CD4+ regulatory T cells lacking Helios and Eos.

The transcriptional regulators that drive regulatory T (Treg) cell development and function remain partially understood. Helios (Ikzf2) and Eos (Ikzf4) are closely-related members of the Ikaros family of transcription factors. They are highly expressed in CD4+ Treg cells and functionally important for Treg cell biology, as mice deficient for either Helios or Eos are susceptible to autoimmune diseases. However, it remains unknown if these factors exhibit specific or partially redundant functions in Treg cells. Here we show that mice with germline deletions of both Ikzf2 and Ikzf4 are not very different from animals with single Ikzf2 or Ikzf4 deletions. Double knockout Treg cells differentiate normally, and efficiently suppress effector T cell proliferation in vitro. Both Helios and Eos are required for optimal Foxp3 protein expression. Surprisingly, Helios and Eos regulate different, largely non-overlapping, sets of genes. Only Helios is required for proper Treg cell aging, as Helios deficiency results in reduced Treg cell frequencies in the spleen of older animals. These results indicate that Helios and Eos are required for distinct aspects of Treg cell function.

CD4+ T cells require Ikaros to inhibit their differentiation toward a pathogenic cell fate.

The production of proinflammatory cytokines, particularly granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), by pathogenic CD4+ T cells is central for mediating tissue injury in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the factors regulating the T cell pathogenic gene expression program remain unclear. Here, we investigated how the Ikaros transcription factor regulates the global gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes in murine T cells during Th17 polarization and after activation via the T cell receptor (TCR) and CD28. We found that, in both conditions, Ikaros represses the expression of genes from the pathogenic signature, particularly Csf2, which encodes GM-CSF. We show that, in TCR/CD28-activated T cells, Ikaros binds a critical enhancer downstream of Csf2 and is required to regulate chromatin accessibility at multiple regions across this locus. Genome-wide Ikaros binding is associated with more compact chromatin, notably at multiple sites containing NFκB or STAT5 target motifs, and STAT5 or NFκB inhibition prevents GM-CSF production in Ikaros-deficient cells. Importantly, Ikaros also limits GM-CSF production in TCR/CD28-activated human T cells. Our data therefore highlight a critical conserved transcriptional mechanism that antagonizes GM-CSF expression in T cells.

Correction: Ikaros antagonizes DNA binding by STAT5 in pre-B cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242211.].

[Impact of patient testimony in the education of medicine and pharmacy students]. / Patients acteurs et formation en oncologie pour futurs médecins et pharmaciens.

The initiative from patients suffering from cancer or having had the disease in speaking about their illness to medical students during an internship in a cancer control center of the faculty of medicine and to pharmacy students at the university of Strasbourg was implemented in 2014. This action was coordinated by the French Cancer League as part of the National French cancer plan 3. After training, ten patients teachers were able to freely and spontaneously explain their diagnostic and therapeutic journey as well as their feelings about the disease and their relationship with their oncologists in front of 187 medical students and 131 pharmacy students. A moderator, often a former cancer teacher, helped coordinate the discussions. Questionnaires were given to students, patients teachers and moderators in order to assess the merits of the action and the expected benefits at the end of the training. A second questionnaire was sent to the students six months after the interviews. The assessment was made by an independent firm. The students' responses were very favorable and this training met their expectations in almost 98% of the cases and 1/3 of the students were destabilized by this training. Patients teacher were very satisfied with their intervention and felt that they were able to convey a message. Six months later, the 30% of student respondents said that these testimonies had or could have an impact on their practices. This is the first assessment of the interest of resource patients in teaching cancer patients about medical and pharmacy students.

Ikaros antagonizes DNA binding by STAT5 in pre-B cells.

The IKZF1 gene, which encodes the Ikaros transcription factor, is frequently deleted or mutated in patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemias that express oncogenes, like BCR-ABL, which activate the JAK-STAT5 pathway. Ikaros functionally antagonizes the transcriptional programs downstream of IL-7/STAT5 during B cell development, as well as STAT5 activity in leukemic cells. However, the mechanisms by which Ikaros interferes with STAT5 function is unknown. We studied the genomic distribution of Ikaros and STAT5 on chromatin in a murine pre-B cell line, and found that both proteins colocalize on >60% of STAT5 target regions. Strikingly, Ikaros activity leads to widespread loss of STAT5 binding at most of its genomic targets within two hours of Ikaros induction, suggesting a direct mechanism. Ikaros did not alter the level of total or phosphorylated STAT5 proteins, nor did it associate with STAT5. Using sequences from the Cish, Socs2 and Bcl6 genes that Ikaros and STAT5 target, we show that both proteins bind overlapping sequences at GGAA motifs. Our results demonstrate that Ikaros antagonizes STAT5 DNA binding, in part by competing for common target sequences. Our study has implications for understanding the functions of Ikaros and STAT5 in B cell development and transformation.

