TCF-1 and TOX regulate the memory formation of intestinal group 2 innate lymphoid cells in asthma.

Immune memory has been expanded to group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), but the cellular and molecular bases remain incompletely understood. Based on house dust mite (HDM)-induced mice asthma models and human samples, we applied flow cytometry, parabiosis, in vivo imaging and adoptive transplantation to confirm the persistence, migration and function of CD45+lineage-CD90.2+NK1.1-NKp46-ST2-KLRG1+IL-17RB+ memory-like ILC2s (ml-ILC2s). Regulated by CCR9/CCL25 and S1P signaling, ml-ILC2s reside in the lamina propria of small intestines (siLP) in asthma remission, and subsequently move to airway upon re-encountering antigens or alarmins. Furthermore, ml-ILC2s possess properties of longevity, potential of rapid proliferation and producing IL-13, and display transcriptional characteristics with up-regulation of Tox and Tcf-7. ml-ILC2s transplantation restore the asthmatic changes abrogated by Tox and Tcf7 knockdown. Our data identify siLP ml-ILC2s as a memory-like subset, which promotes asthma relapse. Targeting TCF-1 and TOX might be promising for preventing asthma recurrence.

KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells associate with dietary lipid intake and are active in type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that KIR+CD8+ T cells play a role in suppressing autoimmunity by eliminating pathogenic CD4+ T cells. However, their specific role in type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains unclear. METHODS: In this study, we enrolled 108 patients diagnosed with T1D and 86 healthy individuals. We conducted flow cytometric analysis to examine the various subtypes of KIR+CD8+ T cells derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Additionally, CD8+ T cells were isolated from the peripheral blood of T1D patients to assess the functions of different KIR+CD8+ T cell subtypes. To investigate the influence of lipids on the characteristics and activities of these T cell subtypes, the isolated CD8+ T cells were cultured with varying concentrations of palmitic acid (PA). Furthermore, we utilized an NSG (NOD scid gamma) mouse adoptive transfer model to assess the impact of dietary lipid intake on the functionality of KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells in vivo. RESULTS: We observed variations in circulating KIR+CD8+ T cell subtypes between patients with T1D and healthy controls. Notably, we observed a significant negative correlation between the frequencies of circulating KIR+CD8+ T cells and the titers of ZnT8 autoantibodies in individuals with T1D. Among these subtypes, KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells demonstrated a positive association with dietary fat intake, characterized by increased perforin expression and reduced PD-1 expression. Importantly, KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells exhibited enhanced proliferative capacity compared to other KIR+CD8+ T cell subsets. Palmitic acid (PA) was found to enhance the activation of KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells and strengthened their ability to suppress CD4+ T cell proliferation in T1D patients. Moreover, dietary lipid intake significantly enhanced the functionality of KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells in an NSG mouse adoptive transfer model. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that lipid intake enhances the functionality of human KIR2DL5+CD8+ T cells and may offer implications for immunotherapy in T1D.

Isolation, expansion, and adoptive transfer of human ILC2s for the treatment of mice bearing liquid and solid tumors.

Type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are crucial in regulating immune responses and various physiological processes, including tissue repair, metabolic homeostasis, inflammation, and cancer surveillance. Here, we present a protocol that outlines the isolation, expansion, and adoptive transfer of human ILC2s from peripheral blood mononuclear cells for an in vivo lineage tracking experiment in a mouse model. Additionally, we detail the steps involved in the adoptive transfer of human ILC2s to recipient mice bearing human liquid or solid tumors. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Li et al.1.

An IL-23-STAT4 pathway is required for the proinflammatory function of classical dendritic cells during CNS inflammation.

Although many cytokine pathways are important for dendritic cell (DC) development, it is less clear what cytokine signals promote the function of mature dendritic cells. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) promotes protective immunity and autoimmunity downstream of proinflammatory cytokines including IL-12 and IL-23. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), Stat4-/- mice are resistant to the development of inflammation and paralysis. To define whether STAT4 is required for intrinsic signaling in mature DC function, we used conditional mutant mice in the EAE model. Deficiency of STAT4 in CD11c-expressing cells resulted in decreased T cell priming and inflammation in the central nervous system. EAE susceptibility was recovered following adoptive transfer of wild-type bone marrow-derived DCs to mice with STAT4-deficient DCs, but not adoptive transfer of STAT4- or IL-23R-deficient DCs. Single-cell RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) identified STAT4-dependent genes in DC subsets that paralleled a signature in MS patient DCs. Together, these data define an IL-23-STAT4 pathway in DCs that is key to DC function during inflammatory disease.

Current Protocols: Alopecia Areata Mouse Models for Drug Efficacy and Mechanism Studies.

Alopecia areata is the second most common form of hair loss in humans after androgenetic alopecia. Although a variety of animal models for alopecia areata have been described, currently the C3H/HeJ mouse model is the most commonly used and accepted. Spontaneous hair loss occurs in 15%-25% of older mice in which the lesions wax and wane, similar to the human disease, with alopecia being more common and severe in female mice. Full-thickness skin grafts from mice with spontaneous alopecia areata to young, normal-haired, histocompatible mice provide a highly reproducible model with progressive lesions that makes it useful for drug efficacy and mechanism-based studies. As alopecia areata is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease, transfer of cultured lymph node cells from affected mice to unaffected, histocompatible recipients also promotes disease development and provides an alternative, nonsurgical protocol. Protocols are presented to produce these models such that they can be used to study alopecia areata and to develop novel drug therapies. © 2024 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Full-thickness skin grafts to reproducibly induce alopecia areata in C3H/HeJ mice Basic Protocol 2: Adoptive transfer of cultured lymphoid cells provides a nonsurgical method to induce alopecia areata in C3H/HeJ mice.

IL-10+ regulatory B cells mitigate atopic dermatitis by suppressing eosinophil activation.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) presents significant therapeutic challenges due to its poorly understood etiology. Eosinophilia, a hallmark of allergic inflammation, is implicated in AD pathogenesis. Interleukin-10 (IL-10)-producing regulatory B (Breg) cells exhibit potent anti-inflammatory effects. However, their role in controlling AD-related eosinophilia is not well understood. To investigate the impact of eosinophils on AD, we employed IL-5Rα-deficient (Il5ra-/-) mice, which lack functional eosinophils. Induction of AD in these mice resulted in attenuated disease symptoms, underscoring the critical role of eosinophils in AD development. Additionally, the adoptive transfer of purified Breg cells into mice with AD significantly alleviated disease severity. Mechanistic studies revealed that IL-10 produced by Breg cells directly inhibits eosinophil activation and infiltration into the skin. In vitro experiments further confirmed that Breg cells inhibited eosinophil peroxidase secretion in an IL-10-dependent manner. Our collective findings demonstrate that IL-10 from Breg cells alleviates AD by suppressing eosinophil activation and tissue infiltration. This study elucidates a novel regulatory mechanism of Breg cells, providing a foundation for future Breg-mediated therapeutic strategies for AD.

Lymphocytes as a living drug for cancer.

Using a patient's lymphocytes is approved to treat melanoma and has wider applications.

Inhibition of Cathepsin S in Autoimmune CD25KO Mouse Improves Sjögren Disease-Like Lacrimal Gland Pathology.

Purpose: CD25KO mice are a model of Sjögren disease (SjD) driven by autoreactive T cells. Cathepsin S (CTSS) is a protease crucial for major histocompatibility complex class II presentation that primes T cells. We investigated if a diet containing CTSS inhibitor would improve autoimmune signs in CD25KO mice. Methods: Four-week female CD25KO mice were randomly chosen to receive chow containing a CTSS inhibitor (R05461111, 262.5 mg/kg chow) or standard chow for 4 weeks. Cornea sensitivity was measured. Inflammatory score was assessed in lacrimal gland (LG) histologic sections. Flow cytometry of LG and ocular draining lymph nodes (dLNs) investigated expression of Th1 and Th17 cells. Expression of inflammatory, T- and B-cell, and apoptotic markers in the LG were assessed with quantitative PCR. The life span of mice receiving CTSS inhibitor or standard chow was compared. CD4+ T cells from both groups were isolated from spleens and adoptively transferred into RAG1KO female recipients. Results: Mice receiving CTSS inhibitor had better cornea sensitivity and improved LG inflammatory scores. There was a significant decrease in the frequency of CD4+ immune cells and a significant increase in the frequency of CD8+ immune cells in the dLNs of CTSS inhibitor mice. There was a significant decrease in Th1 and Th17 cells in CTSS inhibitor mice in both LGs and dLNs. Ifng, Ciita, and Casp8 mRNA in CTSS inhibitor mice decreased. Mice that received the CTSS inhibitor lived 30% longer. Adoptive transfer recipients with CTSS inhibitor-treated CD4+ T cells had improved cornea sensitivity and lower inflammation scores. Conclusions: Inhibiting CTSS could be a potential venue for the treatment of SjD in the eye and LG.

