Dataset Information

Autophagy enforces functional integrity of regulatory T cells by coupling environmental cues and metabolic homeostasis.

ABSTRACT: Regulatory T (Treg) cells respond to immune and inflammatory signals to mediate immunosuppression, but how the functional integrity of Treg cells is maintained under activating environments is unclear. Here we show that autophagy is active in Treg cells and supports their lineage stability and survival fitness. Treg cell-specific deletion of Atg7 or Atg5, two essential genes in autophagy, leads to loss of Treg cells, greater tumor resistance and development of inflammatory disorders. Atg7-deficient Treg cells show increased apoptosis and readily lose expression of the transcription factor Foxp3, especially after activation. Mechanistically, autophagy deficiency upregulates metabolic regulators mTORC1 and c-Myc and glycolysis, which contribute to defective Treg function. Therefore, autophagy couples environmental signals and metabolic homeostasis to protect lineage and survival integrity of Treg cells in activating contexts.

SUBMITTER: Wei J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4755832 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Autophagy enforces functional integrity of regulatory T cells by coupling environmental cues and metabolic homeostasis.

Wei Jun J Long Lingyun L Yang Kai K Guy Cliff C Shrestha Sharad S Chen Zuojia Z Wu Chuan C Vogel Peter P Neale Geoffrey G Green Douglas R DR Chi Hongbo H

Nature immunology 20160125 3

Regulatory T (Treg) cells respond to immune and inflammatory signals to mediate immunosuppression, but how the functional integrity of Treg cells is maintained under activating environments is unclear. Here we show that autophagy is active in Treg cells and supports their lineage stability and survival fitness. Treg cell-specific deletion of Atg7 or Atg5, two essential genes in autophagy, leads to loss of Treg cells, greater tumor resistance and development of inflammatory disorders. Atg7-defici ...[more]

PMID: 26808230

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background & aimsMetabolic imbalance and inflammation are common features of chronic liver diseases. Molecular factors controlling these mechanisms represent potential therapeutic targets. CD73 is the major enzyme that dephosphorylates extracellular adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to form the anti-inflammatory adenosine. CD73 is expressed on pericentral hepatocytes, which are important for long-term liver homeostasis. We aimed to determine if CD73 has nonredundant hepatoprotective functions.MethodsLiver-specific CD73 knockout (CD73-LKO) mice were generated by targeting the Nt5e gene in hepatocytes. The CD73-LKO mice and hepatocytes were characterized using multiple approaches.ResultsDeletion of hepatocyte Nt5e resulted in an approximately 70% reduction in total liver CD73 protein (P < .0001). Male and female CD73-LKO mice developed normally during the first 21 weeks without significant liver phenotypes. Between 21 and 42 weeks, the CD73-LKO mice developed spontaneous-onset liver disease, with significant severity in male mice. Middle-aged male CD73-LKO mice showed hepatocyte swelling and ballooning (P < .05), inflammation (P < .01), and variable steatosis. Female CD73-LKO mice had lower serum albumin levels (P < .05) and increased inflammatory genes (P < .01), but did not show the spectrum of histopathologic changes in male mice, potentially owing to compensatory induction of adenosine receptors. Serum analysis and proteomic profiling of hepatocytes from male CD73-LKO mice showed significant metabolic imbalance, with increased blood urea nitrogen (P < .0001) and impairments in major metabolic pathways, including oxidative phosphorylation and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. There was significant hypophosphorylation of AMPK substrates in CD73-LKO livers (P < .0001), while in isolated hepatocytes treated with AMP, soluble CD73 induced AMPK activation (P < .001).ConclusionsHepatocyte CD73 supports long-term metabolic liver homeostasis through AMPK in a sex-dependent manner. These findings have implications for human liver diseases marked by CD73 dysregulation.

Dataset Information

Autophagy enforces functional integrity of regulatory T cells by coupling environmental cues and metabolic homeostasis.

Publications

Autophagy enforces functional integrity of regulatory T cells by coupling environmental cues and metabolic homeostasis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets