Intestinal tissue-resident T cell activation depends on metabolite availability.

The metabolic capacity of many cells is tightly regulated and can adapt to changes in metabolic resources according to environmental changes. Tissue-resident memory (TRM) CD8+ T cells are one of the most abundant T cell populations and offer rapid protection against invading pathogens, especially at the epithelia. TRM cells metabolically adapt to their tissue niche, such as the intestinal epithelial barrier. In the small intestine, the types of TRM cells are intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), which contain high levels of cytotoxic molecules and express activation markers, suggesting a heightened state of activation. We hypothesize that the tissue environment may determine IEL activity. We show that IEL activation, in line with its semiactive status, is metabolically faster than circulating CD8+ T cells. IEL glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) are interdependently regulated and are dependent on rapid access to metabolites from the environment. IELs are restrained by local availability of metabolites, but, especially, glucose levels determine their activity. Importantly, this enables functional control of intestinal TRM cells by metabolic means within the fragile environment of the intestinal epithelial barrier.

Heterogeneity of tissue resident memory T cells.

Non-lymphoid organs, in mice and humans, contain CD8+ tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells. They play important roles in tissue homoeostasis as well as defence against infections and cancer. TRM cells have common characteristics that enables their tissue residency and function. However, the wide variety of tissues, some with continually exposure to invading microbes, distinct organ structures and functions, impose tissue-specific differences on TRM cells. Upon tissue-entry, they need to adapt to local circumstances by modifying their transcriptional machinery, enabling interactions with the - often specialised - surrounding cells and available metabolites. Heterogeneity amongst TRM cells may have implications for their defence function, organ-specific autoimmunity and chronic immune disorders. Here we indicate shared and unique TRM cell features within different tissues to provide a better understanding of their function and discuss possible future research directions.

The fungal Clitocybe nebularis lectin binds distinct cell surface glycoprotein receptors to induce cell death selectively in Jurkat cells.

Clitocybe nebularis lectin (CNL) is a GalNAcß1-4GlcNAc-binding lectin that exhibits an antiproliferative effect exclusively on the Jurkat leukemic T cell line by provoking homotypic aggregation and dose-dependent cell death. Cell death of Jurkat cells exhibited typical features of early apoptosis, but lacked the activation of initiating and executing caspases. None of the features of CNL-induced cell death were effectively blocked with the pan-caspase inhibitor or different cysteine peptidase inhibitors. Furthermore, CNL binding induced Jurkat cells to release the endogenous damage-associated molecular pattern molecule high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). A plant lectin with similar glycan-binding specificity, Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) showed less selective toxicity and induced cell death in Jurkat, Tall-104, and Hut-87 cell lines. HMGB1 release was also detected when Jurkat cells were treated with WFA. We identified the CD45 and CD43 cell surface glycoproteins on Jurkat cells as the main targets for CNL binding. However, the blockade of CD45 phosphatase activity failed to block either CNL-induced homotypic agglutination or cell death. Overall, our results indicate that CNL triggers atypical cell death selectively on Jurkat cells, suggesting the potential applicability of CNL in novel strategies for treating and/or detecting acute T cell leukemia.

Regulation of Oxygen Homeostasis at the Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Site.

The unique biology of the intestinal epithelial barrier is linked to a low baseline oxygen pressure (pO2), characterised by a high rate of metabolites circulating through the intestinal blood and the presence of a steep oxygen gradient across the epithelial surface. These characteristics require tight regulation of oxygen homeostasis, achieved in part by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-dependent signalling. Furthermore, intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) possess metabolic identities that are reflected in changes in mitochondrial function. In recent years, it has become widely accepted that oxygen metabolism is key to homeostasis at the mucosae. In addition, the gut has a vast and diverse microbial population, the microbiota. Microbiome-gut communication represents a dynamic exchange of mediators produced by bacterial and intestinal metabolism. The microbiome contributes to the maintenance of the hypoxic environment, which is critical for nutrient absorption, intestinal barrier function, and innate and/or adaptive immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract. In this review, we focus on oxygen homeostasis at the epithelial barrier site, how it is regulated by hypoxia and the microbiome, and how oxygen homeostasis at the epithelium is regulated in health and disease.

Type 1 Treg cells promote the generation of CD8+ tissue-resident memory T cells.

Tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells, functionally distinct from circulating memory T cells, have a critical role in protective immunity in tissues, are more efficacious when elicited after vaccination and yield more effective antitumor immunity, yet the signals that direct development of TRM cells are incompletely understood. Here we show that type 1 regulatory T (Treg) cells, which express the transcription factor T-bet, promote the generation of CD8+ TRM cells. The absence of T-bet-expressing type 1 Treg cells reduces the presence of TRM cells in multiple tissues and increases pathogen burden upon infectious challenge. Using infection models, we show that type 1 Treg cells are specifically recruited to local inflammatory sites via the chemokine receptor CXCR3. Close proximity with effector CD8+ T cells and Treg cell expression of integrin-ß8 endows the bioavailability of transforming growth factor-ß in the microenvironment, thereby promoting the generation of CD8+ TRM cells.

Dynamic Metabolic State of Tissue Resident CD8 T Cells.

In the past years, there have been significant advances in the understanding of how environmental conditions alone or in conjunction with pathogen invasion affect the metabolism of T cells, thereby influencing their activation, differentiation, and longevity. Detailed insights of the interlinked processes of activation and metabolism can contribute to major advances in immunotherapies. Naive and memory T cells circulate the body. In a quiescent state with low metabolic demands, they predominantly use oxidative phosphorylation for their energy needs. Recognition of cognate antigen combined with costimulatory signals results in a proliferative burst and effector molecule production, requiring rapid release of energy, achieved via dynamically reprogramming metabolic pathways. After activation, most T cells succumb to activation induced cell death, but few differentiate into memory T cells. Of note, some memory T cells permanently occupy tissues without circulating. These, tissue resident T cells are predominantly CD8 T cells, maintained in a metabolic state distinct from naïve and circulating memory CD8 T cells with elements similar to effector CD8 T cells but without undergoing proliferative burst or secreting immune mediators. They continually interact with tissue cells as part of an immune surveillance network, are well-adapted to the tissues they have made their home and where they may encounter different metabolic environments. In this review, we will discuss recent insights in metabolic characteristics of CD8 T cell biology, with emphasis on tissue resident CD8 T cells at the epithelial barriers.

Metabolic wiring of murine T cell and intraepithelial lymphocyte maintenance and activation.

Adaptive immunity critically depends on cell migration combined with clonal selection and rapid expansion of rare lymphocytes recognising their cognate antigen in secondary lymphoid organs. It has since become apparent that large populations of T cells are maintained in tissues, which do not migrate throughout the body and do not require clonal expansion. Murine intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), located in the skin and small intestines, are maintained in a state of semi-activation, in marked contrast to the quiescent condition naive and memory lymphocytes are kept in. The poised activation state of IELs, their location in the top layers of barrier organs and close bidirectional interactions with epithelial cells suggests IELs are part of a sophisticated strategy of immune-surveillance and compartmentalisation of immune responses. Recent murine studies have reemphasised the influence of metabolism in T-cell activation and differentiation, with different metabolic make up of naive, effector and memory T cells. Here we highlight and discuss some of the current insights on immunometabolism of IELs, with emphasis on novel data contrasting how IELs may be maintained in a semi-activated state and may become fully functional compared with conventional T cells.

Mitochondria maintain controlled activation state of epithelial-resident T lymphocytes.

Epithelial-resident T lymphocytes, such as intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) located at the intestinal barrier, can offer swift protection against invading pathogens. Lymphocyte activation is strictly regulated because of its potential harmful nature and metabolic cost, and most lymphocytes are maintained in a quiescent state. However, IELs are kept in a heightened state of activation resembling effector T cells but without cytokine production or clonal proliferation. We show that this controlled activation state correlates with alterations in the IEL mitochondrial membrane, especially the cardiolipin composition. Upon inflammation, the cardiolipin composition is altered to support IEL proliferation and effector function. Furthermore, we show that cardiolipin makeup can particularly restrict swift IEL proliferation and effector functions, reducing microbial containment capability. These findings uncover an alternative mechanism to control cellular activity, special to epithelial-resident T cells, and a novel role for mitochondria, maintaining cells in a metabolically poised state while enabling rapid progression to full functionality.

Intestinal Barrier Interactions with Specialized CD8 T Cells.

The trillions of microorganisms that reside in the gastrointestinal tract, essential for nutrient absorption, are kept under control by a single cell barrier and large amounts of immune cells. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are critical in establishing an environment supporting microbial colonization and immunological tolerance. A large population of CD8+ T cells is in direct and constant contact with the IECs and the intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs). Due to their location, at the interphase of the intestinal lumen and external environment and the host tissues, they seem ideally positioned to balance immune tolerance and protection to preserve the fragile intestinal barrier from invasion as well as immunopathology. IELs are a heterogeneous population, with a large innate-like contribution of unknown specificity, intercalated with antigen-specific tissue-resident memory T cells. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of IEL physiology and how they interact with the IECs and contribute to immune surveillance to preserve intestinal homeostasis and host-microbial relationships.

