The NF-κB Transcription Factor c-Rel Modulates Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell Effector Functions and Drives Allergic Airway Inflammation.

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) play a key role in the initiation and orchestration of early type 2 immune responses. Upon tissue damage, ILC2s are activated by alarmins such as IL-33 and rapidly secrete large amounts of type 2 signature cytokines. ILC2 activation is governed by a network of transcriptional regulators including nuclear factor (NF)-κB family transcription factors. While it is known that activating IL-33 receptor signaling results in downstream NF-κB activation, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we found that the NF-κB subunit c-Rel is required to mount effective innate pulmonary type 2 immune responses. IL-33-mediated activation of ILC2s in vitro as well as in vivo was found to induce c-Rel mRNA and protein expression. In addition, we demonstrate that IL-33-mediated activation of ILC2s leads to nuclear translocation of c-Rel in pulmonary ILC2s. Although c-Rel was found to be a critical mediator of innate pulmonary type 2 immune responses, ILC2-intrinsic deficiency of c-Rel did not have an impact on the developmental capacity of ILC2s nor affected homeostatic numbers of lung-resident ILC2s at steady state. Moreover, we demonstrate that ILC2-intrinsic deficiency of c-Rel alters the capacity of ILC2s to upregulate the expression of ICOSL and OX40L, key stimulatory receptors, and the expression of type 2 signature cytokines IL-5, IL-9, IL-13, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Collectively, our data using Rel-/- mice suggest that c-Rel promotes acute ILC2-driven allergic airway inflammation and suggest that c-Rel may contribute to the pathophysiology of ILC2-mediated allergic airway disease. It thereby represents a promising target for the treatment of allergic asthma, and evaluating the effect of established c-Rel inhibitors in this context would be of great clinical interest.

Inherited human c-Rel deficiency disrupts myeloid and lymphoid immunity to multiple infectious agents.

We studied a child with severe viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic diseases, who was homozygous for a loss-of-function mutation of REL, encoding c-Rel, which is selectively expressed in lymphoid and myeloid cells. The patient had low frequencies of NK, effector memory cells reexpressing CD45RA (Temra) CD8+ T cells, memory CD4+ T cells, including Th1 and Th1*, Tregs, and memory B cells, whereas the counts and proportions of other leukocyte subsets were normal. Functional deficits of myeloid cells included the abolition of IL-12 and IL-23 production by conventional DC1s (cDC1s) and monocytes, but not cDC2s. c-Rel was also required for induction of CD86 expression on, and thus antigen-presenting cell function of, cDCs. Functional deficits of lymphoid cells included reduced IL-2 production by naive T cells, correlating with low proliferation and survival rates and poor production of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines by memory CD4+ T cells. In naive CD4+ T cells, c-Rel is dispensable for early IL2 induction but contributes to later phases of IL2 expression. The patient's naive B cells displayed impaired MYC and BCL2L1 induction, compromising B cell survival and proliferation and preventing their differentiation into Ig-secreting plasmablasts. Inherited c-Rel deficiency disrupts the development and function of multiple myeloid and lymphoid cells, compromising innate and adaptive immunity to multiple infectious agents.

c-REL and IκBNS Govern Common and Independent Steps of Regulatory T Cell Development from Novel CD122-Expressing Pre-Precursors.

Foxp3-expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential regulators of immune homeostasis and, thus, are prime targets for therapeutic interventions of diseases such as cancer and autoimmunity. c-REL and IκBNS are important regulators of Foxp3 induction in Treg precursors upon γ-chain cytokine stimulation. In c-REL/IκBNS double-deficient mice, Treg numbers were dramatically reduced, indicating that together, c-REL and IκBNS are pivotal for Treg development. However, despite the highly reduced Treg compartment, double-deficient mice did not develop autoimmunity even when aged to more than 1 y, suggesting that c-REL and IκBNS are required for T cell effector function as well. Analyzing Treg development in more detail, we identified a CD122+ subset within the CD25-Foxp3- precursor population, which gave rise to classical CD25+Foxp3- Treg precursors. Importantly, c-REL, but not IκBNS, controlled the generation of classical CD25+Foxp3- precursors via direct binding to the Cd25 locus. Thus, we propose that CD4+GITR+CD122+CD25-Foxp3- cells represent a Treg pre-precursor population, whose transition into Treg precursors is mediated via c-REL.

