RESUMO
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is a non-classical HLA class I molecule with known immune-modulatory functions. Our group identified a subset of human dendritic cells, named DC-10, that induce adaptive interleukin-10-producing T regulatory type 1 (Tr1) cells via the interleukin-10-dependent HLA-G/ILT4 pathway. In this study we aimed at defining the role of HLA-G in DC-10-mediated Tr1 cell differentiation. We analyzed phenotype, functions, and genetic variations in the 3' untranslated region of the HLA-G locus of in vitro-differentiated DC-10 from 67 healthy donors. We showed that HLA-G expression on DC-10 is donor-dependent. Functional studies demonstrated that DC-10, independently of HLA-G expression, secrete interleukin-10 and negligible levels of interleukin-12. Interestingly, DC-10 with high HLA-G promote allo-specific anergic T cells that contain a significantly higher frequency of Tr1 cells, defined as interleukin-10-producing (P=0.0121) or CD49b(+)LAG-3(+) (P=0.0031) T cells, compared to DC-10 with low HLA-G. We found that the HLA-G expression on DC-10 is genetically imprinted, being associated with specific variations in the 3' untranslated region of the gene, and it may be finely tuned by microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation. These data highlight the important role of HLA-G in boosting DC-10 tolerogenic activity and confirm that interleukin-10 production by DC-10 is necessary but not sufficient to promote Tr1 cells at high frequency. These new insights into the role of HLA-G in DC-10-mediated induction of Tr1 cells provide additional information for clinical use in Tr1- or DC-10-based cell therapy approaches.
Assuntos
Células Dendríticas/imunologia , Células Dendríticas/metabolismo , Expressão Gênica , Antígenos HLA-G/genética , Tolerância Imunológica/genética , Regiões 3' não Traduzidas , Alelos , Diferenciação Celular , Anergia Clonal/genética , Anergia Clonal/imunologia , Citocinas/biossíntese , Células Dendríticas/citologia , Frequência do Gene , Genótipo , Antígenos HLA-G/metabolismo , Humanos , Imunofenotipagem , Glicoproteínas de Membrana/genética , Glicoproteínas de Membrana/metabolismo , MicroRNAs/genética , Subpopulações de Linfócitos T/citologia , Subpopulações de Linfócitos T/imunologia , Subpopulações de Linfócitos T/metabolismoRESUMO
In a cohort of ß-Thalassemia (ß-Thal) transplanted with haploidentical-HSCT we identified one transplanted patient characterized by persistent mixed chimerism (PMC) for several months after HSCT. In this unique ß-Thal patient we assessed the donor engraftment overtime after transplantation, the potential loss of the non-shared HLA haplotype, and the presence of CD49b(+)LAG-3(+) T regulatory type 1 (Tr1) cells, previously demonstrated to be associated with PMC after HLA-related HSCT for ß-Thal. The majority of the patient's erythrocytes were of donor origin, whereas T cells were initially mostly derived from the recipient, no HLA loss, but an increased frequency of circulating Tr1 cells were observed. For the first time, we showed that when the proportion of residual donor cells decreases, the frequency of CD49b(+)LAG-3(+) Tr1 cells declines, reaching the levels present in healthy subjects. These findings confirm previous results obtained in transplant related settings for ß-Thal, and supported the central role of Tr1 cells in promoting and maintaining PMC after allo-HSCT.