Cystatin F regulates proteinase activity in IL-2-activated natural killer cells.

Cystatin F is a unique member of the cystatin family of cysteine protease inhibitors, which is synthesized as an inactive dimer and it is activated by N-terminal cleavage in the endolysosomes. It is expressed in the cells of the immune system: myeloid cells and the cells involved in target cell killing: natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). Upon activation of the NK cells with interleukin 2 (IL-2), cystatin F was found upregulated and co-localized in cytotoxic granules with cathepsin C (CatC) and CatV. However, cystatin F inhibits the CatC in cells only when its N-terminal part is processed. Although cystatin F could inhibit both CatV and CatC, the IL-2 stimulation of the YT cells resulted in an increased CatV activity, while the CatC activity was unchanged. The incubation of IL-2 activated NK cells with a cysteine proteinase inhibitor E-64d increased the cystatin F dimer formation. Our results suggest that cystatin F not only inhibits CatV, but it is processed by the CatV in order to inhibit the CatC activity in cytotoxic granules. The regulation of the CatC activity in the cytotoxic granules of the NK cells by the cystatin F could be important for the processing and activation of granule-associated serine proteases - granzymes.

Human and mouse perforin are processed in part through cleavage by the lysosomal cysteine proteinase cathepsin L.

The pore-forming protein perforin is synthesized as an inactive precursor in natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and becomes active when a short C-terminal peptide is cleaved within acidic lysosome-like cytotoxic granules. Although it was shown more than a decade ago that this cleavage is pH dependent and can be inhibited by the generic cysteine cathepsin inhibitor E-64d, no protease capable of processing the perforin C terminus has been identified. Neither is it known whether a single protease is responsible or the processing has inbuilt redundancy. Here, we show that incubation of human NK cells and primary antigen-restricted mouse CTLs with the cathepsin L (CatL) inhibitor L1 resulted in a marked inhibition of perforin-dependent target cell death and reduced perforin processing. In vitro, CatL preferentially cleaved a site on full-length recombinant perforin close to its C terminus. The NK cells of mice deficient in CatL showed a reduction but not a complete absence of processed perforin, indicating that cysteine proteases other than CatL are also able to process perforin. We conclude that granule-bound cathepsins are essential for processing perforin to its active form, and that CatL is an important, but not exclusive, participant in this process.

Increased nucleolar localization of SpiA3G in classically but not alternatively activated macrophages.

Macrophages play a key role in innate immune response to pathogens and in tissue homeostasis, inflammation and repair. A serpin A3G (SpiA3G) is highly induced in classically activated macrophages. We show increased localization of SpiA3G in the nucleolus and co-localization with cathepsin L, upon classical, but not alternative activation of macrophages. Despite the increased expression of cathepsin L in the nuclei of classically activated macrophages, no cathepsin activity was detected. Since only pro-inflammatory, but not anti-inflammatory stimuli induce increased nucleolar localization of SpiA3G, we propose that SpiA3g translocation into the nucleolus is important in host defense against pathogens.

Stefin B interacts with histones and cathepsin L in the nucleus.

Stefin B (cystatin B) is an endogenous inhibitor of cysteine proteinases localized in the nucleus and the cytosol. Loss-of-function mutations in the stefin B gene (CSTB) gene were reported in patients with Unverricht-Lundborg disease (EPM1). We have identified an interaction between stefin B and nucleosomes, specifically with histones H2A.Z, H2B, and H3. In synchronized T98G cells, stefin B co-immunoprecipitated with histone H3, predominantly in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. Stefin B-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts entered S phase earlier than wild type mouse embryonic fibroblasts. In contrast, increased expression of stefin B in the nucleus delayed cell cycle progression in T98G cells. The delay in cell cycle progression was associated with the inhibition of cathepsin L in the nucleus, as judged from the decreased cleavage of the CUX1 transcription factor. In vitro, inhibition of cathepsin L by stefin B was potentiated in the presence of histones, whereas histones alone did not affect the cathepsin L activity. Interaction of stefin B with the Met-75 truncated form of cathepsin L in the nucleus was confirmed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments in the living cells. Stefin B could thus play an important role in regulating the proteolytic activity of cathepsin L in the nucleus, protecting substrates such as transcription factors from its proteolytic processing.