scholarly journals Cold Plasma with Immunomodulatory Properties Has Significant Anti-Lymphoma Activities in Vitro and In Vivo

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 5307-5307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengdong Cheng ◽  
Dayun Yan ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Michael Keidar ◽  
Eduardo Sotomayor
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Helium Gas ◽  
Gas Control ◽  
First Time

In recent years, cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer care. Remarkable clinical efficacy and durable responses to checkpoint blockade antibodies or to genetically engineered T-cells (CAR T cell) have been observed in patients with multiple cancers. However, not all cancer patients benefit from these therapies and as such novel immunotherapeutic approaches are needed. The cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a form of near room temperature ionized gas, which has shown a promising application in cancer therapy given its antitumor effects in vitro as well as in vivo. For the first time, we have shown that upon CAP treatment, the viability of the immune cells remained unaffected. Strikingly, we observed a significantly stronger immune activation of those CAP treated cells when compare with helium gas control. First, we have demonstrated that even without LPS stimulation, in vitro exposure of peritoneal elicited macrophages (PEM) to CAP for 15 or 30 seconds was sufficient to trigger the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-12 and IL-6. In addition, decreased production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and diminished the expression of PD-L1 were observed in CAP-treated PEM as well. It indicated that CAP treatment may potentially facilitate PEMs as better activator of T cells. Second, in lieu of the stimulatory effects of CAP upon PEM, we asked whether CAP could enhance T-cell activation. So we isolated T cells from spleens of C57BL/6 mice and exposed these T cells to CAP followed by anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation. Our study shown that the production of IL-2 and IFN-g were significantly increased by T-cells treated with CAP as compared with helium gas control. Furthermore, to gain insights into effects of CAP upon immune responses in vivo, we isolated lymph nodes from OTII mice and directly exposed these LNs with CAP, helium gas control or left untreated. Then CD4+ T cells were further isolated from the LNs and cultured with macrophages in the presence or absence of OVA peptide for 48 hours, respectively. Surprisingly, CD4+ T cells isolated from CAP-treated LNs displayed enhanced function indicated by its increased production of IL-2 and IFN-g. More importantly, strong in vivo anti-tumor effects were observed when adoptively transfer CAP exposed T cells to lymphoma bearing animals. Taken together, we have shown for the first time an elevated immune-stimulatory effect of CAP upon both APCs and T cells in vitro and in vivo. Our finding may potentially shed light of a novel therapeutic approach for future cancer immunotherapy. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Induction of Potent Anti-Tumor Effects by Original and TCR-Redirected CD4 + Cytotoxic T Cells.

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 1333-1333
Author(s):  
Robbert M Spaapen ◽  
Kelly van den Oudenalder ◽  
Maureen van Elk ◽  
Tineke Aarts ◽  
Teun Guichelaar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cells ◽  
Load Ratio ◽  
Tumor Load ◽  
First Time

Abstract Abstract 1333 Poster Board I-355 The curative Graft versus Tumor (GvT) effect of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and donor lymphocyte infusions is mainly mediated by donor derived T cells recognizing minor Histocompatibility antigens (mHag) presented by malignant cells. Traditionally, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) are considered as “the” effector cells of these anti-tumor responses, whereas a sole helper role is attributed to CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells often possess killer capacities in vitro, raising the possibility that they may also mediate anti-tumor effects without the need for CD8+ T cells. Hence, we here explored the feasibility of adoptive immunotherapy with sole CD4+ CTLs by testing the therapeutic capacity of a mHag-specific, CD4+ CTL (3AB11) in a human GvT model. Rag2−/−γc−/− mice were inoculated with BLI detectable, mHag+ Multiple myeloma cells. Treatment of established tumors with 3AB11 but not with control CD4+ T cells by triple consecutive injections of 30-40×106 cells/day rapidly reduced the medullary growing tumors, illustrating for the first time the feasibility to establish a significant GvT effect by targeting a sole mHag recognized by CD4+ CTLs. The therapy was less effective at a higher tumor load and unsuccessful by a single injection of 20×106 cells, underscoring the critical importance of T cell dose-to-tumor load ratio to establish an efficient anti-tumor effect. In further exploration, tumors were also significantly reduced by treatment with “dual antigen-specific” T cells, which were generated by transduction of the T cell receptor (TCR) of clone 3AB11 into recall antigen (Tetanus Toxoid; TT)-specific T cells. Finally, the in vivo persisting dual-specific T cells could be boosted by administration of TT loaded mHag negative B cells, demonstrating for the first time the feasibility and potential advantages of immunotherapy with TCR-transduced “dual antigen-specific” CD4+ T cells. We conclude that potent GvT effects may be achieved in clinical trials by targeting a sole mHag antigen with original or TCR-redirected CD4+ CTLs. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals CAR T Cells Secreting IL18 Augment Antitumor Immunity and Increase T Cell Proliferation and Costimulation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biliang Hu ◽  
Jiangtao Ren ◽  
Yanping Luo ◽  
Brian Keith ◽  
Regina M. Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Ectopic Expression ◽  
T Cell Proliferation ◽  
Antitumor Effects

