Nonlinear partial differential equations and applications: In vivo dynamics of T cell activation, proliferation, and death in HIV-1 infection: Why are CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells depleted?

Background4-1BB (CD137) is a co-stimulatory receptor that stimulates the function of multiple immune cells. Its ability to induce potent anti-tumor activity makes 4-1BB an attractive target for immuno-oncology. However, clinical development of a monospecific 4-1BB agonistic antibody has been hampered by dose-limiting hepatic toxicities. To minimize systemic toxicities, we have developed a novel Claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2) x 4-1BB bispecific antibody, TJ-CD4B (ABL111) that stimulates 4-1BB pathway only when it engages with Claudin 18.2, a tumor-associated antigen specifically expressed in gastrointestinal cancers. TJ-CD4B (ABL111) is now being evaluated in patients with advanced solid tumors in a first-in-human trial (NCT04900818).MethodsTJ-CD4B (ABL111) was evaluated in vivo using the human 4-1BB knock-in mice bearing CLDN18.2 expressing MC38 tumor cells. Pharmacodynamic effects upon treatment were characterized in tumor tissue and blood. Immunophenotyping of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and peripheral blood was performed by flow cytometry. Soluble biomarkers were measured using Luminex-based multiplex assay. In-depth gene expression analysis was performed on primary human CD8+ T cells that were co-cultured with CLDN18.2 expressing cells in the presence of anti-CD3 using NanoString nCounter®. Pharmacokinetic (PK) and toxicity study were performed in cynomolgus monkeys.ResultsTJ-CD4B (ABL111) elicited complete tumor regression in 13 out of 18 MC38 tumor bearing mice given at a dose above 2 mg/kg. Dose-dependent anti-tumor activity was associated with enhanced T cell activation in TME and expansion of memory T cells in the peripheral blood. Increased CD8+ T cells number and proliferation were observed in both tumor nest and surrounding stroma while the level of soluble 4-1BB in the serum was also elevated in response to the treatment. In vitro gene expression analysis by Nanostring revealed TJ-CD4B(ABL111) effectively activated immune pathways characterized by IFN?-signaling and T cell inflammation. Preclinically, TJ-CD4B was well tolerated at the repeated doses up to 100 mg/kg/wk in cynomolgus monkeys without the adverse influence on the liver function which is generally affected by 4-1BB activation. Besides, no cytokine release or immune activation was observed in the periphery.ConclusionsTJ-CD4B (ABL111) is a novel CLDN18.2 dependent 4-1BB bispecific agonist antibody that induced T cell activation and memory response in tumor with CLDN18.2 expression, leading to a strong anti-tumor activity in vivo. TJ-CD4B did not induce systemic immune response nor hepatic toxicity due to the CLDN18.2 dependent 4-1BB stimulation. These data warrant the current clinical development in phase I trial to validate the safety properties and tumor specific responses.

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Tumor masses support naive T cell infiltration, activation, and differentiation into effectors

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.20092454 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 207 (8) ◽

pp. 1791-1804 ◽

Cited By ~ 134

Author(s):

Elizabeth D. Thompson ◽

Hilda L. Enriquez ◽

Yang-Xin Fu ◽

Victor H. Engelhard

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cells ◽

Adoptive Transfer ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽

T Cell Infiltration

Studies of T cell responses to tumors have focused on the draining lymph node (LN) as the site of activation. We examined the tumor mass as a potential site of activation after adoptive transfer of naive tumor-specific CD8 T cells. Activated CD8 T cells were present in tumors within 24 h of adoptive transfer and proliferation of these cells was also evident 4–5 d later in mice treated with FTY720 to prevent infiltration of cells activated in LNs. To confirm that activation of these T cells occurred in the tumor and not the tumor-draining LNs, we used mice lacking LNs. Activated and proliferating tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were evident in these mice 24 h and 4 d after naive cell transfer. T cells activated within tumors acquired effector function that was evident both ex vivo and in vivo. Both cross-presenting antigen presenting cells within the tumor and tumor cells directly presenting antigen activated these functional CD8 effectors. We conclude that tumors support the infiltration, activation, and effector differentiation of naive CD8 T cells, despite the presence of immunosuppressive mechanisms. Thus, targeting of T cell activation to tumors may present a tool in the development of cancer immunotherapy.

