Hold On, the Monocytes Are Coming!

Th1 polarization in the tumor microenvironment upregulates the myeloid-derived suppressor-like function of macrophages

Here, we investigated the effect of Th1 polarization in the tumor microenvironment (TME) on tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) maturation and activation. In our immunotherapy mouse model, with a Th1-dominant TME, tumors regressed in all cases, with complete regression in 80% of the cases. Monocyte-derived dendritic cells and activated CD4⁺ and CD8⁺T-cells increased in the tumor-draining lymph node, and correlated with each other in the therapeutic model. However, the cytotoxicity of tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺T-cells was slightly inhibited, whereas the number of T-cells significantly increased. Moreover, the number of TAMs increased; their maturation was inhibited; and nitrotyrosine (NT) production, as well as iNOS and arginase I expression, was increased, suggestive of the myeloid-derived suppressor cell-like immunosuppressive function of TAMs. IFN-γ knockout in the therapeutic model decreased NT production and induced macrophage maturation. Hence, Th1 polarization in the IFN-γ-dominant condition induces T-cell immune responses; however, it also enhances the immunosuppressive activity of TAMs.

Modulation of TAP-dependent antigen compartmentalization during human monocyte-to-DC differentiation

Dendritic cells (DCs) take up antigen in the periphery, migrate to secondary lymphoid organs, and present processed antigen fragments to adaptive immune cells and thus prime antigen-specific immunity. During local inflammation, recirculating monocytes are recruited from blood to the inflamed tissue, where they differentiate to macrophages and DCs. In this study, we found that monocytes showed high transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP)-dependent peptide compartmentalization and that after antigen pulsing, they were not able to efficiently stimulate antigen-specific T lymphocytes. Nevertheless, upon in vitro differentiation to monocyte-derived DCs, TAP-dependent peptide compartmentalization as well as surface major histocompatibility complex I turnover decreased and the cells efficiently restimulated T lymphocytes. Although TAP-dependent peptide compartmentalization decreased during DC differentiation, TAP expression levels increased. Furthermore, TAP relocated from early endosomes in monocytes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lysosomal compartments in DCs. Collectively, these data are compatible with the model that during monocyte-to-DC differentiation, the subcellular relocation of TAP and the regulation of its activity assure spatiotemporal separation of local antigen uptake and processing by monocytes and efficient T-lymphocyte stimulation by DCs.

mRNA-based dendritic cell vaccines

Cancer immunotherapy has been proposed as a powerful treatment modality. Active immunotherapy aspires to stimulate the patient's immune system, particularly T cells. These cells can recognize and kill cancer cells and can form an immunological memory. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the professional antigen-presenting cells of our immune system. They take up and process antigens to present them to T cells. Consequently, DCs have been investigated as a means to stimulate cancer-specific T-cell responses. An efficient strategy to program DCs is the use of mRNA, a well-defined and safe molecule that can be easily generated at high purity. Importantly, vaccines consisting of mRNA-modified DCs showed promising results in clinical trials. Therefore, we will introduce cancer immunotherapy and DCs and give a detailed overview on the application of mRNA to generate cancer-fighting DC vaccines.

TRPV1 antagonism by capsazepine modulates innate immune response in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA

Thousands of people suffer from severe malaria every year. The innate immune response plays a determinant role in host's defence to malaria. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) modulates macrophage-mediated responses in sepsis, but its role in other pathogenic diseases has never been addressed. We investigated the effects of capsazepine, a TRPV1 antagonist, in malaria. C57BL/6 mice received 10(5) red blood cells infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA intraperitoneally. Noninfected mice were used as controls. Capsazepine or vehicle was given intraperitoneally for 6 days. Mice were culled on day 7 after infection and blood and spleen cell phenotype and activation were evaluated. Capsazepine decreased circulating but not spleen F4/80(+)Ly6G(+) cell numbers as well as activation of both F4/80(+)and F4/80(+)Ly6G(+) cells in infected animals. In addition, capsazepine increased circulating but not spleen GR1(+) and natural killer (NK) population, without interfering with natural killer T (NKT) cell numbers and blood NK and NKT activation. However, capsazepine diminished CD69 expression in spleen NKT but not NK cells. Infection increased lipid peroxidation and the release of TNFα and IFNγ, although capsazepine-treated group exhibited lower levels of lipid peroxidation and TNFα. Capsazepine treatment did not affect parasitaemia. Overall, TRPV1 antagonism modulates the innate immune response to malaria.