AbstractInterleukin 18 (IL18) is known to induce the expression of interferon-γ (IFNG), but its effects on T cell proliferation and costimulation are not completely understood. In this study, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of IL18 in CART cells caused significant T cell proliferationin vitroandin vivo,and enhanced antitumor effects in xenograft models. Moreover, IL18 mediated T cell expansion required neither tumor antigen nor CAR expression, and produced severe GVHD in NSG mice. Furthermore, recombinant IL18 costimulated IFNG secretion and proliferation of anti-CD3 beads treated T cells. Interestingly, IL18 costimulation could expand purified CD4 T cells, but not CD8 T cells. However, CD8 T cells proliferated greater than CD4 T cells in magnitude within bulk T cells, suggesting CD4 help effect was involved. Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, we confirmed that IL18-driven expansion was both TCR and IL18 receptor (IL18R) dependent. Importantly, we demonstrated that TCR-deficient, IL18-expressing CD19 CART cells exhibited remarkable proliferation and persistent antitumor activity against CD19-expressing tumor cellsin vivo, without eliciting any detectable GVHD symptom. Finally, we describe APACHE T cells, a novel strategy for coupling IL18 expression in CART cells to antigen stimulation, thereby limiting potential toxicity associated with persistent IL18 production. In sum, our study supports human IL18 as a T cell costimulatory cytokine for fueling CART therapy.

scholarly journals Cd40-Independent Pathways of T Cell Help for Priming of Cd8+ Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes

2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengbin Lu ◽  
Lingxian Yuan ◽  
Xianzheng Zhou ◽  
Eduardo Sotomayor ◽  
Hyam I. Levitsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Cd8 T Cell ◽  
Cd4 Help ◽  
T Cell Help

In many cases, induction of CD8+ CTL responses requires CD4+ T cell help. Recently, it has been shown that a dominant pathway of CD4+ help is via antigen-presenting cell (APC) activation through engagement of CD40 by CD40 ligand on CD4+ T cells. To further study this three cell interaction, we established an in vitro system using dendritic cells (DCs) as APCs and influenza hemagglutinin (HA) class I and II peptide–specific T cell antigen receptor transgenic T cells as cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors and CD4+ T helper cells, respectively. We found that CD4+ T cells can provide potent help for DCs to activate CD8+ T cells when antigen is provided in the form of either cell lysate, recombinant protein, or synthetic peptides. Surprisingly, this help is completely independent of CD40. Moreover, CD40-independent CD4+ help can be documented in vivo. Finally, we show that CD40-independent T cell help is delivered through both sensitization of DCs and direct CD4+–CD8+ T cell communication via lymphokines. Therefore, we conclude that CD4+ help comprises at least three components: CD40-dependent DC sensitization, CD40-independent DC sensitization, and direct lymphokine-dependent CD4+–CD8+ T cell communication.

scholarly journals Selective anergy of V beta 8+,CD4+ T cells in Staphylococcus enterotoxin B-primed mice.

