Optogenetic activation of local colonic sympathetic innervations attenuates colitis by limiting immune cell extravasation.

The sympathetic nervous system is composed of an endocrine arm, regulating blood adrenaline and noradrenaline, and a local arm, a network of fibers innervating immune organs. Here, we investigated the impact of the local arm of the SNS in an inflammatory response in the colon. Intra-rectal insertion of an optogenetic probe in mice engineered to express channelrhodopsin-2 in tyrosine hydroxylase cells activated colonic sympathetic fibers. In contrast to systemic application of noradrenaline, local activation of sympathetic fibers attenuated experimental colitis and reduced immune cell abundance. Gene expression profiling showed decreased endothelial expression of the adhesion molecule MAdCAM-1 upon optogenetic stimulation; this decrease was sensitive to adrenergic blockers and 6-hydroxydopamine. Antibody blockade of MAdCAM-1 abrogated the optogenetic effect on immune cell extravasation into the colon and the pathology. Thus, sympathetic fibers control colonic inflammation by regulating immune cell extravasation from circulation, a mechanism likely relevant in multiple organs.

Applying causal discovery to single-cell analyses using CausalCell.

Correlation between objects is prone to occur coincidentally, and exploring correlation or association in most situations does not answer scientific questions rich in causality. Causal discovery (also called causal inference) infers causal interactions between objects from observational data. Reported causal discovery methods and single-cell datasets make applying causal discovery to single cells a promising direction. However, evaluating and choosing causal discovery methods and developing and performing proper workflow remain challenges. We report the workflow and platform CausalCell (http://www.gaemons.net/causalcell/causalDiscovery/) for performing single-cell causal discovery. The workflow/platform is developed upon benchmarking four kinds of causal discovery methods and is examined by analyzing multiple single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets. Our results suggest that different situations need different methods and the constraint-based PC algorithm with kernel-based conditional independence tests work best in most situations. Related issues are discussed and tips for best practices are given. Inferred causal interactions in single cells provide valuable clues for investigating molecular interactions and gene regulations, identifying critical diagnostic and therapeutic targets, and designing experimental and clinical interventions.

Immune aging in multiple sclerosis is characterized by abnormal CD4 T cell activation and increased frequencies of cytotoxic CD4 T cells with advancing age.

BACKGROUND: Immunosenescence (ISC) describes age-related changes in immune-system composition and function. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a lifelong inflammatory condition involving effector and regulatory T-cell imbalance, yet little is known about T-cell ISC in MS. We examined age-associated changes in circulating T cells in MS compared to normal controls (NC). METHODS: Forty untreated MS (Mean Age 43·3, Range 18-72) and 49 NC (Mean Age 48·6, Range 20-84) without inflammatory conditions were included in cross-sectional design. T-cell subsets were phenotypically and functionally characterized using validated multiparametric flow cytometry. Their aging trajectories, and differences between MS and NC, were determined using linear mixed-effects models. FINDINGS: MS patients demonstrated early and persistent redistribution of naïve and memory CD4 T-cell compartments. While most CD4 and CD8 T-cell aging trajectories were similar between groups, MS patients exhibited abnormal age-associated increases of activated (HLA-DR+CD38+; (P = 0·013) and cytotoxic CD4 T cells, particularly in patients >60 (EOMES: P < 0·001). Aging MS patients also failed to upregulate CTLA-4 expression on both CD4 (P = 0·014) and CD8 (P = 0·009) T cells, coupled with abnormal age-associated increases in frequencies of B cells expressing costimulatory molecules. INTERPRETATION: While many aspects of T-cell aging in MS are conserved, the older MS patients harbour abnormally increased frequencies of CD4 T cells with activated and cytotoxic effector profiles. Age-related decreased expression of T-cell co-inhibitory receptor CTLA-4, and increased B-cell costimulatory molecule expression, may provide a mechanism that drives aberrant activation of effector CD4 T cells that have been implicated in progressive disease. FUNDING: Stated in Acknowledgements section of manuscript.

Thymus involution sets the clock of the aging T-cell landscape: Implications for declined immunity and tissue repair.

Aging is generally characterized as a gradual increase in tissue damage, which is associated with senescence and chronic systemic inflammation and is evident in a variety of age-related diseases. The extent to which such tissue damage is a result of a gradual decline in immune regulation, which consequently compromises the capacity of the body to repair damages, has not been fully explored. Whereas CD4 T lymphocytes play a critical role in the orchestration of immunity, thymus involution initiates gradual changes in the CD4 T-cell landscape, which may significantly compromise tissue repair. In this review, we describe the lifespan accumulation of specific dysregulated CD4 T-cell subsets and their coevolution with systemic inflammation in the process of declined immunity and tissue repair capacity with age. Then, we discuss the process of thymus involution-which appears to be most pronounced around puberty-as a possible driver of the aging T-cell landscape. Finally, we identify individualized T cell-based early diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for age-related diseases.

