Project description:Tumors express a wide variety of both mutated and non-mutated antigens. Whether these tumor antigens are broadly recognized as âselfâ or âforeignâ by the immune system is currently unclear. Using an autochthonous prostate cancer model in which hemagglutinin (HA) is specifically expressed in the tumor (ProHA x TRAMP mice), as well as an analogous model wherein HA is expressed in normal tissues as a model self-antigen (C3HAHigh), we examined the transcriptional profile of CD4 T cells undergoing antigen-specific division. Consistent with our previous data, transfer of antigen-specific CD4 T cells into C3HAHigh resulted in a functionally inactivated CD4 T cell profile. Conversely, adoptive transfer of an identical CD4 T cell population into ProHA x TRAMP resulted in the induction of a regulatory phenotype (Treg) both at the transcriptional and functional level. Interestingly, this Treg skewing was a property of even early-stage tumors, suggesting Treg induction as an important tolerance mechanism during tumor development. The goal of this microarray is to detail the transcriptional profile differences between CD4 T cells that recognize their cognate antigen in the context of tumor (ProHA x TRAMP model) or self-antigen recognition (C3HA) or viral-antigen recognition (VaccHA) models or unprimed naïve state (Nontransgenic). The comparison contains both upregulated and downregulated transcripts. Experiment Overall Design: TCR transgenic CD4 T cells specific for hemagglutinin (HA) were adoptively transferred into tumor-antigen recognition model (ProHA x TRAMP), Self-antigen recognition model (C3HA), viral-antigen recognition model (VaccHA), and naïve control (Nontrangenic). Divided (CFSE diluted) CD4 T cells were sorted by FACS, RNA was extracted, and biological replicated were hybridized to an Affymetrix Mouse 430 Plus 2 expression array, followed by interrogation with an Affymetrix GeneChip Scanner 3000. RMA normalization was employed to identify differentially expressed transcripts.
Project description:Tumors express a wide variety of both mutated and non-mutated antigens. Whether these tumor antigens are broadly recognized as “self” or “foreign” by the immune system is currently unclear. Using an autochthonous prostate cancer model in which hemagglutinin (HA) is specifically expressed in the tumor (ProHA x TRAMP mice), as well as an analogous model wherein HA is expressed in normal tissues as a model self-antigen (C3HAHigh), we examined the transcriptional profile of CD4 T cells undergoing antigen-specific division. Consistent with our previous data, transfer of antigen-specific CD4 T cells into C3HAHigh resulted in a functionally inactivated CD4 T cell profile. Conversely, adoptive transfer of an identical CD4 T cell population into ProHA x TRAMP resulted in the induction of a regulatory phenotype (Treg) both at the transcriptional and functional level. Interestingly, this Treg skewing was a property of even early-stage tumors, suggesting Treg induction as an important tolerance mechanism during tumor development. The goal of this microarray is to detail the transcriptional profile differences between CD4 T cells that recognize their cognate antigen in the context of tumor (ProHA x TRAMP model) or self-antigen recognition (C3HA) or viral-antigen recognition (VaccHA) models or unprimed naïve state (Nontransgenic). The comparison contains both upregulated and downregulated transcripts. Keywords: Transcriptional Profile comparison, context dependent antigen recognition and T Cell differentiation
Project description:Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are immune-mediated disorders in which CD4 T cells play a central role. However, the link between circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells and the targeted tissue has not been extensively studied in AILD. We hypothesized that circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells were clonally and functionally related to dominant intra-hepatic pathogenic CD4 T cell clones. Single cell transcriptomic analysis of circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells revealed a specific B-helper and immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile, which was conserved for different autoantigens, but distinct from several other types of foreign antigen specificities. In the blood, the dominant hepatic CD4 T cell clones had a similar transcriptomic signature and were enriched in the PD-1+ TIGIT+ HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell subset. In a mouse model, antigen-specific CD4 T cells acquired the immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile when they accumulated in the liver after local antigen reactivity. Locally, immune checkpoint molecules controlled the response of antigen-specific CD4 T cells responsible for liver damage. Our study reveals the origin and biology of liver-derived autoreactive CD4 T cells in the blood of AILD patients that are imprinted by the liver environment, and suggest a dysregulation of the immune checkpoint molecules pathways. Our study enables tracking and isolating circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells for future diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Project description:Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are immune-mediated disorders in which CD4 T cells play a central role. However, the link between circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells and the targeted tissue has not been extensively studied in AILD. We hypothesized that circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells were clonally and functionally related to dominant intra-hepatic pathogenic CD4 T cell clones. Single cell transcriptomic analysis of circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells revealed a specific B-helper and immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile, which was conserved for different autoantigens, but distinct from several other types of foreign antigen specificities. In the blood, the dominant hepatic CD4 T cell clones had a similar transcriptomic signature and were enriched in the PD-1+ TIGIT+ HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell subset. In a mouse model, antigen-specific CD4 T cells acquired the immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile when they accumulated in the liver after local antigen reactivity. Locally, immune checkpoint molecules controlled the response of antigen-specific CD4 T cells responsible for liver damage. Our study reveals the origin and biology of liver-derived autoreactive CD4 T cells in the blood of AILD patients that are imprinted by the liver environment, and suggest a dysregulation of the immune checkpoint molecules pathways. Our study enables tracking and isolating circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells for future diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Project description:Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are immune-mediated disorders in which CD4 T cells play a central role. However, the link between circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells and the targeted tissue has not been extensively studied in AILD. We hypothesized that circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells were clonally and functionally related to dominant intra-hepatic pathogenic CD4 T cell clones. Single cell transcriptomic analysis of circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells revealed a specific B-helper and immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile, which was conserved for different autoantigens, but distinct from several other types of foreign antigen specificities. In the blood, the dominant hepatic CD4 T cell clones had a similar transcriptomic signature and were enriched in the PD-1+ TIGIT+ HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell subset. In a mouse model, antigen-specific CD4 T cells acquired the immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile when they accumulated in the liver after local antigen reactivity. Locally, immune checkpoint molecules controlled the response of antigen-specific CD4 T cells responsible for liver damage. Our study reveals the origin and biology of liver-derived autoreactive CD4 T cells in the blood of AILD patients that are imprinted by the liver environment, and suggest a dysregulation of the immune checkpoint molecules pathways. Our study enables tracking and isolating circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells for future diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Project description:Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are immune-mediated disorders in which CD4 T cells play a central role. However, the link between circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells and the targeted tissue has not been extensively studied in AILD. We hypothesized that circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells were clonally and functionally related to dominant intra-hepatic pathogenic CD4 T cell clones. Single cell transcriptomic analysis of circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells revealed a specific B-helper and immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile, which was conserved for different autoantigens, but distinct from several other types of foreign antigen specificities. In the blood, the dominant hepatic CD4 T cell clones had a similar transcriptomic signature and were enriched in the PD-1+ TIGIT+ HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell subset. In a mouse model, antigen-specific CD4 T cells acquired the immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile when they accumulated in the liver after local antigen reactivity. Locally, immune checkpoint molecules controlled the response of antigen-specific CD4 T cells responsible for liver damage. Our study reveals the origin and biology of liver-derived autoreactive CD4 T cells in the blood of AILD patients that are imprinted by the liver environment, and suggest a dysregulation of the immune checkpoint molecules pathways. Our study enables tracking and isolating circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells for future diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Project description:Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are immune-mediated disorders in which CD4 T cells play a central role. However, the link between circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells and the targeted tissue has not been extensively studied in AILD. We hypothesized that circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells were clonally and functionally related to dominant intra-hepatic pathogenic CD4 T cell clones. Single cell transcriptomic analysis of circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells