The Importance of CD11b+ Dendritic Cells in CD4+ T Cell Activation In Vivo

ABSTRACT Dendritic cells, particularly those residing in the spleen, are thought to orchestrate acquired immunity to malaria, but it is not known how the splenic dendritic cell population responds to malaria infection and how this response compares with the responses of other antigen-presenting cells. We investigated this question for Plasmodium chabaudi AS infection in C57BL/6 mice. We found that dendritic cells, defined here by the CD11c marker, migrated from the marginal zone of the spleen into the CD4+ T-cell area within 5 days after parasites entered the bloodstream. This contrasted with the results observed for the macrophage and B-cell populations, which expanded greatly but did not show any comparable migration. Over the same time period dendritic cells showed upregulation of CD40, CD54, and CD86 costimulatory molecules that are required for successful T-cell activation. In dendritic cells, the peak intracellular gamma interferon expression (as shown by fluorescence-activated cell sorting) was on day 5, 2 days earlier than the peak expression in B-cells or macrophages. These findings show that splenic dendritic cells are actively engaged in the earliest phase of malarial infection in vivo and are likely to be critical in shaping the subsequent immune response.

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Contact-dependent delivery of IL-2 by dendritic cells to CD4 T cells in the contraction phase promotes their long-term survival

Protein & Cell ◽

10.1007/s13238-019-00662-0 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 108-123

Author(s):

Dan Tong ◽

Li Zhang ◽

Fei Ning ◽

Ying Xu ◽

Xiaoyu Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Dendritic Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cd4 T Cells ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Cd4 T Cell ◽

Immune Memory ◽

Term Survival

Abstract Common γ chain cytokines are important for immune memory formation. Among them, the role of IL-2 remains to be fully explored. It has been suggested that this cytokine is critically needed in the late phase of primary CD4 T cell activation. Lack of IL-2 at this stage sets for a diminished recall response in subsequent challenges. However, as IL-2 peak production is over at this point, the source and the exact mechanism that promotes its production remain elusive. We report here that resting, previously antigen-stimulated CD4 T cells maintain a minimalist response to dendritic cells after their peak activation in vitro. This subtle activation event may be induced by DCs without overt presence of antigen and appears to be stronger if IL-2 comes from the same dendritic cells. This encounter reactivates a miniature IL-2 production and leads a gene expression profile change in these previously activated CD4 T cells. The CD4 T cells so experienced show enhanced reactivation intensity upon secondary challenges later on. Although mostly relying on in vitro evidence, our work may implicate a subtle programing for CD4 T cell survival after primary activation in vivo.

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Acidosis-Induced TGF-β2 Production Promotes Lipid Droplet Formation in Dendritic Cells and Alters Their Potential to Support Anti-Mesothelioma T Cell Response

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers12051284 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 1284

Author(s):

Natalia Trempolec ◽

Charline Degavre ◽

Bastien Doix ◽

Davide Brusa ◽

Cyril Corbet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dendritic Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

Lipid Droplet ◽

T Cell Activation ◽

Cell Response ◽

Cell Activation ◽

Transforming Growth Factor ◽

T Cell Response ◽

Mesenchymal Transition

For poorly immunogenic tumors such as mesothelioma there is an imperious need to understand why antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells (DCs) are not prone to supporting the anticancer T cell response. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is thought to be a major contributor to this DC dysfunction. We have reported that the acidic TME component promotes lipid droplet (LD) formation together with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer cells through autocrine transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) signaling. Since TGF-β is also a master regulator of immune tolerance, we have here examined whether acidosis can impede immunostimulatory DC activity. We have found that exposure of mesothelioma cells to acidosis promotes TGF-β2 secretion, which in turn leads to LD accumulation and profound metabolic rewiring in DCs. We have further documented how DCs exposed to the mesothelioma acidic milieu make the anticancer vaccine less efficient in vivo, with a reduced extent of both DC migratory potential and T cell activation. Interestingly, inhibition of TGF-β2 signaling and diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT), the last enzyme involved in triglyceride synthesis, led to a significant restoration of DC activity and anticancer immune response. In conclusion, our study has identified that acidic mesothelioma milieu drives DC dysfunction and altered T cell response through pharmacologically reversible TGF-β2-dependent mechanisms.

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