Eliciting the T cell fate with Notch

Stem cell decoupling underlies impaired lymphoid development during aging

Mammalian aging is associated with multiple defects of hematopoiesis, most prominently with the impaired development of T and B lymphocytes. This defect is thought to originate in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) of the bone marrow, specifically due to the age-dependent accumulation of HSCs with preferential megakaryocytic and/or myeloid potential ("myeloid bias"). Here, we tested this notion using inducible genetic labeling and tracing of HSCs in unmanipulated animals. We found that the endogenous HSC population in old mice shows reduced differentiation into all lineages including lymphoid, myeloid, and megakaryocytic. Single-cell RNA sequencing and immunophenotyping (CITE-Seq) showed that HSC progeny in old animals comprised balanced lineage spectrum including lymphoid progenitors. Lineage tracing using the aging-induced HSC marker Aldh1a1 confirmed the low contribution of old HSCs across all lineages. Competitive transplantations of total bone marrow cells with genetically marked HSCs revealed that the contribution of old HSCs was reduced, but compensated by other donor cells in myeloid cells but not in lymphocytes. Thus, the HSC population in old animals becomes globally decoupled from hematopoiesis, which cannot be compensated in lymphoid lineages. We propose that this partially compensated decoupling, rather than myeloid bias, is the primary cause of the selective impairment of lymphopoiesis in older mice.

T, NK, then macrophages: Recent advances and challenges in adaptive immunotherapy from human pluripotent stem cells

Adaptive cellular immunotherapy, especially chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy, has advanced the treatment of hematological malignancy. However, major limitations still remain in the source of cells comes from the patients themselves. The use of human pluripotent stem cells to differentiate into immune cells, such as T cells, NK cells, and macrophages, then arm with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to enhance tumor killing has gained major attention. It is expected to solve the low number of immune cells recovery from patients, long waiting periods, and ethical issues(reprogramming somatic cells to produce induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) avoids the ethical issues unique to embryonic stem cells (Lo and Parham, 2009). However, there are still major challenges to be further solved. This review summarizes the progress, challenges, and future direction in human pluripotent stem cell-based immunotherapy.

Control of Lymphocyte Fate, Infection, and Tumor Immunity by TCF-1

T cell factor-1 (TCF-1), encoded by Tcf7, is a transcription factor and histone deacetylase (HDAC) essential for commitment to both the T cell and the innate lymphoid cell (ILC) lineages in mammals. In this review, we discuss the multifunctional role of TCF-1 in establishing these lineages and the requirement for TCF-1 throughout lineage differentiation and maintenance of lineage stability. We highlight recent reports showing promise for TCF-1 as a novel biomarker to identify recently characterized subsets of exhausted CD8⁺ T cells that may help to predict patient responses to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB).

Transcriptome analysis of larval immune defence in the lamprey Lethenteron japonicum

The lamprey is a primitive jawless vertebrate that occupies a critical phylogenetic position, and its larval stage represents the major portion of its life cycle [1]. Lamprey larvae have been proven to be an important model organism for studying numerous biological problems, such as the immune system, due to their unique biological features [2]. In addition, early-stage larvae have never been obtained from the wild [3]; therefore, it is necessary to establish artificial breeding of lampreys in the laboratory. However, during early development, the larvae exhibit susceptibility to saprolegniasis, and the immune responses of lamprey larvae to this infection remain poorly understood. Here, we established a model of fungal infection in lamprey larvae and then used RNA sequencing to investigate the transcript profiles of lamprey larvae and their immune responses to Saprolegnia ferax. Among the profiled molecules, genes involved in pathogen recognition, inflammation, phagocytosis, lysosomal degradation, soluble humoral effectors, and lymphocyte development were significantly upregulated. The results were validated by analysis of several genes by quantitative real-time PCR and whole-mount in situ hybridization. Finally, we performed a Western blot for VLRs in infected and uninfected lampreys. This work not only provides an animal model for studying fungal infection but also suggests a molecular basis for developing defensive strategies to manage Saprolegnia ferax infection.