Platelet activation attracts a subpopulation of effector monocytes to sites of Leishmania major infection

Leishmania infection triggers the recruitment of Gr1⁺ monocytes to the site of infection via platelet-derived PDGF and subsequent CCL2 production.

Leishmania species trigger a brisk inflammatory response and efficiently induce cell-mediated immunity. We examined the mechanisms whereby leukocytes were recruited into lesions after Leishmania major infection of mice. We found that a subpopulation of effector monocytes expressing the granulocyte marker GR1 (Ly6C) is rapidly recruited into lesions, and these monocytes efficiently kill L. major parasites. The recruitment of this subpopulation of monocytes depends on the chemokine receptor CCR2 and the activation of platelets. Activated platelets secrete platelet-derived growth factor, which induces the rapid release of CCL2 from leukocytes and mesenchymal cells. This work points to a new role for platelets in host defense involving the selective recruitment of a subpopulation of effector monocytes from the blood to efficiently kill this intracellular parasite.

Resident and monocyte-derived dendritic cells become dominant IL-12 producers under different conditions and signaling pathways

IL-12 is such a pivotal cytokine that it has been called the third signal for T cell activation, TCR engagement being the first and costimulation being the second. It has been generally viewed that the resident CD8(+) dendritic cell (DC) subset is the predominant IL-12-producing cell type. In this study, we found, although this is so under steady state conditions, under inflammatory conditions monocyte-derived DC (mDC) became a major cell type producing IL-12. Depletion of either type of DC resulted in reduced production of IL-12 in vivo. For CD8(+) DC, IL-12 production could be stimulated by various pathways viz. signaling through MyD88, Trif, or nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (Nod)-like receptors. In contrast, for mDC, IL-12 production was mainly dependent on MyD88 signaling. Thus, conventional DCs and mDCs use different pathways to regulate IL-12 production.

Autosomal dominant and sporadic monocytopenia with susceptibility to mycobacteria, fungi, papillomaviruses, and myelodysplasia

We identified 18 patients with the distinct clinical phenotype of susceptibility to disseminated nontuberculous mycobacterial infections, viral infections, especially with human papillomaviruses, and fungal infections, primarily histoplasmosis, and molds. This syndrome typically had its onset in adulthood (age range, 7-60 years; mean, 31.1 years; median, 32 years) and was characterized by profound circulating monocytopenia (mean, 13.3 cells/microL; median, 14.5 cells/microL), B lymphocytopenia (mean, 9.4 cells/microL; median, 4 cells/microL), and NK lymphocytopenia (mean, 16 cells/microL; median, 5.5 cells/microL). T lymphocytes were variably affected. Despite these peripheral cytopenias, all patients had macrophages and plasma cells at sites of inflammation and normal immunoglobulin levels. Ten of these patients developed 1 or more of the following malignancies: 9 myelodysplasia/leukemia, 1 vulvar carcinoma and metastatic melanoma, 1 cervical carcinoma, 1 Bowen disease of the vulva, and 1 multiple Epstein-Barr virus(+) leiomyosarcoma. Five patients developed pulmonary alveolar proteinosis without mutations in the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor or anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor autoantibodies. Among these 18 patients, 5 families had 2 generations affected, suggesting autosomal dominant transmission as well as sporadic cases. This novel clinical syndrome links susceptibility to mycobacterial, viral, and fungal infections with malignancy and can be transmitted in an autosomal dominant pattern.

