Transplantation
Abstract
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation induced by the influx of donor-derived effector T cells (TE) into peripheral tissues. Current treatment strategies rely on targeting systemic T cells; however, the precise location and nature of instructions that program TE to become pathogenic and trigger injury are unknown. We therefore used weighted gene coexpression network analysis to construct an unbiased spatial map of TE differentiation during the evolution of GVHD and identified wide variation in effector programs in mice and humans according to location. Idiosyncrasy of effector programming in affected organs did not result from variation in T cell receptor repertoire or the selection of optimally activated TE. Instead, TE were reprogrammed by tissue-autonomous mechanisms in target organs for site-specific proinflammatory functions that were highly divergent from those primed in lymph nodes. In the skin, we combined the correlation-based network with a module-based differential expression analysis and showed that Langerhans cells provided in situ instructions for a Notch-dependent T cell gene cluster critical for triggering local injury. Thus, the principal determinant of TE pathogenicity in GVHD is the final destination, highlighting the need for target organ–specific approaches to block immunopathology while avoiding global immune suppression.
Authors
Pedro Santos e Sousa, Séverine Ciré, Thomas Conlan, Laura Jardine, Claire Tkacz, Ivana R. Ferrer, Cara Lomas, Sophie Ward, Heather West, Simone Dertschnig, Sven Blobner, Terry K. Means, Stephen Henderson, Daniel H. Kaplan, Matthew Collin, Vincent Plagnol, Clare L. Bennett, Ronjon Chakraverty
Abstract
Early acute rejection of human allografts is mediated by circulating alloreactive host effector memory T cells (TEM). TEM infiltration typically occurs across graft postcapillary venules and involves sequential interactions with graft-derived endothelial cells (ECs) and pericytes (PCs). While the role of ECs in allograft rejection has been extensively studied, contributions of PCs to this process are largely unknown. This study aimed to characterize the effects and mechanisms of interactions between human PCs and allogeneic TEM. We report that unstimulated PCs, like ECs, can directly present alloantigen to TEM, but while IFN-γ–activated ECs (γ-ECs) show increased ability to stimulate alloreactive T cells, IFN-γ–activated PCs (γ-PCs) instead suppress TEM proliferation but not cytokine production or signaling. RNA sequencing analysis of PCs, γ-PCs, ECs, and γ-ECs reveal induction of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) in γ-PCs to significantly higher levels than in γ-ECs that correlates with tryptophan depletion in vitro. Consistently, shRNA knockdown of IDO1 markedly reduces γ-PC–mediated immunoregulatory effects. Furthermore, human PCs express IDO1 in a skin allograft rejection humanized mouse model and in human renal allografts with acute T cell–mediated rejection. We conclude that immunosuppressive properties of human PCs are not intrinsic but instead result from IFN-γ–induced IDO1-mediated tryptophan depletion.
Authors
Rebecca Liu, Jonathan Merola, Thomas D. Manes, Lingfeng Qin, Gregory T. Tietjen, Francesc López-Giráldez, Verena Broecker, Caodi Fang, Catherine Xie, Ping-Min Chen, Nancy C. Kirkiles-Smith, Dan Jane-Wit, Jordan S. Pober
Abstract
Recipient endogenous memory T cells with donor reactivity pose an important barrier to successful transplantation and costimulatory blockade–induced graft tolerance. Longer ischemic storage times prior to organ transplantation increase early posttransplant inflammation and negatively impact early graft function and long-term graft outcome. Little is known about the mechanisms enhancing endogenous memory T cell activation to mediate tissue injury within the increased inflammatory environment of allografts subjected to prolonged cold ischemic storage (CIS). Endogenous memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cell activation is markedly increased within complete MHC-mismatched cardiac allografts subjected to prolonged versus minimal CIS, and the memory CD8+ T cells directly mediate CTLA-4Ig–resistant allograft rejection. Memory CD8+ T cell activation within allografts subjected to prolonged CIS requires memory CD4+ T cell stimulation of graft DCs to produce p40 homodimers, but not IL-12 p40/p35 heterodimers. Targeting p40 abrogates memory CD8+ T cell proliferation within the allografts and their ability to mediate CTLA-4Ig–resistant allograft rejection. These findings indicate a critical role for memory CD4+ T cell–graft DC interactions to increase the intensity of endogenous memory CD8+ T cell activation needed to mediate rejection of higher-risk allografts subjected to increased CIS.
