1
|
Brunel S, Picarda G, Gupta A, Ghosh R, McDonald B, El Morabiti R, Jiang W, Greenbaum JA, Adler B, Seumois G, Croft M, Vijayanand P, Benedict CA. Late-rising CD4 T cells resolve mouse cytomegalovirus persistent replication in the salivary gland. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1011852. [PMID: 38236791 PMCID: PMC10796040 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Conventional antiviral memory CD4 T cells typically arise during the first two weeks of acute infection. Unlike most viruses, cytomegalovirus (CMV) exhibits an extended persistent replication phase followed by lifelong latency accompanied with some gene expression. We show that during mouse CMV (MCMV) infection, CD4 T cells recognizing an epitope derived from the viral M09 protein only develop after conventional memory T cells have already peaked and contracted. Ablating these CD4 T cells by mutating the M09 genomic epitope in the MCMV Smith strain, or inducing them by introducing the epitope into the K181 strain, resulted in delayed or enhanced control of viral persistence, respectively. These cells were shown to be unique compared to their conventional memory counterparts; producing higher IFNγ and IL-2 and lower IL-10 levels. RNAseq analyses revealed them to express distinct subsets of effector genes as compared to classical CD4 T cells. Additionally, when M09 cells were induced by epitope vaccination they significantly enhanced protection when compared to conventional CD4 T cells alone. These data show that late-rising CD4 T cells are a unique memory subset with excellent protective capacities that display a development program strongly differing from the majority of memory T cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Brunel
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Gaelle Picarda
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Ankan Gupta
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Division of Immune Regulation, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Raima Ghosh
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Bryan McDonald
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Rachid El Morabiti
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Wenjin Jiang
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Jason A. Greenbaum
- LJI Bioinformatics Core, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Barbara Adler
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute & Gene Center, Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig- Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Gregory Seumois
- Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Michael Croft
- Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Pandurangan Vijayanand
- Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Chris A. Benedict
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, California, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Holtappels R, Becker S, Hamdan S, Freitag K, Podlech J, Lemmermann NA, Reddehase MJ. Immunotherapy of cytomegalovirus infection by low-dose adoptive transfer of antiviral CD8 T cells relies on substantial post-transfer expansion of central memory cells but not effector-memory cells. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011643. [PMID: 37972198 PMCID: PMC10688903 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are host species-specific in their replication. It is a hallmark of all CMVs that productive primary infection is controlled by concerted innate and adaptive immune responses in the immunocompetent host. As a result, the infection usually passes without overt clinical symptoms and develops into latent infection, referred to as "latency". During latency, the virus is maintained in a non-replicative state from which it can reactivate to productive infection under conditions of waning immune surveillance. In contrast, infection of an immunocompromised host causes CMV disease with viral multiple-organ histopathology resulting in organ failure. Primary or reactivated CMV infection of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients in a "window of risk" between therapeutic hemato-ablative leukemia therapy and immune system reconstitution remains a clinical challenge. Studies in the mouse model of experimental HCT and infection with murine CMV (mCMV), followed by clinical trials in HCT patients with human CMV (hCMV) reactivation, have revealed a protective function of virus-specific CD8 T cells upon adoptive cell transfer (AT). Memory CD8 T cells derived from latently infected hosts are a favored source for immunotherapy by AT. Strikingly low numbers of these cells were found to prevent CMV disease, suggesting either an immediate effector function of few transferred cells or a clonal expansion generating high numbers of effector cells. In the murine model, the memory population consists of resting central memory T cells (TCM), as well as of conventional effector-memory T cells (cTEM) and inflationary effector-memory T cells (iTEM). iTEM increase in numbers over time in the latently infected host, a phenomenon known as 'memory inflation' (MI). They thus appeared to be a promising source for use in immunotherapy. However, we show here that iTEM contribute little to the control of infection after AT, which relies almost entirely on superior proliferative potential of TCM.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela Holtappels
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Sara Becker
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sara Hamdan
