Identification of tissue regulatory T cell precursors in lymphoid organs [ATAC-Seq]
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ABSTRACT: Regulatory T (Treg) cells maintain self-tolerance in lymphoid tissues, and specialized Treg cells accumulate and perform homeostasis and regenerative functions in non-lymphoid tissues. A common differentiation pathway of homeostasis-promoting Treg cells in non-lymphoid tissues from a putative precursor remains elusive. By using novel reporter mice and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we identified precursor stages of the IL-33 receptor ST2-expressing non-lymphoid tissue Treg population in spleen and lymph nodes. Molecular profiling of these precursors versus mature tissue Treg cells revealed their sequence of differentiation on a single-cell level. Global chromatin profiling of non-lymphoid tissue Treg cells and progenitor populations revealed a stepwise acquirement of open chromatin accessibility at tissue Treg genes. Mechanistically, we identified and validated the basic leucine zipper transcription factor, ATF-like (Batf) as a driver of the molecular tissue Treg program. Understanding this tissue program will help to harness regenerative properties of tissue Treg cells for therapy.
Project description:Regulatory T (Treg) cells maintain self-tolerance in lymphoid tissues, and specialized Treg cells accumulate and perform homeostasis and regenerative functions in non-lymphoid tissues. A common differentiation pathway of homeostasis-promoting Treg cells in non-lymphoid tissues from a putative precursor remains elusive. By using novel reporter mice and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we identified precursor stages of the IL-33 receptor ST2-expressing non-lymphoid tissue Treg population in spleen and lymph nodes. Molecular profiling of these precursors versus mature tissue Treg cells revealed their sequence of differentiation on a single-cell level. Global chromatin profiling of non-lymphoid tissue Treg cells and progenitor populations revealed a stepwise acquirement of open chromatin accessibility at tissue Treg genes. Mechanistically, we identified and validated the basic leucine zipper transcription factor, ATF-like (Batf) as a driver of the molecular tissue Treg program. Understanding this tissue program will help to harness regenerative properties of tissue Treg cells for therapy.
Project description:Regulatory T (Treg) cells maintain self-tolerance in lymphoid tissues, and specialized Treg cells accumulate and perform homeostasis and regenerative functions in non-lymphoid tissues. A common differentiation pathway of homeostasis-promoting Treg cells in non-lymphoid tissues from a putative precursor remains elusive. By using novel reporter mice and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we identified precursor stages of the IL-33 receptor ST2-expressing non-lymphoid tissue Treg population in spleen and lymph nodes. Molecular profiling of these precursors versus mature tissue Treg cells revealed their sequence of differentiation on a single-cell level. Global chromatin profiling of non-lymphoid tissue Treg cells and progenitor populations revealed a stepwise acquirement of open chromatin accessibility at tissue Treg genes. Mechanistically, we identified and validated the basic leucine zipper transcription factor, ATF-like (Batf) as a driver of the molecular tissue Treg program. Understanding this tissue program will help to harness regenerative properties of tissue Treg cells for therapy.
Project description:Regulatory T (Treg) cells maintain self-tolerance in lymphoid tissues, and specialized Treg cells accumulate and perform homeostasis and regenerative functions in non-lymphoid tissues. A common differentiation pathway of homeostasis-promoting Treg cells in non-lymphoid tissues from a putative precursor remains elusive. By using novel reporter mice and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we identified precursor stages of the IL-33 receptor ST2-expressing non-lymphoid tissue Treg population in spleen and lymph nodes. Molecular profiling of these precursors versus mature tissue Treg cells revealed their sequence of differentiation on a single-cell level. Global chromatin profiling of non-lymphoid tissue Treg cells and progenitor populations revealed a stepwise acquirement of open chromatin accessibility at tissue Treg genes. Mechanistically, we identified and validated the basic leucine zipper transcription factor, ATF-like (Batf) as a driver of the molecular tissue Treg program. Understanding this tissue program will help to harness regenerative properties of tissue Treg cells for therapy.
Project description:The tissues are the site of many important immunological reactions, yet how the immune system is controlled at these sites remains opaque. Recent studies have identified Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in non-lymphoid tissues, with unique characteristics compared to lymphoid Tregs. However, tissue Tregs have not been considered holistically across tissues. Here we performed a systematic analysis of the Treg population residing in non-lymphoid organs throughout the body, revealing shared phenotypes, transient residency and common molecular dependencies. Tissue Tregs from different non-lymphoid organs shared T cell receptor (TCR) sequences, with functional capacity to drive multi-tissue Treg entry, and were tissue-agnostic on tissue homing. Together these results demonstrate that the tissue-resident Treg pool in most non-lymphoid organs, other than the gut, is largely constituted by broadly self-reactive Tregs, characterised by transient multi-tissue migration. This work suggests common regulatory mechanisms may allow pan-tissue Tregs to safeguard homeostasis across the body.
Project description:The tissues are the site of many important immunological reactions, yet how the immune system is controlled at these sites remains opaque. Recent studies have identified Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in non-lymphoid tissues, with unique characteristics compared to lymphoid Tregs. However, tissue Tregs have not been considered holistically across tissues. Here we performed a systematic analysis of the Treg population residing in non-lymphoid organs throughout the body, revealing shared phenotypes, transient residency and common molecular dependencies. Tissue Tregs from different non-lymphoid organs shared T cell receptor (TCR) sequences, with functional capacity to drive multi-tissue Treg entry, and were tissue-agnostic on tissue homing. Together these results demonstrate that the tissue-resident Treg pool in most non-lymphoid organs, other than the gut, is largely constituted by broadly self-reactive Tregs, characterised by transient multi-tissue migration. This work suggests common regulatory mechanisms may allow pan-tissue Tregs to safeguard homeostasis across the body.