Sumoylation Inhibits the Growth Suppressive Properties of Ikaros.

The Ikaros transcription factor is a tumor suppressor that is also important for lymphocyte development. How post-translational modifications influence Ikaros function remains partially understood. We show that Ikaros undergoes sumoylation in developing T cells that correspond to mono-, bi- or poly-sumoylation by SUMO1 and/or SUMO2/3 on three lysine residues (K58, K240 and K425). Sumoylation occurs in the nucleus and requires DNA binding by Ikaros. Sumoylated Ikaros is less effective than unsumoylated forms at inhibiting the expansion of murine leukemic cells, and Ikaros sumoylation is abundant in human B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemic cells, but not in healthy peripheral blood leukocytes. Our results suggest that sumoylation may be important in modulating the tumor suppressor function of Ikaros.

Ikaros Is a Negative Regulator of B1 Cell Development and Function.

B1 B cells secrete most of the circulating natural antibodies and are considered key effector cells of the innate immune response. However, B1 cell-associated antibodies often cross-react with self-antigens, which leads to autoimmunity, and B1 cells have been implicated in cancer. How B1 cell activity is regulated remains unclear. We show that the Ikaros transcription factor is a major negative regulator of B1 cell development and function. Using conditional knock-out mouse models to delete Ikaros at different locations, we show that Ikaros-deficient mice exhibit specific and significant increases in splenic and bone marrow B1 cell numbers, and that the B1 progenitor cell pool is increased ∼10-fold in the bone marrow. Ikaros-null B1 cells resemble WT B1 cells at the molecular and cellular levels, but show a down-regulation of signaling components important for inhibiting proliferation and immunoglobulin production. Ikaros-null B1 cells hyper-react to TLR4 stimulation and secrete high amounts of IgM autoantibodies. These results indicate that Ikaros is required to limit B1 cell homeostasis in the adult.

The tumor suppressor Ikaros shapes the repertoire of notch target genes in T cells.

The Notch signaling pathway is activated in many cell types, but its effects are cell type- and stage-specific. In the immune system, Notch activity is required for the differentiation of T cell progenitors, but it is reduced in more mature thymocytes, in which Notch is oncogenic. Studies based on single-gene models have suggested that the tumor suppressor protein Ikaros plays an important role in repressing the transcription of Notch target genes. We used genome-wide analyses, including chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, to identify genes controlled by Notch and Ikaros in gain- and loss-of-function experiments. We found that Ikaros bound to and directly repressed the expression of most genes that are activated by Notch. Specific deletion of Ikaros in thymocytes led to the persistent expression of Notch target genes that are essential for T cell maturation, as well as the rapid development of T cell leukemias in mice. Expression of Notch target genes that are normally silent in T cells, but are activated by Notch in other cell types, occurred in T cells of mice genetically deficient in Ikaros. We propose that Ikaros shapes the timing and repertoire of the Notch transcriptional response in T cells through widespread targeting of elements adjacent to Notch regulatory sequences. These results provide a molecular framework for understanding the regulation of tissue-specific and tumor-related Notch responses.

Arthritogenic monoclonal antibodies from K/BxN mice.

Arthritis in the K/BxN mouse model is provoked by pathogenic antibodies (Abs) directed against a ubiquitously expressed protein, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI). To begin dissecting the repertoire of arthritogenic immunoglobulins (Igs) in the K/BxN model, and to provide a basis for comparison with RA patients we have generated anti-GPI monoclonal Abs (mAbs) from spontaneously activated B cells in the lymphoid organs of arthritic mice. B cell clones with anti-GPI specificities were present at extraordinarily high frequencies in the spleen, and less frequently in other lymphoid organs and in the synovial fluid. None of the anti-GPI mAbs induced arthritis when injected individually into healthy recipients, but most were effective when combined in pairs or larger pools. Arthritogenic combinations depended on mAbs of the IgG1 isotype, which bound to GPI with Kd in the 10(-9) M range, with no indication of cooperative binding between complementing pairs. Pathogenicity was not associated with recognition of a particular epitope, but the ability to form mAb/GPI multimers by simultaneous recognition of different epitopes was clearly required, consistent with the known role of complement and FcRs in this model. Sequence analysis revealed structural similarities amongst the mAbs, indicating that a particular subset of B cells may evade tolerance in K/BxN mice, and that affinity maturation by somatic mutation likely takes place. These results confirm that GPI itself, rather than a cross-reactive molecule, is the target of pathogenic Igs.