c-Rel is Required for the Induction of pTregs in the Eye but Not in the Gut Mucosa.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells play an integral role in maintaining immune homeostasis and preventing autoimmune diseases. Forkhead box P3 expression marks the commitment of progenitor cells to the Treg lineage. Although the essential function of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB family transcription factor c-Rel in the regulation of natural Treg cells has been firmly established, little is known about whether c-Rel is involved in the in vivo generation of peripheral Treg cells (pTregs), which develop from mature CD4+ conventional T cells outside of the thymus. We sought to answer this question through the induction of pTregs in the eye and gut mucosa using ovalbumin-specific T cell receptor transgenic mice that do or do not express c-Rel. Our results showed that Tregs can be induced in the eye in a c-Rel-dependent manner when immune-mediated inflammation occurs. However, c-Rel is dispensable for the induction of pTregs in the gut mucosa after oral antigen administration. Thus, c-Rel may play distinct roles in regulating the development of pTregs in different organs. Abbreviations ACAID: Anterior Chamber-Associated Immune Deviation; ATF: activating transcription factor; CREB: cAMP responsive element-binding protein; DMEM: Dulbecco minimum essential medium; HBSS: Hanks Balanced Salt Solution; NFAT: Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells; PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline; PE: Phycoerythrin; WT: wild type.

Deficiency of Nuclear Factor-κB c-Rel Accelerates the Development of Autoimmune Diabetes in NOD Mice.

The nuclear factor-κB protein c-Rel plays a critical role in controlling autoimmunity. c-Rel-deficient mice are resistant to streptozotocin-induced diabetes, a drug-induced model of autoimmune diabetes. We generated c-Rel-deficient NOD mice to examine the role of c-Rel in the development of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes. We found that both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells from c-Rel-deficient NOD mice showed significantly decreased T-cell receptor-induced IL-2, IFN-γ, and GM-CSF expression. Despite compromised T-cell function, c-Rel deficiency dramatically accelerated insulitis and hyperglycemia in NOD mice along with a substantial reduction in T-regulatory (Treg) cell numbers. Supplementation of isogenic c-Rel-competent Treg cells from prediabetic NOD mice reversed the accelerated diabetes development in c-Rel-deficient NOD mice. The results suggest that c-Rel-dependent Treg cell function is critical in suppressing early-onset autoimmune diabetogenesis in NOD mice. This study provides a novel natural system to study autoimmune diabetes pathogenesis and reveals a previously unknown c-Rel-dependent mechanistic difference between chemically induced and spontaneous diabetogenesis. The study also reveals a unique protective role of c-Rel in autoimmune diabetes, which is distinct from other T-cell-dependent autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, where c-Rel promotes autoimmunity.

The NF-κB subunit c-Rel regulates Bach2 tumour suppressor expression in B-cell lymphoma.

The REL gene, encoding the NF-κB subunit c-Rel, is frequently amplified in B-cell lymphoma and functions as a tumour-promoting transcription factor. Here we report the surprising result that c-rel-/- mice display significantly earlier lymphomagenesis in the c-Myc driven, Eµ-Myc model of B-cell lymphoma. c-Rel loss also led to earlier onset of disease in a separate TCL1-Tg-driven lymphoma model. Tumour reimplantation experiments indicated that this is an effect intrinsic to the Eµ-Myc lymphoma cells but, counterintuitively, c-rel-/- Eµ-Myc lymphoma cells were more sensitive to apoptotic stimuli. To learn more about why loss of c-Rel led to earlier onset of disease, microarray gene expression analysis was performed on B cells from 4-week-old, wild-type and c-rel-/- Eµ-Myc mice. Extensive changes in gene expression were not seen at this age, but among those transcripts significantly downregulated by the loss of c-Rel was the B-cell tumour suppressor BTB and CNC homology 2 (Bach2). Quantitative PCR and western blot analysis confirmed loss of Bach2 in c-Rel mutant Eµ-Myc tumours at both 4 weeks and the terminal stages of disease. Moreover, Bach2 expression was also downregulated in c-rel-/- TCL1-Tg mice and RelA Thr505Ala mutant Eµ-Myc mice. Analysis of wild-type Eµ-Myc mice demonstrated that the population expressing low levels of Bach2 exhibited the earlier onset of lymphoma seen in c-rel-/- mice. Confirming the relevance of these findings to human disease, analysis of chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing data revealed that Bach2 is a c-Rel and NF-κB target gene in transformed human B cells, whereas treatment of Burkitt's lymphoma cells with inhibitors of the NF-κB/IκB kinase pathway or deletion of c-Rel or RelA resulted in loss of Bach2 expression. These data reveal a surprising tumour suppressor role for c-Rel in lymphoma development explained by regulation of Bach2 expression, underlining the context-dependent complexity of NF-κB signalling in cancer.