B Cell Receptor Transgenic Mice as Tools to Study Memory B Cells.

B cell receptor (BCR) transgenic mice allow the control of the initial target (antigen) specificity of naïve B cells and to investigate their properties following activation. Here, I describe how BCR transgenic B cells can be used in combination with adoptive cell transfer and immunization models to study memory B cell formation and reactivation.

The frequency and function of nucleoprotein-specific CD8+ T cells are critical for heterosubtypic immunity against influenza virus infection.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) mediate host defense against viral and intracellular bacterial infections and tumors. However, the magnitude of CTL response and their function needed to confer heterosubtypic immunity against influenza virus infection are unknown. We addressed the role of CD8+ T cells in the absence of any cross-reactive antibody responses to influenza viral proteins using an adenoviral vector expressing a 9mer amino acid sequence recognized by CD8+ T cells. Our results indicate that both CD8+ T cell frequency and function are crucial for heterosubtypic immunity. Low morbidity, lower viral lung titers, low to minimal lung pathology, and better survival upon heterosubtypic virus challenge correlated with the increased frequency of NP-specific CTLs. NP-CD8+ T cells induced by differential infection doses displayed distinct RNA transcriptome profiles and functional properties. CD8+ T cells induced by a high dose of influenza virus secreted significantly higher levels of IFN-γ and exhibited higher levels of cytotoxic function. The mice that received NP-CD8+ T cells from the high-dose virus recipients through adoptive transfer had lower viral titers following viral challenge than those induced by the low dose of virus, suggesting differential cellular programming by antigen dose. Enhanced NP-CD8+ T-cell functions induced by a higher dose of influenza virus strongly correlated with the increased expression of cellular and metabolic genes, indicating a shift to a more glycolytic metabolic phenotype. These findings have implications for developing effective T cell vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer. IMPORTANCE: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are an important component of the adaptive immune system that clears virus-infected cells or tumor cells. Hence, developing next-generation vaccines that induce or recall CTL responses against cancer and infectious diseases is crucial. However, it is not clear if the frequency, function, or both are essential in conferring protection, as in the case of influenza. In this study, we demonstrate that both CTL frequency and function are crucial for providing heterosubtypic immunity to influenza by utilizing an Ad-viral vector expressing a CD8 epitope only to rule out the role of antibodies, single-cell RNA-seq analysis, as well as adoptive transfer experiments. Our findings have implications for developing T cell vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer.

Update: Induction of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Immunodeficient Mice by Injection of Naïve CD4+ T cells (T Cell Transfer Model of Colitis).

The intestinal inflammation induced by injection of naïve CD4+ T cells into lymphocyte-deficient hosts (more commonly known as the T cell transfer model of colitis) shares many features of idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans, such as epithelial cell hyperplasia, crypt abscess formation, and dense lamina propria lymphocyte infiltration. As such, it provides a useful tool for studying mucosal immune regulation as it relates to the pathogenesis and treatment of IBD in humans. In the IBD model described here, colitis is induced in Rag (recombination-activating gene)-deficient mice by reconstitution of these mice with naïve CD4+CD45RBhi T cells through adoptive T cell transfer. Although different recipient hosts of cell transfer can be used, Rag-deficient mice are the best characterized and support studies that are both flexible and reproduceable. As described in the Basic Protocol, in most studies the transferred cells consist of naïve CD4+ T cells (CD45RBhi T cells) derived by fluorescence-activated cell sorting from total CD4+ T cells previously purified using immunomagnetic negative selection beads. In a Support Protocol, methods to characterize colonic disease progression are described, including the monitoring of weight loss and diarrhea and the histological assessment of colon pathology. © 2024 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Induction of IBD in Rag-deficient mice by the transfer of naïve CD4+CD45RBhi T cells Support Protocol: Monitoring development of colitis.