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Kirsten Freitag
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jürgen Podlech
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Niels A. Lemmermann
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Virology, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Matthias J. Reddehase
- Institute for Virology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hieber C, Grabbe S, Bros M. Counteracting Immunosenescence-Which Therapeutic Strategies Are Promising? Biomolecules 2023; 13:1085. [PMID: 37509121 PMCID: PMC10377144 DOI: 10.3390/biom13071085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging attenuates the overall responsiveness of the immune system to eradicate pathogens. The increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by innate immune cells under basal conditions, termed inflammaging, contributes to impaired innate immune responsiveness towards pathogen-mediated stimulation and limits antigen-presenting activity. Adaptive immune responses are attenuated as well due to lowered numbers of naïve lymphocytes and their impaired responsiveness towards antigen-specific stimulation. Additionally, the numbers of immunoregulatory cell types, comprising regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, that inhibit the activity of innate and adaptive immune cells are elevated. This review aims to summarize our knowledge on the cellular and molecular causes of immunosenescence while also taking into account senescence effects that constitute immune evasion mechanisms in the case of chronic viral infections and cancer. For tumor therapy numerous nanoformulated drugs have been developed to overcome poor solubility of compounds and to enable cell-directed delivery in order to restore immune functions, e.g., by addressing dysregulated signaling pathways. Further, nanovaccines which efficiently address antigen-presenting cells to mount sustained anti-tumor immune responses have been clinically evaluated. Further, senolytics that selectively deplete senescent cells are being tested in a number of clinical trials. Here we discuss the potential use of such drugs to improve anti-aging therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Hieber
- Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstraße 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Ackermannweg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Stephan Grabbe
- Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstraße 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Ackermannweg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Matthias Bros
- Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstraße 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Derksen LY, Tesselaar K, Borghans JAM. Memories that last: Dynamics of memory T cells throughout the body. Immunol Rev 2023. [PMID: 37114435 DOI: 10.1111/imr.13211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Memory T cells form an essential part of immunological memory, which can last for years or even a lifetime. Much experimental work has shown that the individual cells that make up the memory T-cell pool are in fact relatively short-lived. Memory T cells isolated from the blood of humans, or the lymph nodes and spleen of mice, live about 5-10 fold shorter than naive T cells, and much shorter than the immunological memory they convey. The commonly accepted view is, therefore, that long-term T-cell memory is maintained dynamically rather than by long-lived cells. This view is largely based on memory T cells in the circulation, identified using rather broad phenotypic markers, and on research in mice living in overly clean conditions. We wondered to what extent there may be heterogeneity in the dynamics and lifespans of memory T cells. We here review what is currently known about the dynamics of memory T cells in different memory subsets, locations in the body and conditions of microbial exposure, and discuss how this may be related to immunometabolism and how this knowledge can be used in various clinical settings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lyanne Y Derksen
- Leukocyte Dynamics Group, Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Kiki Tesselaar
- Leukocyte Dynamics Group, Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - José A M Borghans
- Leukocyte Dynamics Group, Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Sarantis P, Trifylli EM, Koustas E, Papavassiliou KA, Karamouzis MV, Papavassiliou AG. Immune Microenvironment and Immunotherapeutic Management in Virus-Associated Digestive System Tumors. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:13612. [PMID: 36362398 PMCID: PMC9655697 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of cancer is a multifactorial phenomenon, while it constitutes a major global health problem. Viruses are an important factor that is involved in tumorigenesis and is associated with 12.1% of all cancer cases. Major examples of oncogenic viruses which are closely associated with the digestive system are HBV, HCV, EBV, HPV, JCV, and CMV. EBV, HPV, JCV, and CMV directly cause oncogenesis by expressing oncogenic proteins that are encoded in their genome. In contrast, HBV and HCV are correlated indirectly with carcinogenesis by causing chronic inflammation in the infected organs. In addition, the tumor microenvironment contains various immune cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts, as well as several growth factors, cytokines, and other tumor-secreted molecules that play a key role in tumor growth, progression, and migration, while they are closely interrelated with the virus. The presence of T-regulatory and B-regulatory cells in the tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the anti-tumor immune reaction. The tumor immune microenvironments differ in each type of cancer and depend on viral infection. The alterations in the immune microenvironment caused by viruses are also reflected in the effectiveness of immunotherapy. The present review aims at shedding light on the association between viruses and digestive system malignancies, the characteristics of the tumor immune microenvironment that develop, and the possible treatments that can be administered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Panagiotis Sarantis