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Immunologic ignorance of vascular endothelial cells expressing minor histocompatibility antigen

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2007-09-114769 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 111 (9) ◽

pp. 4588-4595 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Beatrice Bolinger ◽

Philippe Krebs ◽

Yinghua Tian ◽

Daniel Engeler ◽

Elke Scandella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Endothelial Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cells ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Histocompatibility Antigen ◽

Target Cells ◽

Minor Histocompatibility Antigen

Abstract Endothelial cells (ECs) presenting minor histocompatibility antigen (mhAg) are major target cells for alloreactive effector CD8+ T cells during chronic transplant rejection and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The contribution of ECs to T-cell activation, however, is still a controversial issue. In this study, we have assessed the antigen-presenting capacity of ECs in vivo using a transgenic mouse model with beta-galactosidase (β-gal) expression confined to the vascular endothelium (Tie2-LacZ mice). In a GVHD-like setting with adoptive transfer of β-gal–specific T-cell receptor–transgenic T cells, β-gal expression by ECs was not sufficient to either activate or tolerize CD8+ T cells. Likewise, transplantation of fully vascularized heart or liver grafts from Tie2-LacZ mice into nontransgenic recipients did not suffice to activate β-gal–specific CD8+ T cells, indicating that CD8+ T-cell responses against mhAg cannot be initiated by ECs. Moreover, we could show that spontaneous activation of β-gal–specific CD8+ T cells in Tie2-LacZ mice was exclusively dependent on CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs), demonstrating that mhAgs presented by ECs remain immunologically ignored unless presentation by DCs is granted.

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Activation of virus replication after vaccination of HIV-1-infected individuals.

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.182.6.1727 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 182 (6) ◽

pp. 1727-1737 ◽

Cited By ~ 220

Author(s):

S I Staprans ◽

B L Hamilton ◽

S E Follansbee ◽

T Elbeik ◽

P Barbosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Steady State ◽

T Cell ◽

T Lymphocytes ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Vaccine Antigens ◽

Steady State Levels ◽

Hiv 1

Little is known about the factors that govern the level of HIV-1 replication in infected individuals. Recent studies (using potent antiviral drugs) of the kinetics of HIV-1 replication in vivo have demonstrated that steady-state levels of viremia are sustained by continuous rounds of de novo infection and the associated rapid turnover of CD4+ T lymphocytes. However, no information is available concerning the biologic variables that determine the size of the pool of T cells that are susceptible to virus infection or the amount of virus produced from infected cells. Furthermore, it is not known whether all CD4+ T lymphocytes are equally susceptible to HIV-1 infection at a given time or whether the infection is focused on cells of a particular state of activation or antigenic specificity. Although HIV-1 replication in culture is known to be greatly facilitated by T cell activation, the ability of specific antigenic stimulation to augment HIV-1 replication in vivo has not been studied. We sought to determine whether vaccination of HIV-1-infected adults leads to activation of virus replication and the targeting of vaccine antigen-responsive T cells for virus infection and destruction. Should T cell activation resulting from exposure to environmental antigens prove to be an important determinant of the steady-state levels of HIV-1 replication in vivo and lead to the preferential loss of specific populations of CD4+ T lymphocytes, it would have significant implications for our understanding of and therapeutic strategies for HIV-1 disease. To begin to address these issues, HIV-1-infected individuals and uninfected controls were studied by measurement of immune responses to influenza antigens and quantitation of virion-associated plasma HIV-1 RNA levels at baseline and at intervals after immunization with the trivalent influenza vaccine. Influenza vaccination resulted in readily demonstrable but transient increases in plasma HIV-1 RNA levels, indicative of activation of viral replication, in HIV-1-infected individuals with preserved ability to immunologically respond to vaccine antigens. Activation of HIV-1 replication by vaccination was more often seen and of greater magnitude in individuals who displayed a T cell proliferative response to vaccine antigens at baseline and in those who mounted a significant serologic response after vaccination. The fold increase in viremia, as well as the rates of increase of HIV-1 in plasma after vaccination and rates of viral decline after peak viremia, were higher in individuals with higher CD4+ T cell counts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Specific Circulating CD8 T Lymphocytes Have Down-Modulated CD3ζ and CD28, Key Signaling Molecules for T-Cell Activation

