Adoptive transfer of autoimmune splenic dendritic cells to lupus-prone mice triggers a B lymphocyte humoral response (original) (raw)

Dysregulated cytokine production by dendritic cells modulates B cell responses in the NZM2410 mouse model of lupus

PloS one, 2014

The breakdown in tolerance of autoreactive B cells in the lupus-prone NZM2410-derived B6.Sle1.Sle2.Sle3 (TC) mice results in the secretion of autoantibodies. TC dendritic cells (DCs) enhance B cell proliferation and antibody secretion in a cytokine-dependent manner. However, the specific cytokine milieu by which TC DCs activate B cells was not known. In this study, we compared TC and C57BL/6 (B6) control for the distribution of DC subsets and for their production of cytokines affecting B cell responses. We show that TC DCs enhanced B cell proliferation through the production of IL-6 and IFN-γ, while antibody secretion was only dependent on IL-6. Pre-disease TC mice showed an expanded PDCA1(+) cells prior to disease onset that was localized to the marginal zone and further expanded with age. The presence of PDCA1(+) cells in the marginal zone correlated with a Type I Interferon (IFN) signature in marginal zone B cells, and this response was higher in TC than B6 mice. In vivo administ...

Abnormal costimulatory phenotype and function of dendritic cells before and after the onset of severe murine lupus

Arthritis research & therapy, 2006

We analyzed the activation and function of dendritic cells (DCs) in the spleens of diseased, lupus-prone NZM2410 and NZB-W/F1 mice and age-matched BALB/c and C57BL/6 control mice. Lupus DCs showed an altered ex vivo costimulatory profile, with a significant increase in the expression of CD40, decreased expression of CD80 and CD54, and normal expression of CD86. DCs from young lupus-prone NZM2410 mice, before the development of the disease, expressed normal levels of CD80 and CD86 but already overexpressed CD40. The increase in CD40-positive cells was specific for DCs and involved the subset of myeloid and CD8alpha+ DCs before disease onset, with a small involvement of plasmacytoid DCs in diseased mice. In vitro data from bone marrow-derived DCs and splenic myeloid DCs suggest that the overexpression of CD40 is not due to a primary alteration of CD40 regulation in DCs but rather to an extrinsic stimulus. Our analyses suggest that the defect of CD80 in NZM2410 and NZB-W/F1 mice, which...

Dendritic Cell and Macrophage-Mediated Tolerance in Lupus-Prone Mice

During infection, immune cells respond to polyclonal activators, like bacterial and viral antigens, through innate immune responses. Therefore, mechanisms to regulate the activation of autoreactive B cells during polyclonal activation are necessary to prevent autoimmunity. Previous studies into the mechanisms of B cell tolerance have focused on B cell Receptor (BCR)-mediated regulation of autoreactive or chronically antigen-experienced B cells. However, the regulation of chronically antigen-experienced B cells during polyclonal activation is less understood. We recently identified a novel mechanism of tolerance wherein DCs and MΦs repress Ig secretion by autoreactive B cells. Polyclonal activators through Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) induce DCs and MΦs to secrete soluble factors (IL-6, sCD40L, and TNFα) that differentially regulate naïve and chronically antigen-experienced B cells. IL-6, sCD40L, and TNFα selectively repress chronically stimulated autoreactive B cells while having no e...

Faculty of 1000 evaluation for Dendritic cells in lupus are not required for activation of T and B cells but promote their expansion, resulting in tissue damage

F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature, 2000

Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate and control the adaptive immune response against infections. However, their contributions to the anti-self adaptive immune response in autoimmune disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus are uncertain. By constitutively deleting DCs in MRL.Fas lpr mice we show that they have complex roles in murine lupus. The net effect of DC deletion was to ameliorate disease. DCs were crucial for the expansion and differentiation of T cells but, surprisingly, not required for their initial activation. Correspondingly, kidney interstitial infiltrates developed in the absence of DCs, but failed to progress. DC deletion concomitantly decreased inflammatory and regulatory T cell numbers. Unexpectedly, plasmablast numbers and autoantibody concentrations depended on DCs, in contrast to total serum immunoglobulin concentrations, suggesting an effect of DCs on extrafollicular humoral responses. These findings reveal that DCs operate in unanticipated ways in murine lupus and validate them as a potential therapeutic target in autoimmunity.

Dendritic and stromal cells from the spleen of lupic mice present phenotypic and functional abnormalities

Molecular Immunology, 2013

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the increase in the percentage of autoreactive B and T lymphocytes. Since dendritic cells (DCs) are essential for B cell and T cell function, we hypothesized that changes in DC biology may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of the disease. We analyzed the phenotype and distribution of two main DC subsets, conventional (cDC) and plasmacytoid (pDC), in lupus prone (NZW×NZB)F1 (BWF1) mice and age-matched NZW×BALB/c control mice. Our results show that both subsets of lupic DCs displayed an abnormal phenotype, characterized by an over-expression of the co-stimulatory molecules CD80, CD86, PD-L1 and PD-L2 compared with control mice. Accordingly, spleen CD4 + T cells from lupic mice exhibit an activated phenotype characterized by a higher expression of PD-1, CD25, CD69 and increased secretion of IFN-␥ and IL-10. Interestingly, lupic mice also present an increase in the percentage of cDC in peripheral blood and an increase in the percentage of pDCs in spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) compared with control and pre-lupic mice. Homing experiments demonstrate that lupic and pre-lupic DCs migrate preferentially to the spleen compared to DCs from control mice. This preferential recruitment and retention of DCs in the spleen is related to an altered expression of different chemokine and chemokine receptors on both, DCs and stromal cells from lupic mice. Our results suggest that this altered phenotype and migratory behavior shown by DCs from lupic mice may account for the abnormal T cell and B cell responses in lupus.

