Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection-induced CD11b+ Gr1+ cells ameliorate allergic airway inflammation.

Allergies are mainly characterized as an unrestrained Th2-biased immune response. Epidemiological data associate protection from allergic diseases with the exposure to certain infectious agents during early stages of life. Modulation of the immune response by pathogens has been considered to be a major factor influencing this protection. Recent evidence indicates that immunoregulatory mechanisms induced upon infection ameliorate allergic disorders. A longitudinal study has demonstrated reduced frequency and incidence of asthma in children who reported a prior infection with Salmonella. Experimental studies involving Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium-infected murine models have confirmed protection from induced allergic airway inflammation; however, the underlying cause leading to this amelioration remains incompletely defined. In this study, we aimed to delineate the regulatory function of Salmonella Typhimurium infection in the amelioration of allergic airway inflammation in mice. We observed a significant increase in CD11b+ Gr1+ myeloid cell populations in mice after infection with S. Typhimurium. Using in vitro and in vivo studies, we confirmed that these myeloid cells reduce airway inflammation by influencing Th2 cells. Further characterization showed that the CD11b+ Gr1+ myeloid cells exhibited their inhibitory effect by altering GATA-3 expression and interleukin-4 (IL-4) production by Th2 cells. These results indicate that the expansion of myeloid cells upon S. Typhimurium infection could potentially play a significant role in curtailing allergic airway inflammation. These findings signify the contribution of myeloid cells in preventing Th2-mediated diseases and suggest their possible application as therapeutics.

In vivo targeting of human DC-SIGN drastically enhances CD8⁺ T-cell-mediated protective immunity.

Vaccination is one of the oldest yet still most effective methods to prevent infectious diseases. However, eradication of intracellular pathogens and treatment of certain diseases like cancer requiring efficient cytotoxic immune responses remain a medical challenge. In mice, a successful approach to induce strong cytotoxic CD8⁺ T-cell (CTL) reactions is to target antigens to DCs using specific antibodies against surface receptors in combination with adjuvants. A major drawback for translating this strategy into one for the clinic is the lack of analogous targets in human DCs. DC-SIGN (DC-specific-ICAM3-grabbing-nonintegrin/CD209) is a C-type lectin receptor with potent endocytic capacity and a highly restricted expression on human immature DCs. Therefore, DC-SIGN represents an ideal candidate for DC targeting. Using transgenic mice that express human DC-SIGN under the control of the murine CD11c promoter (hSIGN mice), we explored the efficacy of anti-DC-SIGN antibodies to target antigens to DCs and induce protective immune responses in vivo. We show that anti-DC-SIGN antibodies conjugated to OVA induced strong and persistent antigen-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell responses, which efficiently protected from infection with OVA-expressing Listeria monocytogenes. Thus, we propose DC targeting via DC-SIGN as a promising strategy for novel vaccination protocols against intracellular pathogens.

Toll-like receptor-2 agonist-allergen coupling efficiently redirects Th2 cell responses and inhibits allergic airway eosinophilia.

Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists beneficially modulate allergic airway inflammation. However, the efficiency of TLR agonists varies considerably, and their exact cellular mechanisms (especially of TLR 2/6 agonists) are incompletely understood. We investigated at a cellular level whether the administration of the pharmacologically improved TLR2/6 agonist S-[2,3-bispalmitoyiloxy-(2R)-propyl]-R-cysteinyl-amido-monomethoxy polyethylene glycol (BPP) conjugated to antigenic peptide (BPP-OVA) could divert an existing Th2 response and influence airway eosinophilia. The effects of BPP-OVA on airway inflammation were assessed in a classic murine sensitization/challenge model and an adoptive transfer model, which involved the adoptive transfer of in vitro differentiated ovalbumin (OVA)-specific Th2 cells. Functional T-cell stimulation by lung dendritic cells (DCs) was determined both in vitro and in vivo, combined with a cytokine secretion analysis. A single mucosal application of BPP-OVA efficiently delivered antigen, led to TLR2-mediated DC activation, and resulted in OVA-specific T-cell proliferation via lung DCs in vivo. In alternative models of allergic airway disease, a single administration of BPP-OVA before OVA challenge (but not BPP alone) significantly reduced airway eosinophilia, most likely through altered antigen-specific T-cell stimulation via DCs. Analyses of adoptively transferred Th2-biased cells after BPP-OVA administration in vivo suggested that BPP-OVA guides antigen-specific Th2 cells to produce significantly higher amounts of IFN-γ upon allergen challenge. In conclusion, our data show for the first time that a single mucosal administration of a TLR 2/6 agonist-allergen conjugate can provoke IFN-γ responses in Th2-biased cells and alleviate allergic airway inflammation.

CD8+ Foxp3+ T cells share developmental and phenotypic features with classical CD4+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells but lack potent suppressive activity.

"Suppressor T cells" were historically defined within the CD8(+) T-cell compartment and recent studies have highlighted several naturally occurring CD8(+) Foxp3(-) Treg populations. However, the relevance of CD8(+) Foxp3(+) T cells, which represent a minor population in both thymi and secondary lymphoid organs of nonmanipulated mice, remains unclear. We here demonstrate that de novo Foxp3 induction in peripheral CD8(+) Foxp3(-) T cells is counter-regulated by DC-mediated co-stimulation via CD80/CD86. CD8(+) Foxp3(+) T cells fail to develop in TCR-transgenic mice with Rag1(-/-) background, similar to classical CD4(+) Foxp3(+) Tregs. Notably, both naturally occurring and induced CD8(+) Foxp3(+) T cells express bona fide Treg markers including CD25, GITR, CTLA4 and CD103, and show defective IFN-γ production upon restimulation when compared with their CD8(+) Foxp3(-) counterparts. However, utilizing DEREG transgenic mice for the isolation of Foxp3(+) cells by eGFP reporter expression, we demonstrate that induced CD8(+) Foxp3(+) T cells similar to activated CD8(+) Foxp3(-) T cells only mildly suppress T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. We therefore categorize CD8(+) Foxp3(+) T cells as a tightly controlled population sharing certain developmental and phenotypic properties with classical CD4(+) Foxp3(+) Tregs, but lacking potent suppressive activity.