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.74.16.7320-7330.2000 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 74 (16) ◽

pp. 7320-7330 ◽

Cited By ~ 86

Author(s):

Linda A. Trimble ◽

Premlata Shankar ◽

Mark Patterson ◽

Johanna P. Daily ◽

Judy Lieberman

Keyword(s):

Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cells ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cell ◽

Cd8 T Lymphocytes ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus

ABSTRACT Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects without AIDS have a high frequency of HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocytes, cellular immunity is unable to control infection. Freshly isolated lymphocytes often do not lyse HIV-infected targets in 4-h cytotoxicity assays. A large fraction of circulating CD8 T cells from HIV-infected donors down-modulate CD3ζ, the signaling component of the T-cell receptor complex, which is reexpressed in vitro coincident with the return of cytotoxic function. To investigate further the link between CD3ζ down-modulation and possible CD8 T-cell functional defects, we used flow cytometry to characterize further the properties of the CD3ζ-down-modulated subset. HIV-specific CD8 T cells, identified by tetramer staining, are CD3ζ−. CD8 T cells with down-modulated CD3ζ also do not express the key costimulatory receptor CD28 and have the cell surface phenotype of activated or memory T cells (HLA-DR+ CD62L−). After T-cell activation, CD3ζ-down-modulated cells express the activation marker CD69 but not the high-affinity interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptor α-chain CD25 and produce gamma interferon but not IL-2. Therefore HIV-specific CD8 T cells have down-modulated key signaling molecules for T-cell activation and costimulation and require exogenous cytokine stimulation. The typical impairment of HIV-specific CD4 T helper cells, which would normally provide specific CD8 T-cell stimulation, means that in vivo CTL function in vivo is compromised in most HIV-infected individuals. In AIDS patients, the functional defect is more severe, since CD3ζ is not reexpressed even after IL-2 exposure.

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Chronic CD4+ T-Cell Activation and Depletion in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection: Type I Interferon-Mediated Disruption of T-Cell Dynamics

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.02228-07 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 82 (4) ◽

pp. 1870-1883 ◽

Cited By ~ 117

Author(s):

Ahmad R. Sedaghat ◽

Jennifer German ◽

Tanya M. Teslovich ◽

Joseph Cofrancesco ◽

Chunfa C. Jie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Type I Interferon ◽

Type I ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Hiv 1

ABSTRACT The mechanism of CD4+ T-cell depletion during chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection remains unknown. Many studies suggest a significant role for chronic CD4+ T-cell activation. We assumed that the pathogenic process of excessive CD4+ T-cell activation would be reflected in the transcriptional profiles of activated CD4+ T cells. Here we demonstrate that the transcriptional programs of in vivo-activated CD4+ T cells from untreated HIV-positive (HIV+) individuals are clearly different from those of activated CD4+ T cells from HIV-negative (HIV−) individuals. We observed a dramatic up-regulation of cell cycle-associated and interferon-stimulated transcripts in activated CD4+ T cells of untreated HIV+ individuals. Furthermore, we find an enrichment of proliferative and type I interferon-responsive transcription factor binding sites in the promoters of genes that are differentially expressed in activated CD4+ T cells of untreated HIV+ individuals compared to those of HIV− individuals. We confirm these findings by examination of in vivo-activated CD4+ T cells. Taken together, these results suggest that activated CD4+ T cells from untreated HIV+ individuals are in a hyperproliferative state that is modulated by type I interferons. From these results, we propose a new model for CD4+ T-cell depletion during chronic HIV-1 infection.

