CD83 orchestrates immunity toward self and non-self in dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial to balance protective immunity and autoimmune inflammatory processes. Expression of CD83 is a well-established marker for mature DCs, although its physiological role is still not completely understood. Using a DC-specific CD83-conditional KO (CD83ΔDC) mouse, we provide new insights into the function of CD83 within this cell type. Interestingly, CD83-deficient DCs produced drastically increased IL-2 levels and displayed higher expression of the costimulatory molecules CD25 and OX40L, which causes superior induction of antigen-specific T cell responses and compromises Treg suppressive functions. This also directly translates into accelerated immune responses in vivo. Upon Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes infection, CD83ΔDC mice cleared both pathogens more efficiently, and CD83-deficient DCs expressed increased IL-12 levels after bacterial encounter. Using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model, autoimmune inflammation was dramatically aggravated in CD83ΔDC mice while resolution of inflammation was strongly reduced. This phenotype was associated with increased cell influx into the CNS accompanied by elevated Th17 cell numbers. Concomitantly, CD83ΔDC mice had reduced Treg numbers in peripheral lymphoid organs. In summary, we show that CD83 ablation on DCs results in enhanced immune responses by dysregulating tolerance mechanisms and thereby impairing resolution of inflammation, which also demonstrates high clinical relevance.

CD83 expression is essential for Treg cell differentiation and stability.

Foxp3-positive regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial for the maintenance of immune homeostasis and keep immune responses in check. Upon activation, Tregs are transferred into an effector state expressing transcripts essential for their suppressive activity, migration, and survival. However, it is not completely understood how different intrinsic and environmental factors control differentiation. Here, we present for the first time to our knowledge data suggesting that Treg-intrinsic expression of CD83 is essential for Treg differentiation upon activation. Interestingly, mice with Treg-intrinsic CD83 deficiency are characterized by a proinflammatory phenotype. Furthermore, the loss of CD83 expression by Tregs leads to the downregulation of Treg-specific differentiation markers and the induction of an inflammatory profile. In addition, Treg-specific conditional knockout mice showed aggravated autoimmunity and an impaired resolution of inflammation. Altogether, our results show that CD83 expression in Tregs is an essential factor for the development and function of effector Tregs upon activation. Since Tregs play a crucial role in the maintenance of immune tolerance and thus prevention of autoimmune disorders, our findings are also clinically relevant.

CD83 Modulates B Cell Activation and Germinal Center Responses.

CD83 is a maturation marker for dendritic cells. In the B cell lineage, CD83 is expressed especially on activated B cells and on light zone B cells during the germinal center (GC) reaction. The function of CD83 during GC responses is unclear. CD83(-/-) mice have a strong reduction of CD4(+) T cells, which makes it difficult to analyze a functional role of CD83 on B cells during GC responses. Therefore, in the present study we generated a B cell-specific CD83 conditional knockout (CD83 B-cKO) model. CD83 B-cKO B cells show defective upregulation of MHC class II and CD86 expression and impaired proliferation after different stimuli. Analyses of GC responses after immunization with various Ags revealed a characteristic shift in dark zone and light zone B cell numbers, with an increase of B cells in the dark zone of CD83 B-cKO mice. This effect was not accompanied by alterations in the level of IgG immune responses or by major differences in affinity maturation. However, an enhanced IgE response was observed in CD83 B-cKO mice. Additionally, we observed a strong competitive disadvantage of CD83-cKO B cells in GC responses in mixed bone marrow chimeras. Furthermore, infection of mice with Borrelia burgdorferi revealed a defect in bacterial clearance of CD83 B-cKO mice with a shift toward a Th2 response, indicated by a strong increase in IgE titers. Taken together, our results show that CD83 is important for B cell activation and modulates GC composition and IgE Ab responses in vivo.

Murine CD83-positive T cells mediate suppressor functions in vitro and in vivo.

The CD83 molecule (CD83) is a well-known surface marker present on mature dendritic cells (mDC). In this study, we show that CD83 is also expressed on a subset of T cells which mediate regulatory T cell (Treg)-like suppressor functions in vitro and in vivo. Treg-associated molecules including CD25, cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), glucocorticoid-induced TNFR family-related gene (GITR), Helios and neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) as well as forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) were specifically expressed by these CD83(+) T cells. In contrast, CD83(-) T cells showed a naive T cell phenotype with effector T cell properties upon activation. Noteworthy, CD83(-) T cells were not able to upregulate CD83 despite activation. Furthermore, CD83(+) T cells suppressed the proliferation and inflammatory cytokine release of CD83(-) T cells in vitro. Strikingly, stimulated CD83(+) T cells released soluble CD83 (sCD83), which has been reported to possess immunosuppressive properties. In vivo, using the murine transfer colitis model we could show that CD83(+) T cells were able to suppress colitis symptoms while CD83(-) T cells possessed effector functions. In addition, this CD83 expression is also conserved on expanded human Treg. Thus, from these studies we conclude that CD83(+) T cells share important features with regulatory T cells, identifying CD83 as a novel lineage marker to discriminate between different T cell populations.

Conformational selection in substrate recognition by Hsp70 chaperones.

Hsp70s are molecular chaperones involved in the folding and assembly of proteins. They recognize hydrophobic amino acid stretches in their substrate binding groove. However, a detailed understanding of substrate specificity is still missing. Here, we use the endoplasmic reticulum-resident Hsp70 BiP to identify binding sites in a natural client protein. Two sites are mutually recognized and form stable Hsp70-substrate complexes. In silico and in vitro analyses revealed an extended substrate conformation as a crucial factor for interaction and show an unexpected plasticity of the substrate binding groove. The basic binding mechanism is conserved among different Hsp70s.