The c-Rel subunit of NF-κB regulates epidermal homeostasis and promotes skin fibrosis in mice.

The five subunits of transcription factor NF-κB have distinct biological functions. NF-κB signaling is important for skin homeostasis and aging, but the contribution of individual subunits to normal skin biology and disease is unclear. Immunohistochemical analysis of the p50 and c-Rel subunits within lesional psoriatic and systemic sclerosis skin revealed abnormal epidermal expression patterns, compared with healthy skin, but RelA distribution was unaltered. The skin of Nfkb1(-/-) and c-Rel(-/-) mice is structurally normal, but epidermal thickness and proliferation are significantly reduced, compared with wild-type mice. We show that the primary defect in both Nfkb1(-/-) and c-Rel(-/-) mice is within keratinocytes that display reduced proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. However, both genotypes can respond to proliferative stress, with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced epidermal hyperproliferation and closure rates of full-thickness skin wounds being equivalent to those of wild-type controls. In a model of bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis, Nfkb1(-/-) and c-Rel(-/-) mice displayed opposite phenotypes, with c-Rel(-/-) mice being protected and Nfkb1(-/-) developing more fibrosis than wild-type mice. Taken together, our data reveal a role for p50 and c-Rel in regulating epidermal proliferation and homeostasis and a profibrogenic role for c-Rel in the skin, and identify a link between epidermal c-Rel expression and systemic sclerosis. Modulating the actions of these subunits could be beneficial for treating hyperproliferative or fibrogenic diseases of the skin.

The NF-κB subunit c-Rel stimulates cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis.

Cardiac remodeling and hypertrophy are the pathological consequences of cardiovascular disease and are correlated with its associated mortality. Activity of the transcription factor NF-κB is increased in the diseased heart; however, our present understanding of how the individual subunits contribute to cardiovascular disease is limited. We assign a new role for the c-Rel subunit as a stimulator of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. We discovered that c-Rel-deficient mice have smaller hearts at birth, as well as during adulthood, and are protected from developing cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis after chronic angiotensin infusion. Results of both gene expression and cross-linked chromatin immunoprecipitation assay analyses identified transcriptional activators of hypertrophy, myocyte enhancer family, Gata4, and Tbx proteins as Rel gene targets. We suggest that the p50 subunit could limit the prohypertrophic actions of c-Rel in the normal heart, because p50 overexpression in H9c2 cells repressed c-Rel levels and the absence of cardiac p50 was associated with increases in both c-Rel levels and cardiac hypertrophy. We report for the first time that c-Rel is highly expressed and confined to the nuclei of diseased adult human hearts but is restricted to the cytoplasm of normal cardiac tissues. We conclude that c-Rel-dependent signaling is critical for both cardiac remodeling and hypertrophy. Targeting its activities could offer a novel therapeutic strategy to limit the effects of cardiac disease.

c-Rel controls multiple discrete steps in the thymic development of Foxp3+ CD4 regulatory T cells.

The development of natural Foxp3(+) CD4 regulatory T cells (nTregs) proceeds via two steps that involve the initial antigen dependent generation of CD25(+)GITR(hi)Foxp3(-)CD4(+) nTreg precursors followed by the cytokine induction of Foxp3. Using mutant mouse models that lack c-Rel, the critical NF-κB transcription factor required for nTreg differentiation, we establish that c-Rel regulates both of these developmental steps. c-Rel controls the generation of nTreg precursors via a haplo-insufficient mechanism, indicating that this step is highly sensitive to c-Rel levels. However, maintenance of c-Rel in an inactive state in nTreg precursors demonstrates that it is not required for a constitutive function in these cells. While the subsequent IL-2 induction of Foxp3 in nTreg precursors requires c-Rel, this developmental transition does not coincide with the nuclear expression of c-Rel. Collectively, our results support a model of nTreg differentiation in which c-Rel generates a permissive state for foxp3 transcription during the development of nTreg precursors that influences the subsequent IL-2 dependent induction of Foxp3 without a need for c-Rel reactivation.

c-Rel deficiency increases caspase-4 expression and leads to ER stress and necrosis in EBV-transformed cells.