mir-181a-1/b-1 Modulates Tolerance through Opposing Activities in Selection and Peripheral T Cell Function

Understanding the consequences of tuning TCR signaling on selection, peripheral T cell function, and tolerance in the context of native TCR repertoires may provide insight into the physiological control of tolerance. In this study, we show that genetic ablation of a natural tuner of TCR signaling, mir-181a-1/b-1, in double-positive thymocytes dampened TCR and Erk signaling and increased the threshold of positive selection. Whereas mir-181a-1/b-1 deletion in mice resulted in an increase in the intrinsic reactivity of naive T cells to self-antigens, it did not cause spontaneous autoimmunity. Loss of mir-181a-1/b-1 dampened the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and reduced basal TCR signaling in peripheral T cells and their migration from lymph nodes to pathogenic sites. Taken together, these results demonstrate that tolerance can be modulated by microRNA gene products through the control of opposing activities in T cell selection and peripheral T cell function.

How I treat mixed-phenotype acute leukemia

Mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) encompasses a heterogeneous group of rare leukemias in which assigning a single lineage of origin is not possible. A variety of different terms and classification systems have been used historically to describe this entity. MPAL is currently defined by a limited set of lineage-specific markers proposed in the 2008 World Health Organization monograph on classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues. In adult patients, MPAL is characterized by relative therapeutic resistance that may be attributed in part to the high proportion of patients with adverse cytogenetic abnormalities. No prospective, controlled trials exist to guide therapy. The limited available data suggest that an "acute lymphoblastic leukemia-like" regimen followed by allogeneic stem-cell transplant may be advisable; addition of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in patients with t(9;22) translocation is recommended. The role of immunophenotypic and genetic markers in guiding chemotherapy choice and postremission strategy, as well as the utility of targeted therapies in non-Ph-positive MPALs is unknown.

Hematopoietic progenitor cell lines with myeloid and lymphoid potential

Investigation of immune cell differentiation and function is limited by shortcomings of suitable and scalable experimental systems. Here we show that an estrogen–regulated form of HOXB8 that is retrovirally delivered into mouse bone marrow cells can be used along with FLT3 ligand to conditionally immortalize early hematopoietic progenitor cells (Hoxb8–FL). Hoxb8–FL cells have lost self–renewal capacity and megakaryocyte/ erythroid lineage potential, but sustain myeloid and lymphoid potential. Hoxb8–FL cells differentiate in vitro and in vivo into different myeloid and lymphoid cell types, including macrophages, granulocytes, dendritic cells and B– and T–lymphocytes, which are phenotypically and functionally indistinguishable from their primary counterparts. Quantitative in vitro cell lineage potential assays implicate that myeloid and B–cell potential of Hoxb8–FL cells is comparable to primary lymphoid–primed multipotent progenitors, while T–cell potential is comparatively reduced. Given the simplicity and unlimited proliferative capacity of Hoxb8–FL cells, this system provides unique opportunities to investigate cell differentiation and immune cell functions.

Notch ligand delta-like 4-pretreated dendritic cells alleviate allergic airway responses by enhancing IL-10 production

The Notch pathway plays a role in the processes of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, which affect the development and function of various organs. Dendritic cells (DCs), as professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), induce T cell activation and promote T cell differentiation by antigen stimulation. Research has shown that Notch ligand delta-like 4 (Dll4) in APCs is associated with stimulation of a Th1-type response. However, the regulatory roles of Dll4 in the activation and function of DCs have yet to be clearly elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated that activation of Dll4-pretreated bone marrow-derived DCs by performing ovalbumin (OVA) stimulation expressed a high level of interleukin (IL)-10 without diminishing IL-12 production. By contrast, the proinflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, decreased in Dll4-pretreated DCs by performing either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or OVA stimulation. Compared to fully mature DCs, lower levels of MHC class II CD40 and higher levels of CD80 and CD86 molecules were expressed in these semi-mature like DCs. Dll4 Notch signaling also enhanced Notch ligand mRNA expression of Dll1, Dll4, and Jagged1 in DCs. Dll4-modified DCs exhibited a reduced capacity to stimulate the proliferation of OVA-specific CD4(+) T cells, but actively promoted large amounts of IL-10 production in these activated T cells. Furthermore, immunomodulatory effects of Dll4-modified DCs were examined in an established asthmatic animal model. After adoptive transfer of OVA-pulsed plus Dll4-pretreated DCs in OVA-immunized mice, OVA challenge induced lower OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) and higher IgG2a antibody production, lower eotaxin, keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC), IL-5, and IL-13 release in bronchial alveolar lavage fluid, attenuated airway hyper-responsiveness, and promoted higher IL-10 and interferon (IFN)-γ production in the spleen. In summary, our findings elucidate the new role of Dll4 in the phenotype and function of DCs and provide a novel approach for manipulating T cell-driven deleterious immune diseases.

