD strain demonstrates a global impairment in the induction of the negative selection response gene set, but little difference in positive selection response genes. Combining expression differences with genetic linkage data we identify differentially expressed candidate genes including Bim, Bnip3, Smox, Pdrg1, Id1, Pdcd1, Ly6c, Pdia3, Trim30 and Trim12. Conclusions. The data provide a molecular map of the negative selection response in vivo, and by analysis of deviations from this pathway in the autoimmune susceptible NOD strain, suggest that susceptibility arises from small expression differences in genes acting at multiple points in the pathway between the TCR and cell death. Experiment Overall Design: Analysis of two thymic populations - early single positive thymocytes (CD4+CD8lowCD69+TCRhi) and early double positive thymocytes (CD4+CD8+CD69-TCRlow). Samples purified from the 3A9 TCR transgenic (TCR) to characterise positive selection and the 3A9 TCR x insHEL double transgenic (Dbl) to characterise negative selection towards an Aire-dependent organ-specific antigen. Both the non autoimmune C57BL10.H2k (B10) and autoimmune Non obese diabetic (NOD) strains were analysed in this method. Three biological replicates were used for each of these eight different groups.

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Tracking the role of Aire in immune tolerance to the eye with a TCR transgenic mouse model

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