RESUMO
IL-21 is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by Th17 cells. Abrogation of IL-21 signaling has recently been shown to reduce GVHD while retaining graft-versus-leukemia/lymphoma (GVL) responses. However, the mechanisms by which IL-21 may lead to a separation of GVHD and GVL remain incompletely understood. In a murine MHC-mismatched BM transplantation model, we observed that IL-21 receptor knockout (IL-21R KO) donor T cells mediate decreased systemic and gastrointestinal GVHD in recipients of a transplant. This reduction in GVHD was associated with expansion of transplanted donor regulatory T cells and with tissue-specific modulation of Th-cell function. IL-21R KO and wild-type donor T cells showed equivalent alloactivation, but IL-21R KO T cells showed decreased infiltration and inflammatory cytokine production within the mesenteric lymph nodes. However, Th-cell cytokine production was maintained peripherally, and IL-21R KO T cells mediated equivalent immunity against A20 and P815 hematopoietic tumors. In summary, abrogation of IL-21 signaling in donor T cells leads to tissue-specific modulation of immunity, such that gastrointestinal GVHD is reduced, but peripheral T-cell function and GVL capacity are retained. IL-21 is thus an exciting target for therapeutic intervention and improvement of clinical transplantation outcomes.
Assuntos
Doença Enxerto-Hospedeiro/genética , Efeito Enxerto vs Leucemia/genética , Imunidade Inata/genética , Interleucinas/fisiologia , Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Doadores de Tecidos , Animais , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Doença Enxerto-Hospedeiro/imunologia , Doença Enxerto-Hospedeiro/metabolismo , Humanos , Imunidade Inata/fisiologia , Subunidade alfa de Receptor de Interleucina-21/genética , Subunidade alfa de Receptor de Interleucina-21/metabolismo , Subunidade alfa de Receptor de Interleucina-21/fisiologia , Interleucinas/genética , Interleucinas/metabolismo , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/metabolismo , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/patologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Endogâmicos DBA , Camundongos Knockout , Especificidade de Órgãos/genética , Especificidade de Órgãos/imunologia , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Linfócitos T/fisiologia , Imunologia de TransplantesRESUMO
Alloreactive T cells are crucial for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) pathophysiology, and modulating their trafficking patterns has been efficacious in ameliorating experimental disease. We report in this paper that P-selectin, a glycoprotein found on resting and inflamed endothelium, is important for donor alloreactive T cells trafficking into GVHD target organs, such as the intestines and skin. Compared with wild-type (WT) recipients of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, P-selectin(-/-) recipients exhibit decreased GVHD mortality and decreased GVHD of the skin, liver, and small bowels. This was associated with diminished infiltration of alloactivated T cells into the Peyer's patches and small bowels, coupled with increased numbers of donor T cells in the spleen and secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs). Surprisingly, however, donor T cells deficient for P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1, the most well described P-selectin ligand, mediated GVHD similar to WT T cells and accumulated in SLO and target organs in similar numbers as WT T cells. This suggests that P-selectin may be required for trafficking into inflamed tissues but not SLO and that donor T cells may use multiple P-selectin ligands apart from P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 to interact with P-selectin and traffic into inflamed tissues during GVHD. We conclude that targeting P-selectin may be a viable strategy for GVHD prophylaxis or treatment.