Manipulation of human early T lymphopoiesis by coculture on human bone marrow stromal cells: potential utility for adoptive immunotherapy

T cell precursors are an attractive target for adoptive immunotherapy. We examined the regulation of human early T lymphopoiesis by human bone marrow stromal cells to explore in vitro manipulation of human T cell precursors in a human-only coculture system. The generation of CD7(+)CD56(-)cyCD3(-) proT cells from human hematopoietic progenitors on telomerized human bone marrow stromal cells was enhanced by stem cell factor, flt3 ligand, and thrombopoietin, but these stimulatory effects were suppressed by interleukin 3. Expression of Notch ligands Delta-1 and -4 on stromal cells additively promoted T cell differentiation into the CD7(+)cyCD3(+) pre-T cell stage, while cell growth was strongly inhibited. By combining these coculture systems, we found that initial coculture with telomerized stromal cells in the presence of stem cell factor, flt3 ligand, and thrombopoietin, followed by coculture on Delta-1- and -4-coexpressing stromal cells led to a higher percentage and number of pre-T cells. Adoptive immunotherapy using peripheral blood T cells transduced with a tumor antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) is a promising strategy but has several limitations, such as the risk of forming a chimeric TCR with the endogenous TCR. We demonstrated that incubation of TCR-transduced hematopoietic progenitors with the combination of coculture systems gave rise to CD7(+)TCR(+)CD3(+)CD1a(-) T cell precursors that rapidly proliferated and differentiated under the culture condition to induce mature T cell differentiation. These data show the regulatory mechanism of early T lymphopoiesis on human stromal cells and the potential utility of engineered human stromal cells to manipulate early T cell development for clinical application.

Divergent lymphocyte signalling revealed by a powerful new tool for analysis of time-lapse microscopy

We describe a new approach for interactive analysis of time-lapse microscopy, and apply this approach to elucidating whether polarity regulation is conserved between epithelial cells and lymphocytes. A key advantage of our analysis platform, 'TACTICS', is the capacity to visualize individual data points in the context of large data sets, similar to standard approaches in flow cytometry. Scatter plots representing microscopic parameters or their derivations such as polarity ratios are linked to the original data such that clicking on each dot enables a link to images and movies of the corresponding cell. Similar to flow cytometric analysis, subsets of the data can be gated and reanalyzed to explore the relationships between different parameters. TACTICS was used to dissect the regulation of polarization of the cell fate determinant, Numb, in migrating lymphocytes. We show here that residues of Numb that are phosphorylated by atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) to mediate apicobasal polarity in epithelial cells are not required for polarization of Numb in T cells, indicating that the role of aPKC is not conserved between lymphocytes and epithelia.

The microRNA regulatory network in normal- and HTLV-1-transformed T cells

Recent efforts to understand the molecular networks governing normal T cell development and driving the neoplastic transformation of T cells have brought to light the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. In the present review, we compare the expression profiles of miRNAs in normal T cell development to that of transformed T cells using as a model adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma, an aggressive malignancy of mature CD4+ T cells that is caused by infection with human T cell leukemia virus type 1.

