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Baur J, Otto C, Steger U, Klein-Hessling S, Muhammad K, Pusch T, Murti K, Wismer R, Germer CT, Klein I, Müller N, Serfling E, Avots A. The Transcription Factor NFATc1 Supports the Rejection of Heterotopic Heart Allografts. Front Immunol 2018; 9:1338. [PMID: 29946322 PMCID: PMC6005848 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The immune suppressants cyclosporin A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506) are used worldwide in transplantation medicine to suppress graft rejection. Both CsA and FK506 inhibit the phosphatase calcineurin (CN) whose activity controls the immune receptor-mediated activation of lymphocytes. Downstream targets of CN in lymphocytes are the nuclear factors of activated T cells (NFATs). We show here that the activity of NFATc1, the most prominent NFAT factor in activated lymphocytes supports the acute rejection of heterotopic heart allografts. While ablation of NFATc1 in T cells prevented graft rejection, ectopic expression of inducible NFATc1/αA isoform led to rejection of heart allografts in recipient mice. Acceptance of transplanted hearts in mice bearing NFATc1-deficient T cells was accompanied by a reduction in number and cytotoxicity of graft infiltrating cells. In CD8+ T cells, NFATc1 controls numerous intracellular signaling pathways that lead to the metabolic switch to aerobic glycolysis and the expression of numerous lymphokines, chemokines, and their receptors, including Cxcr3 that supports the rejection of allogeneic heart transplants. These findings favors NFATc1 as a molecular target for the development of new strategies to control the cytotoxicity of T cells upon organ transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Baur
- Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Otto
- Experimental Surgery, Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Steger
- Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Klein-Hessling
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Khalid Muhammad
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Pusch
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Krisna Murti
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Rhoda Wismer
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christoph-Thomas Germer
- Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ingo Klein
- Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Department of General, Visceral, Vascular, and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Nora Müller
- Institute for Virology and Immunobiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Edgar Serfling
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Andris Avots
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Barker CE, Ali S, O'Boyle G, Kirby JA. Transplantation and inflammation: implications for the modification of chemokine function. Immunology 2014; 143:138-45. [PMID: 24912917 PMCID: PMC4172130 DOI: 10.1111/imm.12332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2014] [Revised: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxidative stress is a major and recurring cause of damage during inflammation, especially following organ transplantation. Initial ischaemia–reperfusion injury causes the production of many reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and subsequent recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells can lead to further oxidative stress. This stress is well known to cause damage at the cellular level, for example by induction of senescence leading to the production of a characteristic senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Chemokines are an important component of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, recruiting further leucocytes and reinforcing the stress and senescence responses. As well as inducing the production of proteins, including chemokines, oxidative stress can alter proteins themselves, both directly and by induction of enzymes capable of modification. These alterations can lead to important modifications to their biological activity and also alter detection by some antibodies, potentially limiting the biological relevance of some immunochemical and proteomic biomarkers. Peroxynitrite, a reactive nitrogen species generated during inflammation and ischaemia, can cause such modifications by nitrating chemokines. Matrix metalloproteinases, released by many stressed cells, can cleave chemokines, altering function, while peptidylarginine deiminases can inactivate certain chemokines by citrullination. This review discusses the relationship between inflammation and post-translational modification, focusing on the functional modulation of transplant-relevant pro-inflammatory chemokines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catriona E Barker
- Applied Immunobiology and Transplantation Research Group, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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Chemokine receptor modeling: an interdisciplinary approach to drug design. Future Med Chem 2014; 6:91-114. [DOI: 10.4155/fmc.13.194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemokines and their receptors are integral components of the immune response, regulating lymphocyte development, homing and trafficking, and playing a key role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. Chemokine receptors have, therefore, become the target for both small-molecule, peptide and antibody therapeutics. Chemokine receptors belong to the family of seven transmembrane receptor class A G protein-coupled receptors. The publication of the crystal structure of the archetypal class A seven transmembrane receptor protein rhodopsin, and other G protein-coupled receptors, including C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 and C-C chemokine receptor 5, provided the opportunity to create homology models of chemokine receptors. In this review, we describe an interdisciplinary approach to chemokine receptor modeling and the utility of this approach for structure-based drug design of chemokine receptor inhibitors.
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