Pak2 Controls Acquisition of NKT Cell Fate by Regulating Expression of the Transcription Factors PLZF and Egr2.

NKT cells constitute a small population of T cells developed in the thymus that produce large amounts of cytokines and chemokines in response to lipid Ags. Signaling through the Vα14-Jα18 TCR instructs commitment to the NKT cell lineage, but the precise signaling mechanisms that instruct their lineage choice are unclear. In this article, we report that the cytoskeletal remodeling protein, p21-activated kinase 2 (Pak2), was essential for NKT cell development. Loss of Pak2 in T cells reduced stage III NKT cells in the thymus and periphery. Among different NKT cell subsets, Pak2 was necessary for the generation and function of NKT1 and NKT2 cells, but not NKT17 cells. Mechanistically, expression of Egr2 and promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF), two key transcription factors for acquiring the NKT cell fate, were markedly diminished in the absence of Pak2. Diminished expression of Egr2 and PLZF were not caused by aberrant TCR signaling, as determined using a Nur77-GFP reporter, but were likely due to impaired induction and maintenance of signaling lymphocyte activation molecule 6 expression, a TCR costimulatory receptor required for NKT cell development. These data suggest that Pak2 controls thymic NKT cell development by providing a signal that links Egr2 to induce PLZF, in part by regulating signaling lymphocyte activation molecule 6 expression.

Pak2 Links TCR Signaling Strength to the Development of Regulatory T Cells and Maintains Peripheral Tolerance.

Although significant effort has been devoted to understanding the thymic development of Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs), the precise signaling pathways that govern their lineage commitment still remain enigmatic. Our findings show a novel role for the actin cytoskeletal remodeling protein, p21-activated kinase 2 (Pak2), in Treg development and homeostasis. The absence of Pak2 in T cells resulted in a marked reduction in both thymus- and peripherally derived Tregs, accompanied by the development of spontaneous colitis in Pak2-deficient mice. Additionally, Pak2 was required for the proper differentiation of in vitro-induced Tregs as well as maintenance of Tregs. Interestingly, Pak2 was necessary for generating the high-affinity TCR- and IL-2-mediated signals that are required by developing Tregs for their lineage commitment. These findings provide novel insight into how developing thymocytes translate lineage-specific high-affinity TCR signals to adopt the Treg fate, and they further posit Pak2 as an essential regulator for this process.

Vessel-specific Toll-like receptor profiles in human medium and large arteries.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory vasculopathies, ranging from the vasculitides (Takayasu arteritis, giant cell arteritis, and polyarteritis nodosa) to atherosclerosis, display remarkable target tissue tropisms for selected vascular beds. Molecular mechanisms directing wall inflammation to restricted anatomic sites within the vascular tree are not understood. We have examined the ability of 6 different human macrovessels (aorta and subclavian, carotid, mesenteric, iliac, and temporal arteries) to initiate innate and adaptive immune responses by comparing pathogen-sensing and T-cell-stimulatory capacities. METHODS AND RESULTS: Gene expression analysis for pathogen-sensing Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 1 to 9 showed vessel-specific profiles, with TLR2 and TLR4 ubiquitously present, TLR7 and TLR9 infrequent, and TLR1, TLR3, TLR5, TLR6, and TLR8 expressed in selective patterns. Experiments with vessel walls stripped of the intimal or adventitial layer identified dendritic cells at the media-adventitia junction as the dominant pathogen sensors. In human artery-severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse chimeras, adoptively transferred human T cells initiated vessel wall inflammation if wall-embedded dendritic cells were conditioned with TLR ligands. Wall-infiltrating T cells displayed vessel-specific activation profiles with differential production of CD40L, lymphotoxin-alpha, and interferon-gamma. Vascular bed-specific TLR fingerprints were functionally relevant, as exemplified by differential responsiveness of iliac and subclavian vessels to TLR5 but not TLR4 ligands. CONCLUSIONS: Populated by indigenous dendritic cells, medium and large human arteries have immune-sensing and T-cell-stimulatory functions. Each vessel in the macrovascular tree exhibits a distinct TLR profile and supports selective T-cell responses, imposing vessel-specific risk for inflammatory vasculopathies.

Synergistic proinflammatory effects of the antiviral cytokine interferon-alpha and Toll-like receptor 4 ligands in the atherosclerotic plaque.