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Eleni-Myrto Trifylli
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- First Department of Internal Medicine, 417 Army Share Fund Hospital, 11521 Athens, Greece
| | - Evangelos Koustas
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- First Department of Internal Medicine, 417 Army Share Fund Hospital, 11521 Athens, Greece
| | - Kostas A. Papavassiliou
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Michalis V. Karamouzis
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Athanasios G. Papavassiliou
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Holtappels R, Podlech J, Freitag K, Lemmermann NA, Reddehase MJ. Memory CD8 T Cells Protect against Cytomegalovirus Disease by Formation of Nodular Inflammatory Foci Preventing Intra-Tissue Virus Spread. Viruses 2022; 14:v14061145. [PMID: 35746617 PMCID: PMC9229300 DOI: 10.3390/v14061145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are controlled by innate and adaptive immune responses in an immunocompetent host while causing multiple organ diseases in an immunocompromised host. A risk group of high clinical relevance comprises transiently immunocompromised recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in the “window of risk” between eradicative therapy of hematopoietic malignancies and complete reconstitution of the immune system. Cellular immunotherapy by adoptive transfer of CMV-specific CD8 T cells is an option to prevent CMV disease by controlling a primary or reactivated infection. While experimental models have revealed a viral epitope-specific antiviral function of cognate CD8 T cells, the site at which control is exerted remained unidentified. The observation that remarkably few transferred cells protect all organs may indicate an early blockade of virus dissemination from a primary site of productive infection to various target organs. Alternatively, it could indicate clonal expansion of a few transferred CD8 T cells for preventing intra-tissue virus spread after successful initial organ colonization. Our data in the mouse model of murine CMV infection provide evidence in support of the second hypothesis. We show that transferred cells vigorously proliferate to prevent virus spread, and thus viral histopathology, by confining and eventually resolving tissue infection within nodular inflammatory foci.
Collapse
|
7
|
Cytomegalovirus immune evasion sets the functional avidity threshold for protection by CD8 T cells. Med Microbiol Immunol 2022; 212:153-163. [PMID: 35364731 PMCID: PMC10085950 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-022-00733-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Conflicting hallmarks are attributed to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. CMVs are viewed as being master tacticians in "immune evasion" by subverting essentially all pathways of innate and adaptive immunity. On the other hand, CMV disease is undeniably restricted to the immunologically immature or immunocompromised host, whereas an intact immune system prevents virus spread, cytopathogenic tissue infection, and thus pathological organ manifestations. Therefore, the popular term "immune evasion" is apparently incongruous with the control of CMV infections in the immunocompetent human host as well as in experimental non-human primate and rodent models. Here, we review recent work from the mouse model that resolves this obvious discrepancy for the example of the virus-specific CD8 T-cell response. Immune evasion proteins encoded by murine CMV (mCMV) interfere with the cell surface trafficking of antigenic peptide-loaded MHC class-I (pMHC-I) complexes and thereby reduce their numbers available for interaction with T-cell receptors of CD8 T cells; but this inhibition is incomplete. As a consequence, while CD8 T cells with low interaction avidity fail to receive sufficient signaling for triggering their antiviral effector function in the presence of immune evasion proteins in infected cells, a few pMHC-I complexes that escape to the cell surface are sufficient for sensitizing high-avidity CD8 T cells. It is thus proposed that the function of immune evasion proteins is to raise the avidity threshold for activation, so that in the net result, only high-avidity cells can protect. An example showing that immune evasion proteins can make the difference between life and death is the lacking control of infection in a mouse model of MHC-I histoincompatible hematopoietic cell transplantation (allogeneic-HCT). In this model, only low-avidity CD8 T cells become reconstituted by HCT and almost all infected HCT recipients die of multiple-organ CMV disease when immune evasion proteins are expressed. In contrast, lowering the avidity threshold for antigen recognition by deletion of immune evasion proteins allowed control of infection and rescued from death.