Authors
Hidetoshi Tsuda, Charles A. Su, Toshiaki Tanaka, Katayoun Ayasoufi, Booki Min, Anna Valujskikh, Robert L. Fairchild
Abstract
Late allograft failure is characterized by cumulative subclinical insults manifesting over many years. Although immunomodulatory therapies targeting host T cells have improved short-term survival rates, rates of chronic allograft loss remain high. We hypothesized that other immune cell types may drive subclinical injury, ultimately leading to graft failure. We collected whole-genome transcriptome profiles from 15 independent cohorts composed of 1,697 biopsy samples to assess the association of an inflammatory macrophage polarization–specific gene signature with subclinical injury. We applied penalized regression to a subset of the data sets and identified a 3-gene inflammatory macrophage–derived signature. We validated discriminatory power of the 3-gene signature in 3 independent renal transplant data sets with mean AUC of 0.91. In a longitudinal cohort, the 3-gene signature strongly correlated with extent of injury and accurately predicted progression of subclinical injury 18 months before clinical manifestation. The 3-gene signature also stratified patients at high risk of graft failure as soon as 15 days after biopsy. We found that the 3-gene signature also distinguished acute rejection (AR) accurately in 3 heart transplant data sets but not in lung transplant. Overall, we identified a parsimonious signature capable of diagnosing AR, recognizing subclinical injury, and risk-stratifying renal transplant patients. Our results strongly suggest that inflammatory macrophages may be a viable therapeutic target to improve long-term outcomes for organ transplantation patients.
Authors
Tej D. Azad, Michele Donato, Line Heylen, Andrew B. Liu, Shai S. Shen-Orr, Timothy E. Sweeney, Jonathan Scott Maltzman, Maarten Naesens, Purvesh Khatri
Abstract
Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is acute lung injury within 72 hours of lung transplantation. We hypothesized that cell-free hemoglobin (CFH) contributes to PGD by increasing lung microvascular permeability and tested this in patients, ex vivo human lungs, and cultured human lung microvascular endothelial cells. In a nested case control study of 40 patients with severe PGD at 72 hours and 80 matched controls without PGD, elevated preoperative CFH was independently associated with increased PGD risk (odds ratio [OR] 2.75, 95%CI, 1.23–6.16, P = 0.014). The effect of CFH on PGD was magnified by reperfusion fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ≥ 0.40 (OR 3.41, P = 0.031). Isolated perfused human lungs exposed to intravascular CFH (100 mg/dl) developed increased vascular permeability as measured by lung weight (CFH 14.4% vs. control 0.65%, P = 0.047) and extravasation of Evans blue–labeled albumin dye (EBD) into the airspace (P = 0.027). CFH (1 mg/dl) also increased paracellular permeability of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell monolayers (hPMVECs). Hyperoxia (FiO2 = 0.95) increased human lung and hPMVEC permeability compared with normoxia (FiO2 = 0.21). Treatment with acetaminophen (15 μg/ml), a specific hemoprotein reductant, prevented CFH-dependent permeability in human lungs (P = 0.046) and hPMVECs (P = 0.037). In summary, CFH may mediate PGD through oxidative effects on microvascular permeability, which are augmented by hyperoxia and abrogated by acetaminophen.
Authors
Ciara M. Shaver, Nancy Wickersham, J. Brennan McNeil, Hiromasa Nagata, Adam Miller, Stuart R. Landstreet, Jamie L. Kuck, Joshua M. Diamond, David J. Lederer, Steven M. Kawut, Scott M. Palmer, Keith M. Wille, Ann Weinacker, Vibha N. Lama, Maria M. Crespo, Jonathan B. Orens, Pali D. Shah, Chadi A. Hage, Edward Cantu III, Mary K. Porteous, Gundeep Dhillon, John McDyer, Julie A. Bastarache, Jason D. Christie, Lorraine B. Ware, the Lung Transplant Outcomes Group (LTOG)
Abstract
Memory T cells pose a significant problem to successful therapeutic control of unwanted immune responses during autoimmunity and transplantation, as they are differentially controlled by cosignaling receptors such as CD28 and CTLA-4. Treatment with abatacept and belatacept impede CD28 signaling by binding to CD80 and CD86, but they also have the unintended consequence of blocking the ligands for CTLA-4, a process that may inadvertently boost effector responses. Here, we show that a potentially novel anti-CD28 domain antibody (dAb) that selectively blocks CD28 but preserves CTLA-4 coinhibition confers improved allograft survival in sensitized recipients as compared with CTLA-4 Ig. However, both CTLA-4 Ig and anti-CD28 dAb similarly and significantly reduced the accumulation of donor-reactive CD8+ memory T cells, demonstrating that regulation of the expansion of CD8+ memory T cell populations is controlled in part by CD28 signals and is not significantly impacted by CTLA-4. In contrast, selective CD28 blockade was superior to CTLA-4 Ig in inhibiting IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-2 production by CD8+ memory T cells, which in turn resulted in reduced recruitment of innate CD11b+ monocytes into allografts. Importantly, this superiority was CTLA-4 dependent, demonstrating that effector function of CD8+ memory T cells is regulated by the balance of CD28 and CTLA-4 signaling.
Authors
Danya Liu, I. Raul Badell, Mandy L. Ford
Abstract
Lungs allografts have worse long-term survival compared with other organ transplants. This is most likely due to their unique immunoregulation that may not respond to traditional immunosuppression. For example, local NO generation by inducible NOS (iNOS) is critical for lung allograft acceptance but associates with rejection of other solid organs. The source of NO in accepting lung allografts remains unknown. Here, we report that, unlike the case for other pulmonary processes in which myeloid cells control NO generation, recipient-derived eosinophils play a critical and nonredundant role in iNOS-mediated lung allograft acceptance. Depletion of eosinophils reduces NO levels to that of recipients with global deletion of iNOS and leads to a costimulatory blockade–resistant form of rejection. Furthermore, NO production by eosinophils depends on Th1 polarization by inflammatory mediators, such as IFN-γ and TNF-α. Neutralization of such mediators abrogates eosinophil suppressive capacity. Our data point to what we believe to be a unique and previously unrecognized role of eosinophil polarization in mediating allograft tolerance and put into perspective the use of high-dose eosinophil-ablating corticosteroids after lung transplantation.