BACKGROUND: Interferon (IFN)-alpha is a pluripotent inflammatory cytokine typically induced by viral infections. In rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques, plasmacytoid dendritic cells produce IFN-alpha. In the present study we explored the contribution of IFN-alpha to inflammation and tissue injury in the plaque microenvironment. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 53% of carotid plaques (n=30), CD123+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells clustered together with CD11c+ myeloid dendritic cells, a distinct dendritic cell subset specialized in sensing danger signals from bacteria and tissue breakdown. Tissue concentrations of IFN-alpha and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha transcripts were tightly correlated (r=0.76, P<0.001), suggesting a regulatory role of IFN-alpha in TNF-alpha production. Plaque tissue stimulation with CpG ODN, a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 ligand, increased IFN-alpha production (57.8+/-23.7 versus 25.9+/-8.6 pg/mL; P<0.001), whereas the TLR4 ligand lipopolysaccharide induced TNF-alpha secretion (225.1+/-3.0 versus 0.7+/-0.2 pg/mL; P<0.001). Treating plaque tissue with IFN-alpha markedly enhanced lipopolysaccharide-triggered TNF-alpha secretion (559.0+/-25.9 versus 225.1+/-3.0 pg/mL; P<0.001). IFN-alpha pretreatment also amplified the effects of lipopolysaccharide on interleukin-12, interleukin-23, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, suggesting that the antiviral cytokine sensitized myeloid dendritic cells and macrophages toward TLR4 ligands. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that IFN-alpha modulated the myeloid dendritic cell response pattern by upregulating TLR4 expression (P<0.001) involving both the STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) and the PI(3)K pathway. CONCLUSIONS: In the atherosclerotic plaque, IFN-alpha functions as an inflammatory amplifier. It sensitizes antigen-presenting cells toward pathogen-derived TLR4 ligands by upregulating TLR4 expression and intensifies TNF-alpha, interleukin-12, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 production, all implicated in plaque destabilization. Thus, IFN-alpha-inducing pathogens, even when colonizing distant tissue sites, threaten the stability of inflamed atherosclerotic plaque.

Vascular dendritic cells in giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a granulomatous vasculitis that selectively targets medium-sized and large arteries, especially the cranial branches of the aorta. The inflammatory activity of vascular lesions is driven by adaptive immune responses, with CD4 T cells undergoing clonal expansion in the vessel wall and releasing interferon gamma. Recent studies have described a distinctive population of dendritic cells (DCs) localized at the adventitia-media border of normal medium-sized arteries that appear to play a critical role in the initiation of vasculitis. Immune effector functions of this DC population are being examined in human artery-severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mouse chimeras. In their constitutive form, CD11c+ fascin+ adventitial DCs are not recognized by alloreactive T cells. Triggering with Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands is sufficient to break this state of tolerance and initiate DC activation, T-cell recruitment, T-cell activation, and T-cell retention in the arterial wall. Systemic administration of ligands for TLR2 or -4 in human artery-SCID chimeras drives differentiation of adventitial DCs into chemokine-producing effector cells with high-level expression of both CD83 and CD86 and mediates T-cell regulatory function through release of interleukin 18. In established vasculitis, fully matured DCs retain antigen-presenting function; antibody-mediated DC depletion disrupts T-cell and macrophage activation and has marked anti-inflammatory effects. We conclude that adventitial DCs, an indigenous cell population of the arterial wall, are responsive to pathogen-derived macromolecules and have gatekeeper function in regulating T-cell recruitment and retention to the arterial adventitia. A switch of adventitial DCs from being nonstimulatory to T-cell activating emerges as a critical event in the initiation of vasculitis.

Pak2 is required for actin cytoskeleton remodeling, TCR signaling, and normal thymocyte development and maturation.

The molecular mechanisms that govern thymocyte development and maturation are incompletely understood. The P21-activated kinase 2 (Pak2) is an effector for the Rho family GTPases Rac and Cdc42 that regulate actin cytoskeletal remodeling, but its role in the immune system remains poorly understood. In this study, we show that T-cell specific deletion of Pak2 gene in mice resulted in severe T cell lymphopenia accompanied by marked defects in development, maturation, and egress of thymocytes. Pak2 was required for pre-TCR ß-selection and positive selection. Surprisingly, Pak2 deficiency in CD4 single positive thymocytes prevented functional maturation and reduced expression of S1P1 and KLF2. Mechanistically, Pak2 is required for actin cytoskeletal remodeling triggered by TCR. Failure to induce proper actin cytoskeletal remodeling impaired PLCγ1 and Erk1/2 signaling in the absence of Pak2, uncovering the critical function of Pak2 as an essential regulator that governs the actin cytoskeleton-dependent signaling to ensure normal thymocyte development and maturation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02270.001.