Effector and regulatory mechanisms in allergic contact dermatitis

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), one of the commonest occupational diseases, is a T-cell-mediated skin inflammation caused by repeated skin exposure to contact allergens, i.e. nonprotein chemicals called haptens. Allergic contact dermatitis, also referred to as contact hypersensitivity, is mediated by CD8+ T cells, which are primed in lymphoid organs during the sensitization phase and are recruited in the skin upon re-exposure to the hapten. Subsets of CD4+ T cells endowed with suppressive activity are responsible for both the down-regulation of eczema in allergic patients and the prevention of priming to haptens in nonallergic individuals. Therefore, ACD should be considered as a breakdown of the skin immune tolerance to haptens. Recent advances in the pathophysiology of ACD have demonstrated the important role of skin innate immunity in the sensitization process and have revisited the dogma that Langerhans cells are mandatory for CD8+ T-cell priming. They have also introduced mast cells as a pivotal actor in the magnitude of the inflammatory reaction. Finally, the most recent studies address the nature, the mode and the site of action of the regulatory T cells that control the skin inflammation with the aim of developing new strategies of tolerance induction in allergic patients.

Cross, but not direct, presentation of cell-associated virus antigens by spleen macrophages is influenced by their differentiation state

The initiation of T-cell immune responses requires professional antigen-presenting cells. Emerging data point towards an important role for macrophages (Mphi) in the priming of naïve T cells. In this study we analyzed the efficiency and the mechanisms by which Mphi derived from spleen (Sp-Mphi) or bone marrow (BM-Mphi) present Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) antigens to epitope-specific T cells. We demonstrate that because of phagosomal maturation, Sp-Mphi downregulate their ability to cross-present cell-associated, but not soluble, antigens, as they are further differentiated in culture without altering their capacity to directly present virus antigens after infection. We propose that Sp-Mphi are extremely efficient at direct and cross-presentation. However, if these cells undergo further M-CSF-dependent maturation, they will adapt to be more scavenger and phagocytic and concurrently reduce their cross-presenting capacity. Accordingly, Sp-Mphi can have an important role in regulating T-cell responses through cross-presentation depending on their differentiation state.

MHC class I/peptide transfer between dendritic cells overcomes poor cross-presentation by monocyte-derived APCs that engulf dying cells

In vivo data suggest that monocytes participate critically in cross-presentation, but other data suggest that lymph node resident dendritic cells (DCs) mainly cross-present. Here, we utilized a three-dimensional model of a blood vessel wall that endogenously supports DC development from human monocytes, and we incorporated dying autologous cells in the subendothelial matrix of the model. Flu-infected dying cells promoted monocytes to become mature DCs and cross-present cell-associated Ags for the activation of CTLs. Similar responses were induced by loading the dying cells with the TLR7/8 ligand ssRNA, whereas dying cells loaded with TLR3 ligand were less efficient. Monocyte-derived DCs that developed in this model cross-presented Ag to T cells efficiently regardless of whether they engulfed detectable amounts of labeled dying cells. Unexpectedly, the monocyte-derived cells that directly engulfed dying cells in vitro were not the major APCs stimulating CD8(+) lymphocytes. Instead, bystander DCs acquired more robust capacity to cross-prime through receipt of MHC class I/peptide from the phagocytic, monocyte-derived cells. In mice, lymph node-homing monocyte-derived DCs processed Ags from engulfed cells and then transferred MHC class I/peptide complexes to confer cross-priming capacity to MHC class I-deficient lymph node resident CD8alpha(+) DCs. Thus, natural or synthetic TLR7/8 agonists contained within dying cells promote the conversion of monocytes to DCs with capacity for cross-presentation and for "cross-dressing" other DCs. These data reveal a way in which migratory monocyte-derived DCs and other DCs, like lymph node resident DCs, both mediate cross-presentation.