1990 ◽  
Vol 172 (4) ◽  
pp. 1065-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Kawabe ◽  
A Ochi
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
T Cell Anergy ◽  
Specific Cytotoxicity ◽  
Enterotoxin B ◽  
Staphylococcus Enterotoxin B

The cellular basis of the in vitro and in vivo T cell responses to Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) has been investigated. The proliferation and cytotoxicity of V beta 8.1,2+,CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were observed in in vitro response to SEB. In primary cytotoxicity assays, CD4+ T cells from control spleens were more active than their CD8+ counterparts, however, in cells derived from SEB-primed mice, CD8+ T cells were dominant in SEB-specific cytotoxicity. In vivo priming with SEB abrogated the response of V beta 8.1,2+,CD4+ T cells despite the fact that these cells exist in significant number. This SEB-specific anergy occurred only in V beta 8.1,2+,CD4+ T cells but not in CD8+ T cells. These findings indicate that the requirement for the induction of antigen-specific anergy is different between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in post-thymic tolerance, and the existence of coanergic signals for the induction of T cell anergy is suggested.

scholarly journals In Vivo Detection of Dendritic Cell Antigen Presentation to CD4+ T Cells

1997 ◽  
Vol 185 (12) ◽  
pp. 2133-2141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ingulli ◽  
Anna Mondino ◽  
Alexander Khoruts ◽  
Marc K. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Delayed Type Hypersensitivity ◽  
Physical Interaction

Although lymphoid dendritic cells (DC) are thought to play an essential role in T cell activation, the initial physical interaction between antigen-bearing DC and antigen-specific T cells has never been directly observed in vivo under conditions where the specificity of the responding T cells for the relevant antigen could be unambiguously assessed. We used confocal microscopy to track the in vivo location of fluorescent dye-labeled DC and naive TCR transgenic CD4+ T cells specific for an OVA peptide–I-Ad complex after adoptive transfer into syngeneic recipients. DC that were not exposed to the OVA peptide, homed to the paracortical regions of the lymph nodes but did not interact with the OVA peptide-specific T cells. In contrast, the OVA peptide-specific T cells formed large clusters around paracortical DC that were pulsed in vitro with the OVA peptide before injection. Interactions were also observed between paracortical DC of the recipient and OVA peptide-specific T cells after administration of intact OVA. Injection of OVA peptide-pulsed DC caused the specific T cells to produce IL-2 in vivo, proliferate, and differentiate into effector cells capable of causing a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction. Surprisingly, by 48 h after injection, OVA peptide-pulsed, but not unpulsed DC disappeared from the lymph nodes of mice that contained the transferred TCR transgenic population. These results demonstrate that antigen-bearing DC directly interact with naive antigen-specific T cells within the T cell–rich regions of lymph nodes. This interaction results in T cell activation and disappearance of the DC.

Reinforcement of Cancer Immunotherapy by Adoptive Transfer of Cblb-Deficient Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Combined with a Dendritic Cell Vaccine

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 957-957
Author(s):  
Christina Lutz-Nicoladoni ◽  
Patrizia Stoizner ◽  
Magdalena Pircher ◽  
Stephanie Wallner ◽  
Anna Maria Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Dendritic Cell ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes ◽  
Adoptive Transfer ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Dc Vaccine