Collapse
|
8
|
van den Berg SPH, Derksen LY, Drylewicz J, Nanlohy NM, Beckers L, Lanfermeijer J, Gessel SN, Vos M, Otto SA, de Boer RJ, Tesselaar K, Borghans JAM, van Baarle D. Quantification of T-cell dynamics during latent cytomegalovirus infection in humans. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1010152. [PMID: 34914799 PMCID: PMC8717968 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has a major impact on the T-cell pool, which is thought to be associated with ageing of the immune system. The effect on the T-cell pool has been interpreted as an effect of CMV on non-CMV specific T-cells. However, it remains unclear whether the effect of CMV could simply be explained by the presence of large, immunodominant, CMV-specific memory CD8+ T-cell populations. These have been suggested to establish through gradual accumulation of long-lived cells. However, little is known about their maintenance. We investigated the effect of CMV infection on T-cell dynamics in healthy older adults, and aimed to unravel the mechanisms of maintenance of large numbers of CMV-specific CD8+ T-cells. We studied the expression of senescence, proliferation, and apoptosis markers and quantified the in vivo dynamics of CMV-specific and other memory T-cell populations using in vivo deuterium labelling. Increased expression of late-stage differentiation markers by CD8+ T-cells of CMV+ versus CMV- individuals was not solely explained by the presence of large, immunodominant CMV-specific CD8+ T-cell populations. The lifespans of circulating CMV-specific CD8+ T-cells did not differ significantly from those of bulk memory CD8+ T-cells, and the lifespans of bulk memory CD8+ T-cells did not differ significantly between CMV- and CMV+ individuals. Memory CD4+ T-cells of CMV+ individuals showed increased expression of late-stage differentiation markers and decreased Ki-67 expression. Overall, the expression of senescence markers on T-cell populations correlated positively with their expected in vivo lifespan. Together, this work suggests that i) large, immunodominant CMV-specific CD8+ T-cell populations do not explain the phenotypical differences between CMV+ and CMV- individuals, ii) CMV infection hardly affects the dynamics of the T-cell pool, and iii) large numbers of CMV-specific CD8+ T-cells are not due to longer lifespans of these cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara P. H. van den Berg
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Lyanne Y. Derksen
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Julia Drylewicz
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Nening M. Nanlohy
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Lisa Beckers
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Josien Lanfermeijer
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Stephanie N. Gessel
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Martijn Vos
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Sigrid A. Otto
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Rob J. de Boer
- Theoretical Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Kiki Tesselaar
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - José A. M. Borghans
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Debbie van Baarle
- Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Blaum F, Lukas D, Reddehase MJ, Lemmermann NAW. Localization of Viral Epitope-Specific CD8 T Cells during Cytomegalovirus Latency in the Lungs and Recruitment to Lung Parenchyma by Airway Challenge Infection. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11090918. [PMID: 34575067 PMCID: PMC8467276 DOI: 10.3390/life11090918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Interstitial pneumonia is a life-threatening clinical manifestation of cytomegalovirus infection in recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The mouse model of experimental HCT and infection with murine cytomegalovirus revealed that reconstitution of virus-specific CD8+ T cells is critical for resolving productive lung infection. CD8+ T-cell infiltrates persisted in the lungs after the establishment of latent infection. A subset defined by the phenotype KLRG1+CD62L− expanded over time, a phenomenon known as memory inflation (MI). Here we studied the localization of these inflationary T effector-memory cells (iTEM) by comparing their frequencies in the intravascular and transmigration compartments, the IVC and TMC, respectively, with their frequency in the extravascular compartment (EVC), the alveolar epithelium. Frequencies of viral epitope-specific iTEM were comparable in the IVC and TMC but were reduced in the EVC, corresponding to an increase in KLRG1−CD62L− conventional T effector-memory cells (cTEM) and a decrease in functional IFNγ+CD8+ T cells. As maintained expression of KLRG1 requires stimulation by antigen, we conclude that iTEM lose KLRG1 and convert to cTEM after transmigration into the EVC because pneumocytes are not latently infected and, therefore, do not express antigens. Accordingly, antigen re-expression upon airway challenge infection recruited virus-specific CD8+ T cells to TMC and EVC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Blaum
- Institute for Virology, Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany; (F.B.); (N.A.W.L.)