Selective depletion of Foxp3+ Treg during sensitization phase aggravates experimental allergic airway inflammation.

Recent studies highlight the role of Treg in preventing unnecessary responses to allergens and maintaining functional immune tolerance in the lung. We investigated the role of Treg during the sensitization phase in a murine model of experimental allergic airway inflammation by selectively depleting the Treg population in vivo. DEpletion of REGulatory T cells (DEREG) mice were depleted of Treg by diphtheria toxin injection. Allergic airway inflammation was induced using OVA as a model allergen. Pathology was assessed by scoring for differential cellular infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage, IgE and IgG1 levels in serum, cytokine secretion analysis of lymphocytes from lung draining lymph nodes and lung histology. Use of DEREG mice allowed us for the first time to track and specifically deplete both CD25(+) and CD25(-) Foxp3(+) Treg, and to analyze their significance in limiting pathology in allergic airway inflammation. We observed that depletion of Treg during the priming phase of an active immune response led to a dramatic exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation in mice, suggesting an essential role played by Treg in regulating immune responses against allergens as early as the sensitization phase via maintenance of functional tolerance.

Optimal isolation of functional Foxp3+ induced regulatory T cells using DEREG mice.

Foxp3 reporter mice including DEREG (DEpletion of REGulatory T cells) mice have greatly helped in exploring the biology of Foxp3(+) Tregs. DEREG mice express a DTR-eGFP fusion protein under the control of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-encoded Foxp3 promoter, allowing the viable isolation and inducible depletion of Foxp3(+) Tregs. Adaptive Tregs differentiated in vitro to express Foxp3 (iTregs) are gaining high interest as potential therapeutics for inflammatory conditions such as autoimmunity, allergy and transplant rejection. However, selective isolation of Foxp3(+) iTregs with a stable phenotype still remains to be a problem, especially in the human setting. While screening for culture conditions to generate stable CD4(+)Foxp3(+) iTregs from DEREG mice, with maximum suppressive activity, we observed an unexpected dichotomy of eGFP and Foxp3 expression which is not seen in ex vivo isolated cells from DEREG mice. Further characterization of eGFP(+)Foxp3(-) cells revealed relatively lower CD25 expression and a lack of suppressive activity in vitro. Similarly, eGFP(-) cells isolated from the same cultures were not suppressive despite of a broad CD25 expression reflecting mere T cell activation. In contrast, eGFP(+)Foxp3(+) iTregs exhibited potent suppressive activity comparable to that of natural eGFP(+)Foxp3(+) Tregs, emphasizing the importance of isolating Foxp3 expressing iTregs. Interestingly, the use of plate-bound anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 or Flt3L-driven BMDC resulted in considerable resolution of the observed dichotomy. In summary, we defined culture conditions for efficient generation of eGFP(+)Foxp3(+) iTregs by use of DEREG mice. Isolation of functional Foxp3(+) iTregs using DEREG mice can also be achieved under sub-optimal conditions based on the magnitude of surface CD25 expression, in synergy with transgene encoded eGFP. Besides, the reported phenomenon may be of general interest for exploring Foxp3 gene regulation, given that Foxp3 and eGFP expression are driven from distinct Foxp3 loci and because this dichotomy preferentially occurs only under defined in vitro conditions.

Absence of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells during allergen provocation does not exacerbate murine allergic airway inflammation.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a non-redundant role in maintenance of immune homeostasis. This is achieved by suppressing both, priming of naïve cells and effector cell functions. Although Tregs have been implicated in modulating allergic immune responses, their influence on distinct phases of development of allergies remains unclear. In this study, by using bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-transgenic Foxp3-DTR (DEREG) mice we demonstrate that the absence of Foxp3(+) Tregs during the allergen challenge surprisingly does not exacerbate allergic airway inflammation in BALB/c mice. As genetic disposition due to strain specificity may contribute significantly to development of allergies, we performed similar experiment in C57BL/6 mice, which are less susceptible to allergy in the model of sensitization used in this study. We report that the genetic background does not influence the consequence of this depletion regimen. These results signify the temporal regulation exerted by Foxp3(+) Tregs in limiting allergic airway inflammation and may influence their application as potential therapeutics.

Dendritic cells derived from HOXB4-immortalized hematopoietic bone marrow cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are essential for the generation and modulation of cell-mediated adaptive immunity against infections. DC-based vaccination involves transplantation of ex vivo-generated DCs loaded with antigen in vitro, but remains limited by the number of autologous or allogeneic cells. While in vitro expansion and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into DCs seems to be the most viable alternative to overcome this problem, the complexity of HSC expansion in vitro has posed significant limitations for clinical application. We immortalized lineage-depleted murine hematopoietic bone marrow (lin(-)BM) cells with HOXB4, and differentiated them into CD11c(+)MHCII(+) DCs. These cells showed the typical DC phenotype and upregulated surface expression of co-stimulatory molecules on stimulation with various toll-like receptor ligands. These DCs efficiently presented exogenous antigen to T-cells via major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I and II and viral antigen on infection. Finally, they showed migratory capacity and were able to generate antigen-specific primed T-cells in vivo. In summary, we provide evidence that HOXB4-transduced lin(-)BM cells can serve as a viable means of generating fully functional DCs for scientific and therapeutic applications.