BDNF-producing, amyloid ß-specific CD4 T cells as targeted drug-delivery vehicles in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: The delivery of therapeutic proteins to selected sites within the central nervous system (CNS) parenchyma is a major challenge in the treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders. As brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is reduced in the brain of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its administration has shown promising therapeutic effects in mouse model of the disease, we generated a novel platform for T cell-based BDNF delivery into the brain parenchyma. METHODS: We generated amyloid beta-protein (Aß)-specific CD4 T cells (Aß-T cells), genetically engineered to express BDNF, and injected them intracerebroventricularly into the 5XFAD mouse model of AD. FINDINGS: The BDNF-secreting Aß-T cells migrated efficiently to amyloid plaques, where they significantly increased the levels of BDNF, its receptor TrkB, and various synaptic proteins known to be reduced in AD. Furthermore, the injected mice demonstrated reduced levels of beta-secretase 1 (BACE1)-a protease essential in the cleavage process of the amyloid precursor protein-and ameliorated amyloid pathology and inflammation within the brain parenchyma. INTERPRETATION: A T cell-based delivery of proteins into the brain can serve as a platform to modulate neurotoxic inflammation and to promote neuronal repair in neurodegenerative diseases.

CD4 T Cells Induce A Subset of MHCII-Expressing Microglia that Attenuates Alzheimer Pathology.

Microglia play a key role in innate immunity in Alzheimer disease (AD), but their role as antigen-presenting cells is as yet unclear. Here we found that amyloid ß peptide (Aß)-specific T helper 1 (Aß-Th1 cells) T cells polarized to secrete interferon-γ and intracerebroventricularly (ICV) injected to the 5XFAD mouse model of AD induced the differentiation of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII)+ microglia with distinct morphology and enhanced plaque clearance capacity than MHCII- microglia. Notably, 5XFAD mice lacking MHCII exhibited an enhanced amyloid pathology in the brain along with exacerbated innate inflammation and reduced phagocytic capacity. Using a bone marrow chimera mouse model, we showed that infiltrating macrophages did not differentiate to MHCII+ cells following ICV injection of Aß-Th1 cells and did not support T cell-mediated amyloid clearance. Overall, we demonstrate that CD4 T cells induce a P2ry12+ MHCII+ subset of microglia, which play a key role in T cell-mediated effector functions that abrogate AD-like pathology.

Aging promotes reorganization of the CD4 T cell landscape toward extreme regulatory and effector phenotypes.

Age-associated changes in CD4 T-cell functionality have been linked to chronic inflammation and decreased immunity. However, a detailed characterization of CD4 T cell phenotypes that could explain these dysregulated functional properties is lacking. We used single-cell RNA sequencing and multidimensional protein analyses to profile thousands of CD4 T cells obtained from young and old mice. We found that the landscape of CD4 T cell subsets differs markedly between young and old mice, such that three cell subsets-exhausted, cytotoxic, and activated regulatory T cells (aTregs)-appear rarely in young mice but gradually accumulate with age. Most unexpected were the extreme pro- and anti-inflammatory phenotypes of cytotoxic CD4 T cells and aTregs, respectively. These findings provide a comprehensive view of the dynamic reorganization of the CD4 T cell milieu with age and illuminate dominant subsets associated with chronic inflammation and immunity decline, suggesting new therapeutic avenues for age-related diseases.

The Choroid Plexus Functions as a Niche for T-Cell Stimulation Within the Central Nervous System.

The choroid plexus (CP) compartment in the ventricles of the brain comprises fenestrated vasculature and, therefore, it is permeable to blood-borne mediators of inflammation. Here, we explored whether T-cell activation in the CP plays a role in regulating central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. We show that CD4 T cells injected into the lateral ventricles adhere to the CP, transmigrate across its epithelium, and undergo antigen-specific activation and proliferation. This process is enhanced following peripheral immune stimulation and significantly impacts the immune signaling induced by the CP. Ex vivo studies demonstrate that T-cell harboring the CP through its apical surface is a chemokine- and adhesion molecule-dependent process. We suggest that, within the CNS, the CP serves an immunological niche, which rapidly responds to peripheral inflammation and, thereby, promotes two-way T-cell trafficking that impact adaptive immunity in the CNS.

Old Mice Accumulate Activated Effector CD4 T Cells Refractory to Regulatory T Cell-Induced Immunosuppression.

Chronic low-grade inflammation and reduced lymphocyte potency are implicated in the pathogenesis of major illnesses associated with aging. Whether this immune phenotype results from a loss of cell-mediated regulation or intrinsic dysregulated function of effector T cells (Teffs) requires further research. Here, we report that, as compared with young C57BL6 mice, old mice show an increased frequency of CD4+CD62L- Teffs with a dysregulated activated phenotype and markedly increased effector functions. Analysis of the frequency and suppressive function of CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) indicates an increase in the frequency of FoxP3+ T cells with aging which, however, occurs within the CD4+CD25- T cells. Furthermore, whereas Tregs from young and old mice similarly suppress Teffs from young mice, both have a compromised suppressive capacity of Teffs from old mice, a phenomenon which is partially recovered in the presence of IL-2-producing CD4+CD62L+ non-Teffs. Finally, we observed that Teff subsets from old mice are enriched with IL-17A-producing T cells and exhibit intrinsically dysregulated expression of genes encoding cell-surface molecules and transcription factors, which play a key role in T-cell activation and regulation. We, thus, demonstrate an age-related impairment in the regulation of effector CD4 T cells, which may underlie the higher risk for destructive inflammation associated with aging.