Lung-resident CD3-NK1.1+CD69+CD103+ Cells Play an Important Role in Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccine-Induced Protective Immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection.

Tissue-resident immune cells play important roles in local tissue homeostasis and infection control. There is no information on the functional role of lung-resident CD3-NK1.1+CD69+CD103+ cells in intranasal Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-vaccinated and/or Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-infected mice. Therefore, we phenotypically and functionally characterized these cells in mice vaccinated intranasally with BCG. We found that intranasal BCG vaccination increased CD3-NK1.1+ cells with a tissue-resident phenotype (CD69+CD103+) in the lungs during the first 7 d after BCG vaccination. Three months post-BCG vaccination, Mtb infection induced the expansion of CD3-NK1.1+CD69+CD103+ (lung-resident) cells in the lung. Adoptive transfer of lung-resident CD3-NK1.1+CD69+CD103+ cells from the lungs of BCG-vaccinated mice to Mtb-infected naive mice resulted in a lower bacterial burden and reduced inflammation in the lungs. Our findings demonstrated that intranasal BCG vaccination induces the expansion of CD3-NK1.1+CD69+CD103+ (lung-resident) cells to provide protection against Mtb infection.

Sepsis Impairs IFN-γ Production in CD8 T Cells through Changes in Local Chromatin Landscape.

Sepsis is a complex condition of inflammatory and immune dysregulation, triggered by severe infection. In survivors, chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation linger, facilitating the emergence of infections. CD8 dysfunction contributes to immunosuppression in sepsis survivors. We devised an animal model that enabled us to identify and analyze CD8-intrinsic defects induced by sepsis. We adoptively transferred CD45.1 CD8 OT-I T cells into CD45.2 congenic mice and subjected them to cecal ligature and puncture, to induce abdominal sepsis. One month later, we isolated the transferred CD8 cells. Surface marker expression confirmed they had not been activated through the TCR. CD8 OT-I T cells isolated from septic (or sham-operated) mice were transferred to second recipients, which were challenged with OVA-expressing Listeria monocytogenes. We compared effector capacities between OT-I cells exposed to sepsis and control cells. Naive mice that received OT-I cells exposed to sepsis had higher bacterial burden and a shorter survival when challenged with OVA-expressing L. monocytogenes. OT-I cells isolated from septic mice produced less IFN-γ but had conserved activation, expansion potential, and cytotoxic function. We observed lower transcript levels of IFN-γ and of the long noncoding RNA Ifng-as1, a local regulator of the epigenetic landscape, in cells exposed to sepsis. Accordingly, local abundance of a histone modification characteristic of active promoter regions was reduced in sepsis-exposed CD8 T cells. Our results identify a mechanism through which inflammation in the context of sepsis affects CD8 T cell function intrinsically.

Next-generation cancer vaccines and emerging immunotherapy combinations.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines have been a subject of research for several decades as potential new weapons to tackle malignancies. Their goal is to induce a long-lasting and efficient antitumour-directed immune response, capable of mediating tumour regression, preventing tumour progression, and eradicating minimal residual disease, while avoiding major adverse effects. Development of new vaccine technologies and antigen prediction methods has led to significant improvements in cancer vaccine efficacy. However, for their successful clinical application, certain obstacles still need to be overcome, especially tumour-mediated immunosuppression and escape mechanisms. In this review, we introduce therapeutic cancer vaccines and subsequently discuss combination approaches of next-generation cancer vaccines and existing immunotherapies, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and adoptive cell transfer/cell-based immunotherapies.

A strategy to reconstitute immunity without GVHD via adoptive allogeneic Tscm therapy.

