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Endothelial MHC expression is required to initiate T cell–mediated rejection of 3D-printed skin grafts
Zuzana Tobiasova, Esen Sefik, Lingfeng Qin, Jennifer M. McNiff, Gwendolyn Davis, Richard A. Flavell, W. Mark Saltzman, Jordan S. Pober
Zuzana Tobiasova, Esen Sefik, Lingfeng Qin, Jennifer M. McNiff, Gwendolyn Davis, Richard A. Flavell, W. Mark Saltzman, Jordan S. Pober
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Research Article Immunology Vascular biology

Endothelial MHC expression is required to initiate T cell–mediated rejection of 3D-printed skin grafts

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Abstract

Vascularized skins were 3D printed using single donor human fibroblasts, pericytes, keratinocytes, and endothelial cells (ECs), the latter either unmodified (WT-ECs) or deleted of MHC molecules (KO-ECs). Adult MISTRG6 immunodeficient mice neonatally inoculated with adult human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) received printed skin allogeneic to the HSCs and were boosted 3 weeks after grafting with human PBMCs autologous to the HSCs. HSC inoculation alone produced low levels of circulating human myeloid and lymphoid cells without affecting grafts; PBMC boosting dramatically increased circulating human CD4+ T cells and boosted CD8+ T cells only in mice with WT-EC grafts. These grafts became infiltrated by human macrophages, dendritic cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and showed evidence of rejection. Shared T cell clones were present in skin and spleen. KO-EC grafts had minimal infiltration of graft or spleen without rejection, despite MHC molecule expression on other graft cell types.

Authors

Zuzana Tobiasova, Esen Sefik, Lingfeng Qin, Jennifer M. McNiff, Gwendolyn Davis, Richard A. Flavell, W. Mark Saltzman, Jordan S. Pober

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Figure 4

3D-printed skin-infiltrating cells.

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3D-printed skin-infiltrating cells.
(A and B) IHC staining of CD45RO sho...
(A and B) IHC staining of CD45RO shows massive expansion of memory T cells in WT-EC skin+PBMC– but not in KO-EC skin+PBMC–implanted skin grafts (HSC+skin, n = 4, 0 ± 0 cells/field vs. HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin, n = 8, 221.25 ± 131.49 cells/field, P = 0.006, HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin vs. HSC+PBMC+KO-EC skin, n = 3, 33.67 ± 33.5 cells/field, P = 0.007). (C and D) Similar presence of CD4 lymphocytes found in WT+EC skin+PBMC or HSC+PBMC+KO-EC skin grafts (HSC+skin, n = 4, 0.12 ± 0.25 cells/field vs. HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin n = 8, 7.98 ± 6.04, P = 0.02). (E and F) Massive expansion of CD8 lymphocytes in the HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin group as compared with the HSC+skin or HSC+PBMC+KO-EC skin groups (HSC+skin, n = 5, 2.4 ± 2.3 cells/field vs. HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin, n = 8, 130.46 ± 117.73 cells/field, P = 0.04; HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin vs. HSC+PBMC+KO-EC skin, n = 5, 12.18 ± 10.06 cells/field, P = 0.04). (G) 3D-printed skin-infiltrating CD8 lymphocytes show Granzyme B positivity. (H and I) IHC staining of CD68 shows infiltration of skin grafts by macrophages present in all 3 PBMC+skin, WT-EC skin+PBMC and KO-EC skin+PBMC implanted skin grafts. (J) Stable circulating human myeloid cells (CD33+ cells) at weekly assessment for 4 weeks. (K and L) CD11c/CD68 double staining revealed infiltrating dendritic cell populations in WT-EC but not KO-EC skin mice (CD68: PBMC+skin, n = 6, 79.83 ± 43.41 cells/field; WT-EC skin+PBMC, n = 7, 54.14 ± 41.69 cells/field and KO-EC skin+PBMC, n = 4, 24.5 ± 24.24 cells/field; CD11c: HSC+skin, n = 3, 4.66 ± 4.62 cells/field vs. HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin, n = 5, 59.9 ± 30.7 cells/field, P = 0.02, HSC+PBMC+WT-EC skin vs. HSC+PBMC+KO-EC skin, n = 5, 5.8 ± 10.87 cells/field, P = 0.02). Statistical analysis was performed using Welch’s unpaired t test and Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple comparisons. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. Means, SDs, and multiple comparison–corrected P values are described. Original magnification, ×40 (G). Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Values are shown as mean ± SD.

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