LMP1-mediated activation of nuclear factor of kappaB (NF-κB) is critical for the ligand independent proliferation and cell survival of in vitro EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Previous experiments revealed that a majority of LMP1-dependent responses are regulated by NF-κB. However, the extent that individual NF-κB family members are required for these responses, in particular, c-Rel, whose expression is restricted to mature hematopoietic cells, remains unclear. Here we report that low c-Rel expression in LCLs derived from a patient with hyper-IgM syndrome (Pt1), resulted in defects in proliferation and cell survival. In contrast to studies that associated loss of NF-κB with increased apoptosis, Pt1 LCLs failed to initiate apoptosis and alternatively underwent autophagy and necrotic cell death. Whereas the proliferation defect appeared linked to a c-Rel-associated decrease in c-myc expression, identified pro-survival and pro-apoptotic targets were expressed at or near control levels consistent with the absence of apoptosis. Ultrastructural examination of Pt1 LCLs revealed a high level of cellular and ER stress that was further supported by gene expression profiling showing the upregulation of several genes involved in stress and inflammation. Apoptosis-independent cell death was accompanied by increased expression of the inflammatory marker, caspase-4. Using gene overexpression and siRNA knockdown we demonstrated that levels of c-Rel directly modulated expression of caspase-4 as well as other ER stress genes. Overall, these findings reveal the importance of c-Rel in maintaining LCL viability and that decreased expression results in ER stress and a default response leading to necrotic cell death.

The NF-κB transcription factor c-Rel is required for Th17 effector cell development in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease involving effector Th subsets such as Th1 and Th17. In this study, we demonstrate that mice lacking the NF-κB transcription factor family member c-Rel (rel(-/-)), which are known to be resistant to EAE, show impaired Th17 development. Mixed bone marrow chimeras and EAE adoptive transfer experiments show that the deficiency of effector Th17 cells in rel(-/-) mice is T cell intrinsic. Consistent with this finding, c-Rel was activated in response to TCR signaling in the early stages of Th17 development and controlled the expression of Rorc, which encodes the Th17 transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt. CD28, but not IL-2, repression of Th17 development was dependent on c-Rel, implicating a dual role for c-Rel in modulating Th17 development. Adoptive transfer experiments also suggested that c-Rel control of regulatory T cell differentiation and homeostasis influences EAE development and severity by influencing the balance between Th17 and regulatory T cells. Collectively, our findings indicate that in addition to promoting Th1 differentiation, c-Rel regulates the development and severity of EAE via multiple mechanisms that impact on the generation of Th17 cells.

c-Rel promotes type 1 and type 17 immune responses during Leishmania major infection.

Recent studies demonstrated the crucial role of c-Rel in directing Treg lineage commitment and its involvement in T helper 1 (Th1) cell-mediated autoimmune inflammation. We thus wondered whether these opposite functions of c-Rel influence the course of antiparasitic immune responses against Leishmania major, an accepted model for the impact of T-cell subsets on disease outcome. Here we show that c-Rel-deficient (rel(-/-) ) mice infected with L. major displayed dramatically exacerbated leishmaniasis and enhanced parasite burdens. In contrast to WT mice, IFN-γ and IL-17 production in response to L. major antigens was severely impaired in rel(-/-) mice. Reconstitution of Rag1(-/-) T-cell deficient mice with rel(-/-) CD4(+) T cells followed by L. major infection demonstrated that c-Rel-deficient T cells mount normal Th1 responses and are able to contain the infection. Similarly, Th1 differentiation of naïve CD4(+) cells in vitro was normal. Notably, a selective defect in IL-12 and IL-23 production was observed in rel(-/-) DCs compared with their WT counterparts. In conclusion, our data suggest that the expression of c-Rel in myeloid cells is essential for clearance of L. major and that this c-Rel-mediated effect is dominant over the lack of Tregs.

Role of the NF-κB transcription factor c-Rel in the generation of CD8+ T-cell responses to Toxoplasma gondii.