Expression of functional P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 on hematopoietic progenitors is developmentally regulated

T cell development requires periodic importation of hematopoietic progenitors into the thymus. The receptor-ligand pair P-selectin and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) are critically involved in this process. In this study, we examined the expression of functional PSGL-1 on bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors. We demonstrate that functional PSGL-1 is expressed at low levels on hematopoietic stem cells, but upregulated on the cell surface of progenitors that bear other homing molecules known to be important for thymic settling. We found that progenitors able to home to the thymus expressed high levels of PSGL-1 transcripts compared with hematopoietic stem cells. We further demonstrate that hematopoietic progenitors lacking fucosyltransferase 4 and 7 do not express functional PSGL-1, and do not home efficiently to the thymus. These studies provide insight into the developmentally regulated expression of a critical determinant involved in progenitor homing to the thymus.

Therapeutic potential of Notch inhibition in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: rationale, caveats and promises

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a malignancy that presents with poor prognosis. Treatment relies on the application of aggressive therapies that produce deleterious side-effects, justifying the quest for novel, more efficient and selective molecular targeting agents. Mutations leading to abnormal Notch-1 activity are present in more than half of the T-ALL patients, underscoring the potential therapeutic relevance of targeting Notch-1 inhibition and further reinforcing the need to better comprehend the mechanisms by which Notch-1 drives T cell leukemogenesis. Clinical application of γ-secretase inhibitors to block Notch signaling in T-ALL revealed new challenges that involve improvement of the therapeutic benefit and reduction of intestinal toxicity. Here, we review the latest advances in the development and use of Notch antagonists and summarize the current knowledge on Notch function in T-ALL to understand how it may translate into novel therapeutic strategies that increment the efficiency of Notch inhibition.

T-cell factor 1 is a gatekeeper for T-cell specification in response to Notch signaling

Although transcriptional programs associated with T-cell specification and commitment have been described, the functional hierarchy and the roles of key regulators in structuring/orchestrating these programs remain unclear. Activation of Notch signaling in uncommitted precursors by the thymic stroma initiates the T-cell differentiation program. One regulator first induced in these precursors is the DNA-binding protein T-cell factor 1 (Tcf-1), a T-cell-specific mediator of Wnt signaling. However, the specific contribution of Tcf-1 to early T-cell development and the signals inducing it in these cells remain unclear. Here we assign functional significance to Tcf-1 as a gatekeeper of T-cell fate and show that Tcf-1 is directly activated by Notch signals. Tcf-1 is required at the earliest phase of T-cell determination for progression beyond the early thymic progenitor stage. The global expression profile of Tcf-1-deficient progenitors indicates that basic processes of DNA metabolism are down-regulated in its absence, and the blocked T-cell progenitors become abortive and die by apoptosis. Our data thus add an important functional relationship to the roadmap of T-cell development.

Induced pluripotent stem cells: a novel frontier in the study of human primary immunodeficiencies

BACKGROUND

The novel ability to epigenetically reprogram somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) through the exogenous expression of transcription promises to revolutionize the study of human diseases.

OBJECTIVE

Here we report on the generation of 25 iPSC lines from 6 patients with various forms of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) affecting adaptive immunity, innate immunity, or both.

METHODS

Patients' dermal fibroblasts were reprogrammed by expression of 4 transcription factors, octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2), Krueppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), and cellular myelomonocytosis proto-oncogene (cMYC), by using a single excisable polycistronic lentiviral vector.

RESULTS

iPSCs derived from patients with PIDs show a stemness profile that is comparable with that observed in human embryonic stem cells. After in vitro differentiation into embryoid bodies, pluripotency of the patient-derived iPSC lines was demonstrated by expression of genes characteristic of each of the 3 embryonic layers. We have confirmed the patient-specific origin of the iPSC lines and ascertained maintenance of karyotypic integrity.

CONCLUSION

By providing a limitless source of diseased stem cells that can be differentiated into various cell types in vitro, the repository of iPSC lines from patients with PIDs represents a unique resource to investigate the pathophysiology of hematopoietic and extrahematopoietic manifestations of these diseases and might assist in the development of novel therapeutic approaches based on gene correction.