Role of dendritic cells in the initiation, progress and modulation of systemic autoimmune diseases

Autoimmunity Reviews, 2015

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in the activation of the immune response against pathogens, as well as in the modulation of peripheral tolerance to self-antigens (Ags). Furthermore, an imbalance in the activating/inhibitory receptors expressed on the surface of DCs has been linked to increased susceptibility to develop autoimmune diseases underscoring their immunogenicity potential. It has been described that modulation of activating or inhibitory molecules expressed by DCs, such as CD86, TLRs, PDL-1 and FcγRs, can define the immunogenic phenotype. On the other hand, T cell tolerance can be achieved by tolerogenic DCs, which have the capacity of blocking undesired autoimmune responses in several experimental models, mainly by inducing T cell anergy, expansion of regulatory T cells and limiting B cell responses. Due to the lack of specific therapies to treat autoimmune disorders and the tolerogenic capacity of DCs shown in experimental autoimmune disease models, autologous tolDCs are a potential therapeutic strategy for fine-tuning the immune system and reestablishing tolerance in human autoimmune diseases. New advances in the role of DCs in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis and the identification of pathogenic self-Ags may favor the development of novel tolDC based therapies with a major clinical impact. In this review, we discuss recent data relative to the role of DCs in systemic autoimmune pathogenesis and their use as a therapy to restore tolerance.

Defective in Repressing Immunoglobulin Dendritic Cells from Lupus-Prone Mice Are

2007

Autoimmunity results from a breakdown in tolerance mechanisms that regulate autoreactive lymphocytes. We recently showed that during innate immune responses, secretion of IL-6 by dendritic cells (DCs) maintained autoreactive B cells in an unresponsive state. In this study, we describe that TLR4-activated DCs from lupus-prone mice are defective in repressing autoantibody secretion, coincident with diminished IL-6 secretion. Reduced secretion of IL-6 by MRL/lpr DCs reflected diminished synthesis and failure to sustain IL-6 mRNA production. This occurred coincident with lack of NF-B and AP-1 DNA binding and failure to sustain IB␣ phosphorylation. Analysis of individual mice showed that some animals partially repressed Ig secretion despite reduced levels of IL-6. This suggests that in addition to IL-6, DCs secrete other soluble factor(s) that regulate autoreactive B cells. Collectively, the data show that MRL/lpr mice are defective in DC/IL-6-mediated tolerance, but that some individuals maintain the ability to repress autoantibody secretion by an alternative mechanism.

Marked Increase in Number of Dendritic Cells in Autoimmune-Prone (NZW × BXSB)F1 Mice with Age

Stem Cells, 2002

Here, we report that the number of CD11c + CD3 -B220cells increases in autoimmune-prone male (NZW × BXSB)F1 (W/BF1) mice with age. The CD11c + CD3 -B220cells from W/BF1 mice show a typical stellate shape and induce the proliferation of T cells. In the CD11c + CD3 -B220cells from W/BF1 mice, CD11b (Mac-1α), NK 1.1, and CD95 (Fas) are upregulated in comparison with normal mice, while the expression of CD8α, CD117 (c-kit), CD135 (Flk-2/Flt-3), and Sca-1 decreases. There is a significant increase in Flt-3L (FL) mRNA in the bone marrow of W/BF1 mice with age. Moreover, activated hemopoietic cells express high levels of FL. The injection of CD11c + CD3 -B220cells from old W/BF1 mice to young W/BF1 mice transiently induces autoimmune disease (thrombocytopenia). These results suggest that hyperproduction of FL from activated hemopoietic cells induces a dramatic increase in the number of dendritic cells in aged W/BF1 mice, followed by the acceleration of autoimmunity. Stem Cells

Tolerogenic dendritic cell transfer ameliorates systemic lupus erythematosus in mice

Immunology, 2019

Current treatments for systemic autoimmune diseases partially improve the health of patients displaying low pharmacological efficacy and systemic immunosuppression. Here, the therapeutic potential of transferring tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs) generated with heme-oxygenase inductor cobalt (III) protoporphyrin IX (CoPP), dexamethasone and rosiglitazone for the treatment of systemic autoimmunity was evaluated in two murine models of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), MRL-Fas lpr and NZM2410 mice. Dendritic cells treated ex vivo with these drugs showed a stable tolerogenic profile after lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Regular doses of tolDCs were administered to anti-nuclear antibody-positive mice throughout 60-70 days, and the clinical score was evaluated. Long-term treatment with these tolDCs was well tolerated and effective to improve the clinical score on MRL-Fas lpr lupus-prone mice. Additionally, decreased levels of anti-nuclear antibodies in NZM2410 mice were observed. Although tolDC treatment increased regulatory T cells, no significant reduction of renal damage or glomerulonephritis could be found. In conclusion, these results suggest that the transfer of histone-loaded tolDCs could improve only some SLE symptoms and reduced anti-nuclear antibodies. This is the first study to evaluate antigen-specific tolDC administration to treat SLE. Our report strengthens the clinical relevance of tolDC generation with CoPP, dexamethasone and rosiglitazone and the use of these modified cells as a therapy for systemic autoimmunity.