The nuclear factor κB transcription factor c-Rel is exclusively expressed in immune cells and plays a role in numerous cellular functions including proliferation, survival and production of chemokines and cytokines. c-Rel has also been implicated in the regulation of multiple genes involved in innate and adaptive immune responses to the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, in particular IL-12. To better understand how this transcription factor controls the CD8(+) T-cell response to this organism, wild-type (WT) and c-Rel(-/-) mice were challenged with a replication-deficient strain of T. gondii that expresses the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA). These studies revealed that c-Rel was required for optimal primary expansion of OVA-specific CD8(+) T cells and that immunized c-Rel-deficient mice were susceptible to challenge with a virulent strain of T. gondii. However, when c-Rel(-/-) cells specific for OVA were adoptively transferred into a WT recipient, or c-Rel(-/-) mice were treated with IL-12 at the time of immunization, there was no apparent proliferative defect. Surprisingly, upon secondary challenge, antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells in c-Rel(-/-) mice expanded to a much greater degree in terms of frequency as well as numbers when compared with WT mice. Despite this, the cytokine responses of c-Rel(-/-) mice remained defective, consistent with their susceptibility to secondary challenge. Together, these results indicate that in this infection model, the major influence of c-Rel in generation of CD8(+) T-cell responses is through its regulation of the inflammatory environment, rather than playing a substantial T-cell-intrinsic role.

Defective regulation of CXCR2 facilitates neutrophil release from bone marrow causing spontaneous inflammation in severely NF-kappa B-deficient mice.

NF-kappaB is a major regulator of innate and adaptive immunity. Neutrophilic granulocytes (neutrophils) constitutively express RelA/p65 (Rela), c-Rel (Crel), and p50 (Nfkappab1) but not p52 (Nfkappab2) subunits. In this paper, we describe Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) mice that have the most severe genetic neutrophil NF-kappaB deficiency compatible with life, Rela(-/-) mice being embryonic lethal. Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) mice developed spontaneous dermal and intestinal inflammation associated with chronic neutrophilia, elevated CXCL1, and G-CSF. The bone marrow contained fewer nucleated cells and was enriched in myeloid progenitor cells. Neutrophilia was preserved when Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) bone marrow was transferred into wild-type mice, but mixed bone marrow chimeras receiving wild-type and Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) bone marrow showed normal circulating neutrophil numbers, excluding an intrinsic proliferation advantage. In mixed bone marrow chimeras, Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) neutrophils were preferentially mobilized from the bone marrow in response to CXCL1 injection, LPS-induced lung inflammation, and thioglycollate-induced peritonitis. Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) neutrophils expressed higher levels of the CXCL1 receptor CXCR2 both under resting and stimulated conditions and failed to downregulate CXCR2 during inflammation. Treatment with an anti-CXCR2 Ab abolished preferential mobilization of Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) neutrophils in peritonitis in mixed chimeric mice and neutrophilia in Crel(-/-)Nfkappab1(-/-)Rela(+/-) mice. We conclude that severe NF-kappaB deficiency facilitates neutrophil mobilization, which causes elevated numbers of preactivated neutrophils in blood and tissues, leading to spontaneous inflammation. These neutrophil effects may limit the usefulness of global NF-kappaB inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Histone acetyltransferase p300 is a coactivator for transcription factor REL and is C-terminally truncated in the human diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cell line RC-K8.

Human c-Rel (REL) is a member of the NF-kappaB family of transcription factors. REL's normal physiological role is in the regulation of B-cell proliferation and survival. The REL gene is amplified in many human B-cell lymphomas and overexpression of REL can transform chicken lymphoid cells. In this report, histone acetyltransferase p300 enhanced REL-induced transactivation and interacted with REL both in vitro and in REL-transformed chicken spleen cells and the B-lymphoma cell line RC-K8, in which REL is constitutively active and required for proliferation. However, due to a deletion in the EP300 locus, only a C-terminally truncated form of p300 is expressed in RC-K8 cells. These results suggest a role for p300 in REL-mediated oncogenic activity in B lymphoma.

c-Rel, an NF-kappaB family transcription factor, is required for hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity and memory formation.

Transcription is a critical component for consolidation of long-term memory. However, relatively few transcriptional mechanisms have been identified for the regulation of gene expression in memory formation. In the current study, we investigated the activity of one specific member of the NF-kappaB transcription factor family, c-Rel, during memory consolidation. We found that contextual fear conditioning elicited a time-dependent increase in nuclear c-Rel levels in area CA1 and DG of hippocampus. These results suggest that c-rel is active in regulating transcription during memory consolidation. To identify the functional role of c-Rel in memory formation, we characterized c-rel(-/-) mice in several behavioral tasks. c-rel(-/-) mice displayed significant deficits in freezing behavior 24 h after training for contextual fear conditioning but showed normal freezing behavior in cued fear conditioning and in short-term contextual fear conditioning. In a novel object recognition test, wild-type littermate mice exhibited a significant preference for a novel object, but c-rel(-/-) mice did not. These results indicate that c-rel(-/-) mice have impaired hippocampus-dependent memory formation. To investigate the role of c-Rel in long-term synaptic plasticity, baseline synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) at Schaffer collateral synapses in c-rel(-/-) mice was assessed. c-rel(-/-) slices had normal baseline synaptic transmission but exhibited significantly less LTP than did wild-type littermate slices. Together, our results demonstrate that c-Rel is necessary for long-term synaptic potentiation in vitro and hippocampus-dependent memory formation in vivo.

