Role of MR1-driven signals and amphiregulin on the recruitment and repair function of MAIT cells during skin wound healing.

Tissue repair processes maintain proper organ function following mechanical or infection-related damage. In addition to antibacterial properties, mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells express a tissue repair transcriptomic program and promote skin wound healing when expanded. Herein, we use a human-like mouse model of full-thickness skin excision to assess the underlying mechanisms of MAIT cell tissue repair function. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis suggested that skin MAIT cells already express a repair program at steady state. Following skin excision, MAIT cells promoted keratinocyte proliferation, thereby accelerating healing. Using skin grafts, parabiosis, and adoptive transfer experiments, we show that MAIT cells migrated into the wound in a T cell receptor (TCR)-independent but CXCR6 chemokine receptor-dependent manner. Amphiregulin secreted by MAIT cells following excision promoted wound healing. Expression of the repair function was probably independent of sustained TCR stimulation. Overall, our study provides mechanistic insights into MAIT cell wound healing function in the skin.

ReMap 2020: a database of regulatory regions from an integrative analysis of Human and Arabidopsis DNA-binding sequencing experiments.

ReMap (http://remap.univ-amu.fr) aims to provide the largest catalogs of high-quality regulatory regions resulting from a large-scale integrative analysis of hundreds of transcription factors and regulators from DNA-binding experiments in Human and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). In this 2020 update of ReMap we have collected, analyzed and retained after quality control 2764 new human ChIP-seq and 208 ChIP-exo datasets available from public sources. The updated human atlas totalize 5798 datasets covering a total of 1135 transcriptional regulators (TRs) with a catalog of 165 million (M) peaks. This ReMap update comes with two unique Arabidopsis regulatory catalogs. First, a catalog of 372 Arabidopsis TRs across 2.6M peaks as a result of the integration of 509 ChIP-seq and DAP-seq datasets. Second, a catalog of 33 histone modifications and variants across 4.5M peaks from the integration of 286 ChIP-seq datasets. All catalogs are made available through track hubs at Ensembl and UCSC Genome Browsers. Additionally, this update comes with a new web framework providing an interactive user-interface, including improved search features. Finally, full programmatically access to the underlying data is available using a RESTful API together with a new R Shiny interface for a TRs binding enrichment analysis tool.

MAIT cells monitor intestinal dysbiosis and contribute to host protection during colitis.

Intestinal inflammation shifts microbiota composition and metabolism. How the host monitors and responds to such changes remains unclear. Here, we describe a protective mechanism by which mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells detect microbiota metabolites produced upon intestinal inflammation and promote tissue repair. At steady state, MAIT ligands derived from the riboflavin biosynthesis pathway were produced by aerotolerant bacteria residing in the colonic mucosa. Experimental colitis triggered luminal expansion of riboflavin-producing bacteria, leading to increased production of MAIT ligands. Modulation of intestinal oxygen levels suggested a role for oxygen in inducing MAIT ligand production. MAIT ligands produced in the colon rapidly crossed the intestinal barrier and activated MAIT cells, which expressed tissue-repair genes and produced barrier-promoting mediators during colitis. Mice lacking MAIT cells were more susceptible to colitis and colitis-driven colorectal cancer. Thus, MAIT cells are sensitive to a bacterial metabolic pathway indicative of intestinal inflammation.

Divergent local and systemic antitumor response in primary uveal melanomas.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common cancer of the eye. The loss of chromosome 3 (M3) is associated with a high risk of metastases. M3 tumors are more infiltrated by T-lymphocytes than low-risk disomic-3 (D3) tumors, contrasting with other tumor types in which T cell infiltration correlates with better prognosis. Whether these T cells represent an antitumor response and how these T cells would be primed in the eye are both unknown. Herein, we characterized the T cells infiltrating primary UMs. CD8+ and Treg cells were more abundant in M3 than in D3 tumors. CD39+PD-1+CD8+ T cells were enriched in M3 tumors, suggesting specific responses to tumor antigen (Ag) as confirmed using HLA-A2:Melan-A tetramers. scRNAseq-VDJ analysis of T cells evidenced high numbers of proliferating CD39+PD1+CD8+ clonal expansions, suggesting in situ antitumor Ag responses. TCRseq and tumor-Ag tetramer staining characterized the recirculation pattern of the antitumor responses in M3 and D3 tumors. Thus, tumor-Ag responses occur in localized UMs, raising the question of the priming mechanisms in the absence of known lymphatic drainage.

A conserved transcriptional program for MAIT cells across mammalian evolution.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells harbor evolutionarily conserved TCRs, suggesting important functions. As human and mouse MAIT functional programs appear distinct, the evolutionarily conserved MAIT functional features remain unidentified. Using species-specific tetramers coupled to single-cell RNA sequencing, we characterized MAIT cell development in six species spanning 110 million years of evolution. Cross-species analyses revealed conserved transcriptional events underlying MAIT cell maturation, marked by ZBTB16 induction in all species. MAIT cells in human, sheep, cattle, and opossum acquired a shared type-1/17 transcriptional program, reflecting ancestral features. This program was also acquired by human iNKT cells, indicating common differentiation for innate-like T cells. Distinct type-1 and type-17 MAIT subsets developed in rodents, including pet mice and genetically diverse mouse strains. However, MAIT cells further matured in mouse intestines to acquire a remarkably conserved program characterized by concomitant expression of type-1, type-17, cytotoxicity, and tissue-repair genes. Altogether, the study provides a unifying view of the transcriptional features of innate-like T cells across evolution.