PD-1 restrains thymic IL-2 production and regulatory T cell development
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ABSTRACT: Inhibitory proteins, such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), have been extensively studied in peripheral T cell responses to foreign, self, and neoantigens. Notably, these proteins are first expressed during T cell development in the thymus. Reports suggest that PD-1 limits regulatory T cell (Treg) development, but the mechanism by which PD-1 exerts this function remains unknown. The present study expands the evaluation of PD-1 and its ligands in the thymus, demonstrating that some of the highest expressers of PD-1 and PD-L1 are agonist selected cells. Surprisingly, we reveal a selective role for PD-1 in regulating the developmental niche only for Tregs as other agonist selected cell populations, such as natural killer T cells, remain unchanged. We also ruled out PD-1 as a regulator of proliferation or cell death of agonist selected Tregs and further demonstrated that PD-1 deficient Tregs have reduced TCR signaling. Unexpectedly, the data suggests that PD-1 deficient thymocytes produce elevated levels of IL-2, a Treg niche limiting cytokine. Collectively, these data suggest a novel role for PD-1 in regulating IL-2 production and the concurrent agonist selection of thymic Tregs. This observation has implications for the use of checkpoint blockade in the context of cancer and infection.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE255727 | GEO | 2024/02/19
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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