Abstract Abstract 957 Introduction: Various approaches to induce immunological rejection of tumors including transfer of autologous tumor infiltrating lymhocytes (TIL) after ex vivo clonal expansion or application of ex vivo transduced antigen specific T cell (TCR) transgenic T cells have been elaborated. In general, adoptive T cell transfer (ATC) has been combined with lympho-depleting agents (e.g. cyclophosphamide). However, the therapeutic efficacy of these cancer immunotherapy approaches is limited due to insufficient in vivo activation, expansion and survival of transferred effector immune cells, which is mainly due to suppressive mileu signals and immune evasion mechanisms induced by TGF-β. The E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b is a key regulator of T cell activation and is assumed to confer TGF-β resistance. Thus we performed a proof-of-concept study evaluating Cbl-b targeting as “intracellular adjuvant” strategy to improve ATC for cancer immunotherapy. Material and Methods: We first tested the in vitro sensitivity of CTL towards TGF-β mediated immuno-suppressive cues and then in vivo evaluated the anti-tumor reactivity of cblb-deficient cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in murine tumor models alone or in combination with a dendritic cell (DC) vaccine. Results: Cblb-deficient CTL are hyper-responsive to TCR/CD28-stimulation in vitro and protected from the negative cues induced by TGF-β as determined by quantification fo IFN-g secretion and quantification of their proliferative capacity. Unexpectedly, adoptive transfer of polyclonal, non TCR-transgenic cblb-deficient CD8+ CTL, however, is not sufficient to reject B16ova or EG7 tumors in vivo, which is in clear contrast to previous reports using lymphopenic animals receiving adoptively transferred TCR-transgenic T cells. Thus, we next evaluated in vivo re-activation of adoptively transferred cblb-deficient T cells by a DC vaccine (i.e. SIINFEKL-pulsed DC). In strict contrast to ATC monotherapy, this approach now markedly delays tumor outgrowth and significantly increase survival rates, which is paralleled by an increased CTL infiltration rate to the tumor site and an enrichment of ova-specific and IFN-g-secreting CTL in the draining lymph nodes. Moreover, compared to wild-type CTL, cblb-deficient mice vaccinated with the DC vaccine show an increased cytolytic activity in vivo. Conclusions: In summary, we provide experimental evidence that genetic inactivation of cblb in polyclonal, non-TCR transgenic adoptively transferred CTL might serve as a novel “adjuvant approach”, suitable to augment the effectiveness of anti-cancer immunotherapies using ATC in immune-competent recipients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals T cell memory. Long-term persistence of virus-specific cytotoxic T cells.

1989 ◽  
Vol 169 (6) ◽  
pp. 1993-2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
B D Jamieson ◽  
R Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Population ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Antigenic Specificity ◽  
Ctl Response

This study documents that virus-specific CTL can persist indefinitely in vivo. This was accomplished by transferring Thy-1.1 T cells into Thy-1.2 recipient mice to specifically identify the donor T cell population and to characterize its antigenic specificity and function by using a virus-specific CTL assay. Thy-1.1+ T cells from mice previously immunized with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were transferred into Thy-1.2 mice persistently infected with LCMV. The transferred LCMV-specific CTL (Thy-1.1+ CD8+) eliminate virus from the chronically infected carriers and persist in the recipient mice in small numbers, comprising only a minor fraction of the total T cells. Upon re-exposure to virus, these long-lived "resting" CD8+ T cells proliferate in vivo to become the predominant cell population. These donor CD8+ T cells can be recovered up to a year post-transfer and still retain antigenic specificity and biological function. They kill LCMV infected H-2-matched cells in vitro and can eliminate virus upon transfer into a second infected host. In addition, these long-lived CD8+ T cells appear not to be dependent on help from CD4+ T cells, since depletion of CD4+ T cells has minimal or no effect on their biological properties (proliferation, CTL response, viral clearance). These donor CTL also exhibit an immunodominance over the host-derived LCMV-specific CTL response. When both host and donor T cells are present, the donor CTL response is dominant over the potential CTL response of the cured carrier host. Taken together, these results suggest that virus-specific CTL can persist for the life span of the host as memory cells.

scholarly journals P025 Identification and validation of predictors for tofacitinib through supervised and unbiased approaches in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S141-S141
Author(s):  
B Liu ◽  
M Spalinger ◽  
L G Perez ◽  
A Machicote ◽  
N Gagliani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Cytokine Production ◽  
Stat Signaling ◽  
Deficient Mice

