Project description:Human Tregs isolated from PBMCs were cultured in the absence or presence of IL-12 (20ng/ml) for four days and were performed mRNA-seq.
Project description:Foxp3 expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the central regulator of immune homeostasis and tolerance. As it is believed that proper Treg function is compromised under inflammatory conditions, exploring a pathway that enhances Treg function is of great importance. In this study, we report that IL-27, an IL-12 family cytokine known to play both pro- and anti-inflammatory role in T cells, plays a pivotal role in Treg function to control T cell-induced colitis. Unlike WT Tregs capable of inhibiting colitogenic T cell expansion and inflammatory cytokine expression, IL-27R-deficient Tregs were unable to downregulate inflammatory T cell responses. Tregs stimulated with IL-27 expressed substantially enhanced suppressive function both in vitro and in vivo. IL-27 stimulation of Tregs induced expression of LAG3, a surface molecule implicated in negatively regulating immune responses. LAG3 expression in IL-27-stimulated Tregs was critical to mediate suppressive Treg function. Finally, human Tregs also displayed enhanced suppressive function and LAG3 expression in response to IL-27 stimulation. Taken together, our results highlight a novel function of the IL-27/LAG3 axis in Treg regulation of inflammatory responses in the intestine. FACS purified Foxp3+ Tregs were stimulated in the presence of media or IL-27 to compare IL-27 induced gene profiles. Four samples (media stimulated or IL-27-stimulated) were collected from four independent experiments. Genes altered by IL-27 treatment were compared to those of media stimulated Tregs.
Project description:Foxp3 expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the central regulator of immune homeostasis and tolerance. As it is believed that proper Treg function is compromised under inflammatory conditions, exploring a pathway that enhances Treg function is of great importance. In this study, we report that IL-27, an IL-12 family cytokine known to play both pro- and anti-inflammatory role in T cells, plays a pivotal role in Treg function to control T cell-induced colitis. Unlike WT Tregs capable of inhibiting colitogenic T cell expansion and inflammatory cytokine expression, IL-27R-deficient Tregs were unable to downregulate inflammatory T cell responses. Tregs stimulated with IL-27 expressed substantially enhanced suppressive function both in vitro and in vivo. IL-27 stimulation of Tregs induced expression of LAG3, a surface molecule implicated in negatively regulating immune responses. LAG3 expression in IL-27-stimulated Tregs was critical to mediate suppressive Treg function. Finally, human Tregs also displayed enhanced suppressive function and LAG3 expression in response to IL-27 stimulation. Taken together, our results highlight a novel function of the IL-27/LAG3 axis in Treg regulation of inflammatory responses in the intestine.
Project description:Engineered cytokine-based approaches for immunotherapy of cancer are poised to enter the clinic, with IL-12 being at the forefront. However, little is known about potential mechanisms of resistance to cytokine therapies. We found that orthotopic murine lung tumors were resistant to systemically delivered IL-12 fused to murine serum albumin (MSA, IL12-MSA) due to low IL-12R expression on tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells. IL2-MSA increased binding of IL12-MSA by tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells, and combined administration of IL12-MSA and IL2-MSA led to enhanced tumor-reactive CD8+ T cell effector differentiation, decreased numbers of tumor-infiltrating CD4+ regulatory T (Treg) cells, and increased survival of lung tumor-bearing mice. Predictably, the combination of IL-2 and IL-12 at therapeutic doses led to significant dose-limiting toxicity. Administering IL-12 and IL-2 analogs with preferential binding to cells expressing IL12rb1 and CD25, respectively, led to a significant extension of survival in mice with lung tumors while abrogating dose-limiting toxicity. These findings suggest that IL-12 and IL-2 represent a rational approach to combination cytokine therapy whose dose-limiting toxicity can be overcome with engineered cytokine variants.
Project description:The effects of IL-33 on ST2+ Treg cells were not studied thouroughly. We FACS-sorted in vitro expanded ST2+ Treg cells from C57BL/6 Foxp3-IRES-mRFP (B6 FIR) mice. We next used RNA-seq techonology to define how recombinant IL-33 (rIL-33) may impact mouse Treg by to assessing the transcriptome of IL-33-stimulated ST2+ Treg cells compared to that of untreated ST2+ Treg cells. Our data revealed that ST2+ Treg stimulated with rIL-33 for 6 hours exhibited increased expression of Il10 and Il13 compared to unstimulated ST2+ Treg cells.
Project description:T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells can counteract the B cell-helper activity of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and hinder the production of antibodies against self-antigens or allergens. A mechanistic understanding of the cues initiating the differentiation of T regulatory (Treg) cells into Tfr cells, which is instrumental for the therapeutic manipulation of diseases associated with a Tfr cell imbalance, is still missing. Despite their opposed roles, Tfr and Tfh cell differentiation appears to be controlled by partially overlapping signals, including TCR stimulation and costimulatory molecules. However, it is still unknown if cytokines that have been shown to control the biology of human Tfh cells, including IL-12 and activin A, can influence the differentiation of Tfr cells. To address this question, we evaluated the impact of these two cytokines on the in vitro differentiation of Tfr cells. Herein, we report a role for IL-12 and down stream Stat4 chromatin binding in driving, on activated Treg cells, the induction of molecules that belong to the Tfr cell program, including CXCR5, PD-1, BCL6 and ICOS meanwhile preserving Tfr regulatory function.
Project description:T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells can counteract the B cell-helper activity of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and hinder the production of antibodies against self-antigens or allergens. A mechanistic understanding of the cues initiating the differentiation of T regulatory (Treg) cells into Tfr cells, which is instrumental for the therapeutic manipulation of diseases associated with a Tfr cell imbalance, is still missing. Despite their opposed roles, Tfr and Tfh cell differentiation appears to be controlled by partially overlapping signals, including TCR stimulation and costimulatory molecules. However, it is still unknown if cytokines that have been shown to control the biology of human Tfh cells, including IL-12 and activin A, can influence the differentiation of Tfr cells. To address this question, we evaluated the impact of these two cytokines on the in vitro differentiation of Tfr cells. Herein, we report a role for IL-12 and down stream Stat4 chromatin binding in driving, on activated Treg cells, the induction of molecules that belong to the Tfr cell program, including CXCR5, PD-1, BCL6 and ICOS meanwhile preserving Tfr regulatory function.
Project description:We used Affymetrix expression arrays to determine changes in gene expression associated with activation of human NK cells mediated through treatment with cytokines IL-2, IL-12 and IL-18 over a 24 hour period. Human natural killer cells were isolated via negative selection from PBMCs of healthy donors. Cells were found to be > 95% CD3-CD56+. RNA was harvested at time of isolation or after 24 hour stimulation from 8 x 10^6 cells per condition. For stimulations, cells were incubated at 37C (5% CO2) in RPMI, suuplemented with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum at 1.5 x 10^6 cells/ml. Cytokine stimualtions were conducted with IL-2 (100U/mL), IL-12 (10ng/mL) and IL-18 (100ng/mL) from 2 male donors (N = 4). Expression analysis was carried out to determine transcriptional changes associated with 24 hr stimulation relative to freshly isolated cells.