T-cell-mediated and antigen-dependent differentiation of human monocyte into different dendritic cell subsets: a feedback control of Th1/Th2 responses

It is well established that human monocytes differentiate into dendritic cells (DCs) when cultured with certain cytokine cocktails, such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-4. Conversely, it is not completely established which cell population synthesizes the cytokines required for monocyte differentiation and how their secretion is regulated. We show that on specific activation T cells induce the differentiation into DCs of antigen-presenting and bystander monocytes. Monocytes exposed to cytokines released by Th1 and Th0 lymphocytes differentiate into DCs with a reduced antigen uptake and antigen presentation capacity. Moreover, these DCs show a limited capacity to induce Th1 polarization of naive T cells but are capable of priming interleukin-10-secreting T cells. Conversely, DCs derived from monocytes sensing cytokines released by Th2 lymphocytes are antigen-presenting-cell (APC) endowed with a marked Th1 polarization capacity. Monocytes are corecruited with lymphocytes in chronic inflammation sites; thus our results suggest that functionally different DCs can be generated in environments characterized by the prevalent release of Th1-, Th0-, or Th2-associated cytokines. Because the APC capacities of these DCs have opposite functional consequences, a contribution in the regulation of the ongoing immune response by monocyte-derived inflammatory DCs is envisaged.

Commensal bacteria trigger a full dendritic cell maturation program that promotes the expansion of non-Tr1 suppressor T cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) orchestrate the immune response establishing immunity versus tolerance. These two opposite functions may be dictated by DC maturation status with maturity linked to immunogenicity. DCs directly interact with trillions of noninvasive intestinal bacteria in vivo, a process that contributes to gut homeostasis. We here evaluated the maturation program elicited in human DCs by direct exposure to commensal-related bacteria (CB) in the absence of inflammatory signals. We showed that eight gram(+) and gram(-) CB strains up-regulated costimulatory molecule expression in DCs and provoked a chemokine receptor switch similar to that activated by gram(+) pathogens. CB strains may be classified into three groups according to DC cytokine release: high IL-12 and low IL-10; low IL-12 and high IL-10; and low IL-12 and IL-10. All CB-treated DCs produced IL-1beta and IL-6 and almost no TGF-beta. Yet, CB instructed DCs to convert naive CD4+ T cells into hyporesponsive T cells that secreted low or no IFN-gamma, IL-10, and IL-17 and instead, displayed suppressor function. These data demonstrate that phenotypic DC maturation combined to an appropriate cytokine profile is insufficient to warrant Th1, IL-10-secreting T regulatory Type 1 (Tr1), or Th17 polarization. We propose that commensal flora and as such, probiotics manipulate DCs by a yet-unidentified pathway to enforce gut tolerance.

Antigen presentation by monocytes and monocyte-derived cells

Monocytes are circulating mononuclear phagocytes with a fundamental capacity to differentiate into macrophages. This differentiation can, in the presence of the right environmental cues, be re-directed instead to dendritic cells (DCs). Recent advances have been made in understanding the role of monocytes and their derivatives in presenting antigen to drive immune responses, and we review this topic herein. We briefly discuss the heterogeneity of monocytes in the blood and subsequently raise the possibility that one of the major monocyte phenotypes in the blood corresponds with a population of 'blood DCs' previously proposed to drive T-independent antibody reactions in the spleen. Then we evaluate the role of monocytes in T-dependent immunity, considering their role in acquiring antigens for presentation before exiting the bloodstream and their ability to differentiate into macrophages versus antigen-presenting DCs. Finally, we review recent literature on the role of monocyte-derived cells in cross-presentation and discuss the possibility that monocyte-derived cells participate critically in processing antigen for cross-priming, even if they do not present that antigen to T cells themselves.

Intrinsic and cooperative antigen-presenting functions of dendritic-cell subsets in vivo

Dendritic cells (DCs) comprise several subsets, and their roles in the presentation of antigens derived from pathogens, vaccines and self tissues are now beginning to be elucidated. Differences in location, life cycle and intrinsic abilities to capture, process and present antigens on their MHC class I and class II molecules enable each DC subset to have distinct roles in immunity to infection and in the maintenance of self tolerance. Unexpected interactions among DC subsets have also been revealed. These interactions, which allow the integration of the intrinsic abilities of different DC types, enhance the ability of the DC network to respond to multiple scenarios of infection.