Abstract Background Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is characterized by an overwhelming gut inflammation, where CD4+ effector T cells are main mediators of the inflammatory response. Tofacitinib, a small molecular drug recently used in IBD patients, blocks the JAK/STAT signaling pathway necessary for CD4+ effector T-cell activation. However, clinical data show that a percentage of patients do not respond to the treatment. Our main goal is to identify biomarkers predicting the response of patients to tofacitinib. Methods Tofacitinib efficacy was studied in vivo in wild type (WT) and T-cell-specific PTPN2 deficient mice (CD4-Cre;Ptpn2 floxed) in which the JAK/STAT signaling pathway is over activated. WT and PTPN2 deficient mice were gavaged with tofacitinib (50mg/kg, twice daily) or vehicle. Acute DSS-colitis was induced. Colitis development was evaluated by weight loss, colonoscopy and histology. CD4+ T cells were isolated from the colon and analyzed by flow cytometry. To study the effect of tofacitinib on T-cell differentiation, we isolated naïve T cells from mouse spleen and polarized them in vitro to different T-cell subsets with or without tofacitinib. CD4+ T cells differentiation and cytokine production were analyzed by flow cytometry. To evaluate the influence of tofacitinib on human CD4+ T cells, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors and IBD patients were stimulated in presence of tofacitinib, and analyzed by flow cytometry. Results While no protective effect was found after tofacitinib treatment in WT mice, PTPN2 deficient mice were protected from colitis based on less weight loss, lower endoscopic and histological scores. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-17 and IFN-γ by colonic CD4+ T cells was also decreased by tofacitinib. Consistent with the in vivo observations, in vitro experiments revealed a strong impact of tofacitinib on CD4+ T-cells cytokine production. In PBMCs from IBD patients, IFN-γ and TNF-α expression was strongly impacted. In contrast, in healthy donors, IL-10 was the most impacted cytokine. Finally, tofacitinib decreased the in vitro differentiation of Th1, Th2, Th17, Th22, Treg and Tr1. Conclusion In the T-cell-specific PTPN2 deficient mice, tofacitinib exerts a protective effect after DSS-induced colitis. In line with the in vivo findings, in vitro experiments show that tofacitinib has a strong impact on pro-inflammatory cytokine production, especially in the IBD patients. Taken together, these data suggest that tofacitinib might be suitable primarily for IBD patients where the JAK/STAT signaling pathway is over activated.

Interrogating resistance mechanisms to PD-1 blockade therapy with CRISPR.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3077-3077
Author(s):  
Davis Yuri Torrejon ◽  
Jesse Meir Zaretsky ◽  
Daniel Sanghoon Shin ◽  
Mykola Onyshchenko ◽  
Gabriel Abril-Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Antitumor Activity ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Ifn Gamma ◽  
Syngeneic Mouse Model

3077 Background: We tested the biological significance of the loss of function (LOF) mutations in JAK1 or JAK2 within the IFN-receptor-pathway and in beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), which had been found in patient biopsies with resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy. Methods: We used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to generate JAK1, JAK2 and B2M knockout (KO) sublines of HLA-A*02:01 MART-1 or NY-ESO-1 positive human melanoma cell lines, tested using in-vitro T cell co-culture systems and in a syngeneic mouse model (MC38) to analyze the in-vivo antitumor activity with anti-PD1 therapy. Results: The JAK2-KO cell line was insensitive to IFN-gamma induced signaling and growth arrest (p < 0.001 compared with IFN-alpha or beta), while the JAK1-KO cell line was insensitive to all three IFNs. Baseline MHC class I expression after JAK1-KO was unaffected (baseline-MFI 1230 JAK1-KO vs 1570 parental, p = 0.66), but the magnitude of change was lower upon IFN-gamma exposure compared to the parental (MFI change with IFN-gamma, 26% decrease for JAK1-KO vs 50% increase for parental). There was no difference in in-vitro cytotoxicity by NY-ESO-1-TCR transgenic T-cells against JAK1-KO-NY-ESO-1+ melanoma cells compared to the parental (78% vs 82% cytotoxicity at 10:1 E:T ratio, p NS). However, B2M-KO was resistant to killing by MART-1 specific T-cells (2% vs 96% cytotoxicity at 10:1 E:T ratio, p < 0.0001). On the other hand, in the MC38 model the significant antitumor activity of anti-PD-1 against the wild type cells was lost in both JAK2-KO and B2M-KO. The percentage of CD8+ T cells has a trend of increase with anti-PD1 compared to untreated in the MC38 wild type (p = 0.1 d12), and a trend of decrease in MC38 B2M-KO (p = 0.2 d12), but no change in JAK2-KO tumors (p = 0.7 d12). Conclusions: JAK1/2 LOF mutations result in insensitivity to IFN induced antitumor effects, but does not impair T cell recognition and cytotoxicity, while B2M LOF results in lack of antigen presentation to T cells and loss of antitumor activity. However both lead to in-vivo resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy, suggesting they do so by independent mechanisms.

