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Treg suppression of immunity within inflamed allogeneic grafts
Hehua Dai, … , Simon C. Watkins, Geoffrey Camirand
Hehua Dai, … , Simon C. Watkins, Geoffrey Camirand
Published July 26, 2022
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2022;7(16):e160579. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.160579.
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Research Article Immunology Transplantation

Treg suppression of immunity within inflamed allogeneic grafts

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Abstract

CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) restrain inflammation and immunity. However, the mechanisms underlying Treg suppressor function in inflamed nonlymphoid tissues remain largely unexplored. Here, we restricted immune responses to nonlymphoid tissues and used intravital microscopy to visualize Treg suppression of rejection by effector T cells (Teffs) within inflamed allogeneic islet transplants. Despite their elevated motility, Tregs preferentially contacted antigen-presenting cells (APCs) over Teffs. Interestingly, Tregs specifically targeted APCs that were extensively and simultaneously contacted by Teffs. In turn, Tregs decreased MHC-II expression on APCs and hindered Teff function. Last, we demonstrate that Treg suppressive function within inflamed allografts required ectonucleotidase CD73 activity, which generated the antiinflammatory adenosine. Consequently, CD73–/– Tregs exhibited fewer contacts with APCs within inflamed allografts compared with WT Tregs, but not in spleen. Overall, our findings demonstrate that Tregs suppress immunity within inflamed grafts through CD73 activity and suggest that Treg-APC direct contacts are central to this process.

Authors

Hehua Dai, Andressa Pena, Lynne Bauer, Amanda Williams, Simon C. Watkins, Geoffrey Camirand

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Figure 6

Treg suppressive function within allografts is dependent on the ectonucleotidase CD73.

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Treg suppressive function within allografts is dependent on the ectonucl...
(A) WT and CD73–/– Tregs are equally suppressive in vitro (results from 2 experiments). Kruskal-Wallis tests used. (B) CD73–/– Tregs fail to protect from rejection within allografts. Graft survival in mice lacking SLOs bearing islet allografts (as in Figure 1A) received cells as indicated. Teff and Teff + WT Treg data are from Figure 1B. Log-rank Mantel-Cox tests used. (C) Time-lapse IVM of Teffs + CD73–/– Tregs within transplanted islets 4 days after cell transfer. Representative stills (left) and tracking of individual Teffs and Tregs (lines in right panels). Tracking line color changes to cyan (for Teffs) or magenta (for Tregs) when in contact with other cells as indicated in each panel. IVM of Teffs + CD73–/– Tregs was performed in setups where Tregs were nonvisible (top panel) or visible (GFP; bottom) to allow automated quantification of Teff contacts (see Methods). (D) Teff and Treg velocity from movies in C (Teffs + CD73–/– Tregs) and Figure 3A (Teffs + WT Tregs). Teff + WT Treg data are from Figure 3B. (E) CD73–/– Tregs contacted CD11c+ APCs significantly less than WT Tregs. Teff, WT Tregs, and CD73–/– Treg contact indexes from movies as in D and from Figure 3C. Mann-Whitney tests used (D and E). (F) The behavior of WT Tregs and CD73–/– Tregs within allografts further differs at subpopulation levels. ViSNE multiparameter clustering of Treg tracks as in D (left), relative value of IVM parameters used in viSNE within each Treg cluster (middle), and frequency distribution of Treg clusters (right). Bottom left: Treg contact index values in viSNE plots. n = 3 mice per group using ≥2 movies per mouse. For each movie, an average of 1120 Teffs and 500 Tregs were analyzed. Squares in D and E represent mean values from individual movies. Horizontal bars show median. *P < 0.05.

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