Authors
Oscar Okwudiri Onyema, Yizhan Guo, Qing Wang, Mark H. Stoler, Christine Lau, Kang Li, Christopher Daniel Nazaroff, Xingan Wang, Wenjun Li, Daniel Kreisel, Andrew E. Gelman, James J. Lee, Elizabeth A. Jacobsen, Alexander Sasha Krupnick
Abstract
Tregs hold great promise as a cellular therapy for multiple immunologically mediated diseases, given their ability to control immune responses. The success of such strategies depends on the expansion of healthy, suppressive Tregs ex vivo and in vivo following the transfer. In clinical studies, levels of transferred Tregs decline sharply in the blood within a few days of the transfer. Tregs have a high rate of apoptosis. Here, we describe a new mechanism of Treg self-inflicted damage. We show that granzymes A and -B (GrA and GrB), which are highly upregulated in human Tregs upon stimulation, leak out of cytotoxic granules to induce cleavage of cytoplasmic and nuclear substrates, precipitating apoptosis in target cells. GrA and GrB substrates were protected from cleavage by inhibiting granzyme activity in vitro. Additionally, we show — by using cytometry by time of flight (CYTOF) — an increase in GrB-expressing Tregs in the peripheral blood and renal allografts of transplant recipients undergoing rejection. These GrB-expressing Tregs showed an activated phenotype but were significantly more apoptotic than non–GrB expressing Tregs. This potentially novel finding improves our understanding of Treg survival and suggests that manipulating Gr expression or activity might be useful for designing more effective Treg therapies.
Authors
Esilida Sula Karreci, Siawosh K. Eskandari, Farokh Dotiwala, Sujit K. Routray, Ahmed T. Kurdi, Jean Pierre Assaker, Pavlo Luckyanchykov, Albana B. Mihali, Omar Maarouf, Thiago J. Borges, Abdullah Alkhudhayri, Kruti R. Patel, Amr Radwan, Irene Ghobrial, Martina McGrath, Anil Chandraker, Leonardo V. Riella, Wassim Elyaman, Reza Abdi, Judy Lieberman, Jamil Azzi
Abstract
It is currently controversially discussed whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) facilitate cartilage regeneration in vivo by a progenitor- or a nonprogenitor-mediated mechanism. Here, we describe a potentially novel unbiased in vivo cell tracking system based on transgenic donor and corresponding immunocompetent marker–tolerant recipient mouse and rat lines in inbred genetic backgrounds. Tolerance of recipients was achieved by transgenic expression of an immunologically neutral but physicochemically distinguishable variant of the marker human placental alkaline phosphatase (ALPP). In this dual transgenic system, donor lines ubiquitously express WT, heat-resistant ALPP protein, whereas recipient lines express a heat-labile ALPP mutant (ALPPE451G) resulting from a single amino acid substitution. Tolerance of recipient lines to ALPP-expressing cells and tissues was verified by skin transplantation. Using this model, we show that intraarticularly injected MSC contribute to regeneration of articular cartilage in full-thickness cartilage defects mainly via a nonprogenitor-mediated mechanism.
Authors
Daniela Zwolanek, María Satué, Verena Proell, José R. Godoy, Kathrin I. Odörfer, Magdalena Flicker, Sigrid C. Hoffmann, Thomas Rülicke, Reinhold G. Erben
Abstract
Cellular therapies based on permanent genetic modification of conventional T cells have emerged as a promising strategy for cancer. However, it remains unknown if modification of T cell subsets, such as Tregs, could be useful in other settings, such as allograft transplantation. Here, we use a modular system based on a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that binds covalently modified mAbs to control Treg activation in vivo. Transient expression of this mAb-directed CAR (mAbCAR) in Tregs permitted Treg targeting to specific tissue sites and mitigated allograft responses, such as graft-versus-host disease. mAbCAR Tregs targeted to MHC class I proteins on allografts prolonged islet allograft survival and also prolonged the survival of secondary skin grafts specifically matched to the original islet allograft. Thus, transient genetic modification to produce mAbCAR T cells led to durable immune modulation, suggesting therapeutic targeting strategies for controlling alloreactivity in settings such as organ or tissue transplantation.
Authors
Antonio Pierini, Bettina P. Iliopoulou, Heshan Peiris, Magdiel Pérez-Cruz, Jeanette Baker, Katie Hsu, Xueying Gu, Ping-Ping Zheng, Tom Erkers, Sai-Wen Tang, William Strober, Maite Alvarez, Aaron Ring, Andrea Velardi, Robert S. Negrin, Seung K. Kim, Everett H. Meyer
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