revealed a specific B-helper and immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile, which was conserved for different autoantigens, but distinct from several other types of foreign antigen specificities. In the blood, the dominant hepatic CD4 T cell clones had a similar transcriptomic signature and were enriched in the PD-1+ TIGIT+ HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell subset. In a mouse model, antigen-specific CD4 T cells acquired the immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile when they accumulated in the liver after local antigen reactivity. Locally, immune checkpoint molecules controlled the response of antigen-specific CD4 T cells responsible for liver damage. Our study reveals the origin and biology of liver-derived autoreactive CD4 T cells in the blood of AILD patients that are imprinted by the liver environment, and suggest a dysregulation of the immune checkpoint molecules pathways. Our study enables tracking and isolating circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells for future diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Project description:Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are immune-mediated disorders in which CD4 T cells play a central role. However, the link between circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells and the targeted tissue has not been extensively studied in AILD. We hypothesized that circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells were clonally and functionally related to dominant intra-hepatic pathogenic CD4 T cell clones. Single cell transcriptomic analysis of circulating self-antigen-specific CD4 T cells revealed a specific B-helper and immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile, which was conserved for different autoantigens, but distinct from several other types of foreign antigen specificities. In the blood, the dominant hepatic CD4 T cell clones had a similar transcriptomic signature and were enriched in the PD-1+ TIGIT+ HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell subset. In a mouse model, antigen-specific CD4 T cells acquired the immuno-exhausted transcriptional profile when they accumulated in the liver after local antigen reactivity. Locally, immune checkpoint molecules controlled the response of antigen-specific CD4 T cells responsible for liver damage. Our study reveals the origin and biology of liver-derived autoreactive CD4 T cells in the blood of AILD patients that are imprinted by the liver environment, and suggest a dysregulation of the immune checkpoint molecules pathways. Our study enables tracking and isolating circulating autoreactive CD4 T cells for future diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Project description:Tumor antigen-specific CD4+ T cells are required for the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in murine models but their contributions in human cancer are less understood. We used targeted single cell RNA sequencing and matching of T cell receptor sequences to identify signatures and functional correlates of tumor antigen-specific CD4+ T cells infiltrating human melanoma tumors. CD4+ T cells that recognize tumor-specific neoantigens express CXCL13 and are subdivided into clusters expressing memory and T follicular helper markers, and those expressing cytolytic markers, exhaustion markers and IFN-. In a cohort of melanoma patients, the frequency of CXCL13+ CD4+ T cells in the tumor correlated with the transcriptional states of CD8+ T cells and macrophages, maturation of B cells, and patient survival. Similar correlations were observed in a breast cancer cohort. These results identify distinct phenotypes and functional correlates of tumor antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in melanoma and suggest the possibility of using such cells to modify the tumor microenvironment.
Project description:The immune system must be able to distinguish self from non-self. During pregnancy, the mother’s immune system does not recognize the placenta as foreign because proteins expressed by tropbholasts, the placental cells that interface with the maternal immune system, do not activate maternal T cells. These activation defects have been previously attributed to suppression by regulatory T cells, while mechanisms of maternal B cell tolerance to trophoblast antigens have not been identified. In this study, we provide evidence that glycan-mediated B cell suppression plays a key role in establishing fetomaternal tolerance in mice. We find that trophoblast antigen-specific B cells are profoundly suppressed via CD22/LYN inhibitory signaling, in turn implicating the antigens’ sialic acids as key suppressive determinants. We also find that B cells mediate the antigen’s MHCII-restricted presentation to CD4 T cells, leading to T cell suppression. The specific goal of the mass spectrometry undertaking deposited here was to identify sialylated “true” placental-derived proteins present in the human and mouse serum proteome during pregnancy. Overall, our findings reveal protein glycosylation as a fundamental feature of placental “self-recognition” and may have relevance to pregnancy complications and tumor immune evasion. Furthermore, we anticipate these findings will enhance synthetic efforts to harness glycans to control antigen-specific immune responses in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.