Introduction: Adoption of allogeneic T cells directly supplements the number of T cells and rapidly induces T-cell immunity, which has good efficacy for treating some tumors and immunodeficiency diseases. However, poor adoptive T-cell engraftment and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) limit the application of these methods. Alloreactive T-cell clones were eliminated from the donor T-cell repertoire, and the remaining T-cell clones were prepared as Tscm for T-cell adoptive treatment to reconstruct recipient T-cell immunity without GVHD. Methods: The subjects in this study included three different strains of mice. Lymphocytes from mice (C57BL/6) were used as the donor T-cell repertoire, from which the Tscm allo-reactive T cell clone was depleted (ATD-Tscm). This was confirmed by showing that the Tscm was not responsive to the alloantigen of the recipient (BALB/c). To prepare ATD-Tscm cells, we used recipient lymphocytes as a simulator, and coculture of mouse and recipient lymphocytes was carried out for 7 days. Sorting of non-proliferative cells ensured that the prepared Tscm cells were nonresponsive. The sorted lymphocytes underwent further expansion by treatment with TWS119 and cytokines for an additional 10 days, after which the number of ATD-Tscm cells increased. The prepared Tscm cells were transferred into recipient mice to observe immune reconstitution and GVHD incidence. Results: Our protocol began with the use of 1×107 donor lymphocytes and resulted in 1 ×107 ATD-Tscm cells after 17 days of preparation. The prepared ATD-Tscm cells exhibited a nonresponse upon restimulation of the recipient lymphocytes. Importantly, the prepared ATD-Tscm cells were able to bind long and reconstitute other T-cell subsets in vivo, effectively recognizing and answering the "foreign" antigen without causing GVHD after they were transferred into the recipients. Discussion: Our strategy was succeeded to prepare ATD-Tscm cells from the donor T-cell repertoire. The prepared ATD-Tscm cells were able to reconstitute the immune system and prevent GVHD after transferred to the recipients. This study provides a good reference for generating ATD-Tscm for T-cell adoptive immunotherapy.

Graft-Specific Regulatory T Cells for Long-Lasting, Local Tolerance Induction.

BACKGROUND: Solid organ transplantation is hindered by immune-mediated chronic graft dysfunction and the side effects of immunosuppressive therapy. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial for modulating immune responses post-transplantation; however, the transfer of polyspecific Tregs alone is insufficient to induce allotolerance in rodent models. METHODS: To enhance the efficacy of adoptive Treg therapy, we investigated different immune interventions in the recipients. By utilizing an immunogenic skin transplant model and existing transplantation medicine reagents, we facilitated the clinical translation of our findings. Specifically, antigen-specific Tregs were used. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that combining the available induction therapies with drug-induced T-cell proliferation due to lymphopenia effectively increased the Treg/T effector ratios. This results in significant Treg accumulation within the graft, leading to long-term tolerance after the transfer of antigen-specific Tregs. Importantly, all the animals achieved operational tolerance, which boosted the presence of adoptively transferred Tregs within the graft. CONCLUSIONS: This protocol offers a means to establish tolerance by utilizing antigen-specific Tregs. These results have promising implications for future trials involving adoptive Treg therapy in organ transplantation.

Adoptive transfer of personalized neoantigen-reactive TCR-transduced T cells in metastatic colorectal cancer: phase 2 trial interim results.

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) with neoantigen-reactive T lymphocytes can mediate cancer regression. Here we isolated unique, personalized, neoantigen-reactive T cell receptors (TCRs) from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of patients with metastatic gastrointestinal cancers and incorporated the TCR α and ß chains into gamma retroviral vectors. We transduced autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes and adoptively transferred these cells into patients after lymphodepleting chemotherapy. In a phase 2 single-arm study, we treated seven patients with metastatic, mismatch repair-proficient colorectal cancers who had progressive disease following multiple previous therapies. The primary end point of the study was the objective response rate as measured using RECIST 1.1, and the secondary end points were safety and tolerability. There was no prespecified interim analysis defined in this study. Three patients had objective clinical responses by RECIST criteria including regressions of metastases to the liver, lungs and lymph nodes lasting 4 to 7 months. All patients received T cell populations containing ≥50% TCR-transduced cells, and all T cell populations were polyfunctional in that they secreted IFNγ, GM-CSF, IL-2 and granzyme B specifically in response to mutant peptides compared with wild-type counterparts. TCR-transduced cells were detected in the peripheral blood of five patients, including the three responders, at levels ≥10% of CD3+ cells 1 month post-ACT. In one patient who responded to therapy, ~20% of CD3+ peripheral blood lymphocytes expressed transduced TCRs more than 2 years after treatment. This study provides early results suggesting that ACT with T cells genetically modified to express personalized neoantigen-reactive TCRs can be tolerated and can mediate tumor regression in patients with metastatic colorectal cancers. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03412877 .