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Human Endothelial Cells Enhance Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Replication in CD4+ T Cells in a Nef-Dependent Manner In Vitro and In Vivo

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.79.1.264-276.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 79 (1) ◽

pp. 264-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Jaehyuk Choi ◽

Jason Walker ◽

Sergei Boichuk ◽

Nancy Kirkiles-Smith ◽

Nicholas Torpey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Wild Type ◽

Mhc Ii ◽

Hiv 1

ABSTRACT Infected CD4+ T cells are the primary sites of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in vivo. However, signals from professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as dendritic cells and macrophages, greatly enhance HIV-1 replication in T cells. Here, we report that in cocultures, vascular endothelial cells (ECs), which in humans can also serve as APCs, can enhance HIV-1 production of both CCR5- and CXCR4-utilizing strains approximately 50,000-fold. The observed HIV-1 replication enhancement conferred by ECs occurred only in memory CD4+ T cells, required expression of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules by the ECs, and could not be conferred by fixed ECs, all of which are consistent with a requirement for EC-mediated T-cell activation via T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Deletion of nef (Nef−) decreased HIV-1 production by approximately 100-fold in T cells cocultured with ECs but had no effect on virus production in T cells cocultured with professional APCs or fibroblasts induced to express MHC-II. Human ECs do not express B7 costimulators, but Nef− replication in CD4+-T-cell and EC cocultures could not be rescued by anti-CD28 antibody. ECs act in trans to enhance wild-type but not Nef− replication and facilitate enhanced wild-type replication in naïve T cells when added to T-cell or B-lymphoblastoid cell cocultures, suggesting that ECs also provide a TCR-independent signal to infected T cells. Consistent with these in vitro observations, wild-type HIV-1 replicated 30- to 50-fold more than Nef− in human T cells infiltrating allogeneic human skin grafts on human huPBL-SCID/bg mice, an in vivo model of T-cell activation by ECs. Our studies suggest that ECs, which line the entire cardiovascular system and are, per force, in frequent contact with memory CD4+ T cells, provide signals to HIV-1-infected CD4+ T cells to greatly enhance HIV-1 production in a Nef-dependent manner, a mechanism that could contribute to the development of AIDS.

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Defining APOBEC3 Expression Patterns in Human Tissues and Hematopoietic Cell Subsets

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.01089-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 83 (18) ◽

pp. 9474-9485 ◽

Cited By ~ 221

Author(s):

Fransje A. Koning ◽

Edmund N. C. Newman ◽

Eun-Young Kim ◽

Kevin J. Kunstman ◽

Steven M. Wolinsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Hematopoietic Cell ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Cell Content ◽

Hiv 1

ABSTRACT Human APOBEC3 enzymes are cellular DNA cytidine deaminases that inhibit and/or mutate a variety of retroviruses, retrotransposons, and DNA viruses. Here, we report a detailed examination of human APOBEC3 gene expression, focusing on APOBEC3G (A3G) and APOBEC3F (A3F), which are potent inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection but are suppressed by HIV-1 Vif. A3G and A3F are expressed widely in hematopoietic cell populations, including T cells, B cells, and myeloid cells, as well as in tissues where mRNA levels broadly correlate with the lymphoid cell content (gonadal tissues are exceptions). By measuring mRNA copy numbers, we find that A3G mRNA is ∼10-fold more abundant than A3F mRNA, implying that A3G is the more significant anti-HIV-1 factor in vivo. A3G and A3F levels also vary between donors, and these differences are sustained over 12 months. Responses to T-cell activation or cytokines reveal that A3G and A3F mRNA levels are induced ∼10-fold in macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) by alpha interferon (IFN-α) and ∼4-fold in naïve CD4+ T cells. However, immunoblotting revealed that A3G protein levels are induced by IFN-α in macrophages and DCs but not in T cells. In contrast, T-cell activation and IFN-γ had a minimal impact on A3G or A3F expression. Finally, we noted that A3A mRNA expression and protein expression are exquisitely sensitive to IFN-α induction in CD4+ T cells, macrophages, and DCs but not to T-cell activation or other cytokines. Given that A3A does not affect HIV-1 infection, these observations imply that this protein may participate in early antiviral innate immune responses.