c-Rel is essential for the development of innate and T cell-induced colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammatory response of the gastrointestinal tract mediated in part by an aberrant response to intestinal microflora. Expression of IL-23 subunits p40 and p19 within cells of the innate immune system plays a central role in the development of lower bowel inflammation in response inflammatory challenge. The NF-kappaB subunit c-Rel can regulate expression of IL-12/23 subunits suggesting that it could have a critical role in mediating the development of chronic inflammation within the lower bowel. In this study, we have analyzed the role of c-Rel within the innate immune system in the development of lower bowel inflammation, in two well-studied models of murine colitis. We have found that the absence of c-Rel significantly impaired the ability of Helicobacter hepaticus to induce colitis upon infection of RAG-2-deficient mice, and ameliorated the ability of CD4(+)CD45RB(high) T cells to induce disease upon adoptive transfer into RAG-deficient mice. The absence of c-Rel interfered with the expression of IL-12/23 subunits both in cultured primary macrophages and within the colon. Thus, c-Rel plays a critical role in regulating the innate inflammatory response to microflora within the lower bowel, likely through its ability to modulate expression of IL-12/23 family members.

Hyperexpression of Foxp3 and IDO during acute rejection of islet allografts.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the hypothesis that Foxp3+ cells are an integral component of antiallograft immunity but are dominated by pathogenic effectors. METHODS: Wild-type H-2b C57BL/6 (B6) mice or B6 mice with a targeted disruption of c-Rel gene (c-Rel-/-) were used as recipients of islet grafts from allogeneic DBA/2 (H-2d) mice or syngeneic B6 mice. We developed kinetic quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays and measured intragraft expression of mRNA for Foxp3, IDO, cytolytic molecules, proinflammatory cytokines, and chemokines/receptors. RESULTS: Intraislet levels of mRNA for Foxp3, IDO, CD3, CD25, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, RANTES, IP-10, and CXCR3 were highest in DBA/2 islet allografts from WT B6 recipients compared to DBA/2 islet allografts from c-Rel-/- B6 recipients or syngeneic B6 islet grafts from WT B6 mice. The ratio of granzyme B or IFN-gamma to Foxp3 was higher with the DBA/2 islet allografts from the WT B6 recipients compared to DBA/2 islet allografts from c-Rel-/- B6 recipients or B6 islet grafts from WT B6 recipients. CONCLUSIONS: Foxp3+ cells are an integral component of acute rejection of allografts but may be dominated by pathogenic effectors.

Genome-wide analysis of gene expression in T cells to identify targets of the NF-kappa B transcription factor c-Rel.

It is well established that the NF-kappaB family of transcription factors serves a major role in controlling gene expression in response to T cell activation, but the genome-wide roles of individual family members remain to be determined. c-Rel, a member of the NF-kappaB family, appears to play a specific role in T cell function because T cells from c-Rel(-/-) animals are defective in their response to immune signals. We have used expression profiling to identify sets of genes that are affected by either deletion or overexpression of c-Rel in T cells. Very few of these genes exhibit a strong requirement for c-Rel; rather, c-Rel appears to modulate the expression of a large number of genes in these cells. The sets of c-Rel-affected genes are significantly enriched for genes containing consensus NF-kappaB/Rel sites in their proximal promoter regions. In addition, their promoters contain a higher average density of NF-kappaB/Rel sites compared with all genes represented on the microarrays. A transcriptional module comprised of two closely spaced c-Rel consensus sites is found with higher frequency in the c-Rel-affected gene sets and may represent an important control module for genes regulated by c-Rel or other NF-kappaB family members. We confirmed the importance of these findings on a subgroup of genes by using quantitative PCR to monitor gene expression as well as in vitro c-Rel/DNA binding assays and luciferase reporter assays. The c-Rel-regulated genes identified here support a role for c-Rel in inflammatory responses as well as in the promotion of cell growth and survival.