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Induce Immuno-Dominant Suppression of Dendritic Cells.

Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 456-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavan Reddy ◽  
Yoshinobu Maeda ◽  
Raimon Duran-Struuck ◽  
Oleg Krijanovski ◽  
Charles Dinarello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Mhc Class Ii ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Hdac Inhibitors ◽  
Class Ii ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tnf Α

Abstract We and others have recently demonstrated that suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor with anti-neoplastic properties, reduces experimental acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We have now investigated the mechanisms of action of two HDAC inhibitors, SAHA and ITF 2357, on allogeneic immune responses. Bone marrow derived dendritic cells (DCs) were preincubated with the HDAC inhibitors at nanomolar concentrations for 16–18 hours and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Pretreatment of DCs caused a significant reduction in the secretion of TNF-α, IL-12p70 and IL-6 compared to the untreated controls (P< 0.005). Similar effects were seen using human peripheral blood mononuclear cell derived DCs. Pre-treatment of both murine and human DCs also significantly reduced their in vitro stimulation of allogeneic T cells as measured by proliferation and IFN-γ production (P<0.01). We determined the in vivo relevance of these observations utilizing a mouse model where the responses of allogeneic donor bm12 T cells depended on the function of injected host B6 DCs would stimulate. Recipient Class-II −/− B6 (H-2b) received 11 Gy on day -1 and were injected with 4–5 x 106 wild type B6 DCs treated with SAHA or with media on days -1 and 0 and then transplanted with 2 x 106 T cells and 5 x 106 TCDBM cells from either syngeneic B6 or allogeneic bm12 donors. SAHA treatment of DCs significantly reduced expansion of allogeneic donor CD4+ T cells on day +7 after BMT compared to controls (P<0.05). SAHA treatment induced a similarly significant reduction in the expansion of CD8+ cells in Class I disparate [bm1→β2M−/−] model. In vitro, SAHA treatment significantly suppressed the expression of CD40 and CD80 but did not alter MHC class II expression. Surprisingly, when mixed with normal DCs at 1:1 ratio, SAHA treated DCs dominantly suppressed allogeneic T cell responses. The regulation of T cell proliferation was not reversible by addition of IL-12, TNF-α, IL-18, anti-IL-10 or anti-TGFβ, either alone or in combination. Suppression of allogeneic responses was contact dependent in trans-well experiments. To address whether the regulation of SAHA treated DCs required contact with T cells, we devised a three cell experiment where SAHA treated DCs lacked the capacity to present antigens to T cells. DCs from B6 MHC Class II deficient (H-2b) were treated with SAHA and co-cultured with wild type B6 (H-2b) DCs along with purified allogeneic BALB/c (H-2d) CD4+ T cells in an MLR. Allogeneic CD4+ T cells proliferated well, demonstrating the regulation to be dependent on contact between SAHA treated DCs and T cells. To address the in vivo relevance of this suppression, we utilized a well characterized [BALB/c →B6] mouse model of acute GVHD. Recipient B6 animals received 11Gy on day -1 and were injected with of 5 million host type SAHA treated or control DCs on days −1, 0, and +2. Mice were transplanted on day 0 with 2 x 106 T cells and 5 x 106 BM from either syngeneic B6 or allogeneic BALB/c donors. Injection of SAHA treated DCs resulted in significantly better survival (60% vs. 10%, P < 0.01) and significantly reduced serum levels of TNF-α, donor T cell expansion and histopathology of GVHD on day +7 after BMT compared to the controls. We conclue that HDAC inhibitors are novel immunomodulators that regulate DC function and might represent a novel strategy to prevent GVHD.

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