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CD8+ T Cell Metabolic Rewiring Defined by Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Identifies a Critical Role of ASNS Expression Dynamics in T Cell Differentiation

10.1101/2021.07.27.453976 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Juan Fernandez-Garcia ◽

Fabien Franco ◽

Sweta Parik ◽

Antonino A Pane ◽

Dorien Broekaert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Cell Differentiation ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cells ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cell ◽

T Cell Differentiation

Cytotoxic T cells dynamically rewire their metabolism during the course of an immune response. While T cell metabolism has been extensively studied at phenotypic endpoints of activation and differentiation, the underlying dynamics remain largely elusive. Here, we leverage on single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) measurements of in vitro activated and differentiated CD8+ T cells cultured in physiological media to resolve these metabolic dynamics. We find that our scRNA-seq analysis identifies most metabolic changes previously defined in in vivo experiments, such as a rewiring from an oxidative to an anabolism-promoting metabolic program during activation to an effector state, which is later reverted upon memory polarization. Importantly, our scRNA-seq data further provide a dynamic description of these changes. In this sense, our data predict a differential time-dependent reliance of CD8+ T cells on the synthesis versus uptake of various non-essential amino acids during T cell activation, which we corroborate with additional functional in vitro experiments. We further exploit our scRNA-seq data to identify metabolic genes that could potentially dictate the outcome of T cell differentiation, by ranking them based on their expression dynamics. Among the highest-ranked hits, we find asparagine synthetase (Asns), whose expression sharply peaks for effector CD8+ T cells and further decays towards memory polarization. We then confirm that these in vitro Asns expression dynamics are representative of an in vivo situation in a mouse model of viral infection. Moreover, we find that disrupting these expression dynamics in vitro, by depleting asparagine from the culture media, delays central-memory polarization. Accordingly, we find that preventing the decay of ASNS by stable overexpression at the protein level in vivo leads to a significant increase in effector CD8+ T cell expansion, and a concomitant decrease in central-memory formation, in a mouse model of viral infection. This shows that ASNS expression dynamics dictate the fate of CD8+ T cell differentiation. In conclusion, we provide a resource of dynamic expression changes during CD8+ T cell activation and differentiation that is expected to increase our understanding of the dynamic metabolic requirements of T cells progressing along the immune response cascade.

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Role of Lymphotoxin α in T-Cell Responses during an Acute Viral Infection

Journal of Virology ◽

10.1128/jvi.76.8.3943-3951.2002 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 76 (8) ◽

pp. 3943-3951 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

M. Suresh ◽

Gibson Lanier ◽

Mary Katherine Large ◽

Jason K. Whitmire ◽

John D. Altman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cd8 T Cells ◽

Cell Activation ◽

T Cell Responses ◽

Cell Responses ◽

Lymphotoxin Α

ABSTRACT The importance of lymphotoxin α (LTα) in lymphoid organogenesis is well established. Although LTα has been implicated in the pathogenesis of T-cell-mediated immunopathologies, the requirement for LTα in T-cell activation and effector function in vivo is not well understood. To determine the role of LTα in T-cell activation in vivo, we compared the generation of antigen-specific T-cell responses between wild type (+/+) and LTα-deficient (LTα−/−) mice during an acute infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Our studies showed that LCMV-infected LTα−/− mice had a profound impairment in the activation and expansion of virus-specific CD8 T cells in the spleen, as determined by cytotoxicity assays, intracellular staining for gamma interferon, and staining with major histocompatibility complex class I tetramers. Further, the nonlymphoid organs of LTα−/− mice also contained substantially lower number of LCMV-specific CD8 T cells than those of +/+ mice. Greatly reduced virus-specific CD8 T-cell responses in LTα−/− mice led to a defect in LCMV clearance from the tissues. In comparison to that in +/+ mice, the activation of LCMV-specific CD4 T cells was also significantly attenuated in LTα−/− mice. Adoptive transfer experiments were conducted to determine if abnormal lymphoid architecture in LTα−/− mice caused the impairment in the activation of LCMV-specific T-cell responses. Upon adoptive transfer into +/+ mice, the activation and expansion of LCMV-specific LTα−/− T cells were restored to levels comparable to those of +/+ T cells. In a reciprocal cell transfer experiment, activation of +/+ T cells was significantly reduced upon transfer into LTα−/− mice. These results showed that impairment in the activation of LCMV-specific T cells in LTα−/− mice may be due to abnormal lymphoid architecture and not to an intrinsic defect in LTα−/− T cells.

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