Project description:Regulatory T (Treg) cells can facilitate transplant tolerance and attenuate autoimmune- and inflammatory diseases. Therefore, it is clinically relevant to stimulate Treg cell expansion and function in vivo and to create therapeutic Treg cell products in vitro. We report that TNF receptor 2 (TNFR2) is a unique costimulus for naïve, thymus-derived (t)Treg cells from human blood that promotes their differentiation into non-lymphoid tissue (NLT)-resident effector Treg cells, without Th-like polarization. In contrast, CD28 costimulation maintains a lymphoid tissue (LT)-resident Treg cell phenotype. We base this conclusion on transcriptome and proteome analysis of TNFR2- and CD28-costimulated CD4+ Treg cells and conventional T (Tconv) cells, followed by bioinformatic comparison with published transcriptomic Treg cell signatures from NLT and LT in health and disease, including autoimmunity and cancer. These analyses illuminate that TNFR2 costimulation promotes Treg cell capacity for survival, migration, immunosuppression and tissue regeneration. Functional studies confirmed improved migratory ability of TNFR2-costimulated tTreg cells. Flow cytometry validated the presence of the TNFR2-driven Treg cell signature in effector/memory Treg cells from the human placenta as opposed to blood. Thus, TNFR2 can be exploited as driver of NLT-resident Treg cell differentiation for adoptive cell therapy or antibody-based immunomodulation in human disease.
Project description:Foxp3+CD4+ regulatory T (Treg) cells accumulate in certain non-lymphoid tissues, where they control diverse aspects of organ homeostasis, partly via a direct impact on neighboring non-immune cells. Populations of tissue-Tregs, as they have been termed, have transcriptomes distinct from those of their counterparts in lymphoid organs and other non-lymphoid tissues. Exploiting recent advances in profiling the chromatin accessibility and gene expression of rare cell populations, we examined the diversification of Tregs in visceral-adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and the colon vis-à-vis lymphoid organs from the same individuals. The unique transcriptomes of the various tissue-Treg populations reflected layering of tissue-restricted stretches of accessibility over a “primed” landscape of sites already open in the spleen, where they were tagged by super-enhancers and “bivalent” histone marks of transcriptional activation and repression. Tissue-restricted chromatin accessibility and gene expression correlated with the binding motifs of a small number of transcription-factor (TF) families repeatedly enriched across the various non-lymphoid tissues. However, a bioinformatically and experimentally validated transcriptional network constructed using a combination of chromatin-accessibility and single-cell transcriptomic data predicted usage of different TF-family members in the different tissues. The network analysis also revealed that tissue-restricted and ubiquitously acting TFs were integrated into feed-forward loops to enforce tissue-specific gene expression in non-lymphoid-tissue Treg cells. Overall, this study provides a framework for understanding the epigenetic dynamics of T cells operating in non-lymphoid tissues, which should inform strategies for specifically targeting them.
Project description:While unique subsets of Treg cells have been described in some non-lymphoid tissues, their relationship to Treg cells in secondary lymphoid organs and circulation remains unclear. We have identified a short-lived effector Treg cell subset that expresses the α2 integrin, CD49b, and exhibits a unique tissue distribution. Projection of the CD49b+ Treg signature onto the Treg phenotypic landscape as inferred by single-cell RNA-seq analysis, placed these cells at the apex of the Treg developmental trajectory. These results shed light on the identity and development of a functionally potent subset of mature effector Treg cells that recirculate through and survey peripheral tissues.
Project description:While unique subsets of Treg cells have been described in some non-lymphoid tissues, their relationship to Treg cells in secondary lymphoid organs and circulation remains unclear. We have identified a recirculating and highly suppressive effector Treg cell subset that expresses the α2 integrin, CD49b, and exhibits a unique tissue distribution. We used TCR sequencing to ask whether CD49b+ activated Treg cells and CD49b− activated Treg cells represent stable states of Treg cell differentiation instructed by distinct TCR repertoires. We did not find a pattern of clonotypes that was specific to either subset, suggesting that essentially all CD49b− Treg cells could give rise to CD49b+ cells. These results shed light on the identity and development of a functionally potent subset of mature effector Treg cells that recirculate through and survey peripheral tissues.
Project description:While unique subsets of Treg cells have been described in some non-lymphoid tissues, their relationship to Treg cells in secondary lymphoid organs and circulation remains unclear. We have identified a recirculating and highly suppressive effector Treg cell subset that expresses the α2 integrin, CD49b, and exhibits a unique tissue distribution. To identify genes and pathways enriched in CD49b+ Treg cells, we performed RNA-seq of splenic CD49b+ and CD49b− Treg cells that were of otherwise similar activation status based on expression of CD44 and CD62L. This revealed that splenic CD49b+ Treg cells express genes related to migration and activation, but are relatively depleted of genes whose expression is TCR-dependent in Treg cells. These results shed light on the identity and development of a functionally potent subset of mature effector Treg cells that recirculates through and surveys peripheral tissues.