Dopamine ß-hydroxylase shapes intestinal inflammation through modulating T cell activation.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and relapsing disease characterized by immune-mediated dysfunction of intestinal homeostasis. Alteration of the enteric nervous system and the subsequent neuro-immune interaction are thought to contribute to the initiation and progression of IBD. However, the role of dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), an enzyme converting dopamine into norepinephrine, in modulating intestinal inflammation is not well defined. METHODS: CD4+CD45RBhighT cell adoptive transfer, and 2,4-dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) or dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis were collectively conducted to uncover the effects of DBH inhibition by nepicastat, a DBH inhibitor, in mucosal ulceration, disease severity, and T cell function. RESULTS: Inhibition of DBH by nepicastat triggered therapeutic effects on T cell adoptive transfer induced chronic mouse colitis model, which was consistent with the gene expression of DBH in multiple cell populations including T cells. Furthermore, DBH inhibition dramatically ameliorated the disease activity and colon shortening in chemically induced acute and chronic IBD models, as evidenced by morphological and histological examinations. The reshaped systemic inflammatory status was largely associated with decreased pro-inflammatory mediators, such as TNF-α, IL-6 and IFN-γ in plasma and re-balanced Th1, Th17 and Tregs in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) upon colitis progression. Additionally, the conversion from dopamine (DA) to norepinephrine (NE) was inhibited resulting in increase in DA level and decrease in NE level and DA/NE showed immune-modulatory effects on the activation of immune cells. CONCLUSION: Modulation of neurotransmitter levels via inhibition of DBH exerted protective effects on progression of murine colitis by modulating the neuro-immune axis. These findings suggested a promising new therapeutic strategy for attenuating intestinal inflammation.

Adenovirus- and cytomegalovirus-specific adoptive T-cell therapy in the context of hematologic cell transplant or HIV infection - A single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: Reactivation of viral infections, in particular cytomegalovirus (CMV) and adenovirus (ADV), cause morbidity and non-relapse-mortality in states of immune deficiency, especially after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Against the background of few available pharmacologic antiviral agents, limited by toxicities and resistance, adoptive transfer of virus-specific T-cells (VST) is a promising therapeutic approach. METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective analysis of adult patients treated with ADV- or CMV-specific T-cells in 2012-2022. Information was retrieved by review of electronic health records. Primary outcome was a response to VST by decreasing viral load or clinical improvement. Secondary outcomes included overall survival and safety of VST infusion, in particular association with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). RESULTS: Ten patients were included, of whom four were treated for ADV, five for CMV, and one for ADV-CMV-coinfection. Cells were derived from stem cell donors (6/10) or third-party donors (4/10). Response criteria were met by six of 10 patients (4/4 ADV, 2/5 CMV, and 0/1 ADV-CMV). Overall survival was 40%. No infusion related adverse events were documented. Aggravation of GVHD after adoptive immunotherapy was observed in two cases, however in temporal association with a conventional donor lymphocyte infusion and a stem cell boost, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this cohort, CMV- and ADV-specific T-cell therapy appear to be safe and effective. We describe the first reported case of virus-specific T-cell therapy for CMV reactivation not associated with transplantation but with advanced HIV infection. This encourages further evaluation of adoptive immunotherapy beyond the context of allo-HCT.

Reappraising the Role of T Cell-Derived IFN-γ in Restriction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Murine Lung.

T cells producing IFN-γ have long been considered a stalwart for immune protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), but their relative importance to pulmonary immunity has been challenged by murine studies that achieved protection by adoptively transferred Mtb-specific IFN-γ-/- T cells. Using IFN-γ-/- T cell chimeric mice and adoptive transfer of IFN-γ-/- T cells into TCRß-/-δ-/- mice, we demonstrate that control of lung Mtb burden is in fact dependent on T cell-derived IFN-γ, and, furthermore, mice selectively deficient in T cell-derived IFN-γ develop exacerbated disease compared with T cell-deficient control animals, despite equivalent lung bacterial burdens. Deficiency in T cell-derived IFN-γ skews infected and bystander monocyte-derived macrophages to an alternative M2 phenotype and promotes neutrophil and eosinophil influx. Our studies support an important role for T cell-derived IFN-γ in pulmonary immunity against tuberculosis.