| | - Dominika Lukas
- Department of Dermatology, University of Cologne, University Hospital Cologne and Faculty of Medicine, 50937 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Matthias J. Reddehase
- Institute for Virology, Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany; (F.B.); (N.A.W.L.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Niels A. W. Lemmermann
- Institute for Virology, Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany; (F.B.); (N.A.W.L.)
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Gergely KM, Podlech J, Becker S, Freitag K, Krauter S, Büscher N, Holtappels R, Plachter B, Reddehase MJ, Lemmermann NAW. Therapeutic Vaccination of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Recipients Improves Protective CD8 T-Cell Immunotherapy of Cytomegalovirus Infection. Front Immunol 2021; 12:694588. [PMID: 34489940 PMCID: PMC8416627 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.694588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Reactivation of latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) endangers the therapeutic success of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in tumor patients due to cytopathogenic virus spread that leads to organ manifestations of CMV disease, to interstitial pneumonia in particular. In cases of virus variants that are refractory to standard antiviral pharmacotherapy, immunotherapy by adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of virus-specific CD8+ T cells is the last resort to bridge the "protection gap" between hematoablative conditioning for HCT and endogenous reconstitution of antiviral immunity. We have used the well-established mouse model of CD8+ T-cell immunotherapy by ACT in a setting of experimental HCT and murine CMV (mCMV) infection to pursue the concept of improving the efficacy of ACT by therapeutic vaccination (TherVac) post-HCT. TherVac aims at restimulation and expansion of limited numbers of transferred antiviral CD8+ T cells within the recipient. Syngeneic HCT was performed with C57BL/6 mice as donors and recipients. Recipients were infected with recombinant mCMV (mCMV-SIINFEKL) that expresses antigenic peptide SIINFEKL presented to CD8+ T cells by the MHC class-I molecule Kb. ACT was performed with transgenic OT-I CD8+ T cells expressing a T-cell receptor specific for SIINFEKL-Kb. Recombinant human CMV dense bodies (DB-SIINFEKL), engineered to contain SIINFEKL within tegument protein pUL83/pp65, served for vaccination. DBs were chosen as they represent non-infectious, enveloped, and thus fusion-competent subviral particles capable of activating dendritic cells and delivering antigens directly into the cytosol for processing and presentation in the MHC class-I pathway. One set of our experiments documents the power of vaccination with DBs in protecting the immunocompetent host against a challenge infection. A further set of experiments revealed a significant improvement of antiviral control in HCT recipients by combining ACT with TherVac. In both settings, the benefit from vaccination with DBs proved to be strictly epitope-specific. The capacity to protect was lost when DBs included the peptide sequence SIINFEKA lacking immunogenicity and antigenicity due to C-terminal residue point mutation L8A, which prevents efficient proteasomal peptide processing and binding to Kb. Our preclinical research data thus provide an argument for using pre-emptive TherVac to enhance antiviral protection by ACT in HCT recipients with diagnosed CMV reactivation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Niels A. W. Lemmermann
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI) at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Consequence of Histoincompatibility beyond GvH-Reaction in Cytomegalovirus Disease Associated with Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Change of Paradigm. Viruses 2021; 13:v13081530. [PMID: 34452395 PMCID: PMC8402734 DOI: 10.3390/v13081530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hematopoietic cell (HC) transplantation (HCT) is the last resort to cure hematopoietic malignancies that are refractory to standard therapies. Hematoablative treatment aims at wiping out tumor cells as completely as possible to avoid leukemia/lymphoma relapse. This treatment inevitably co-depletes cells of hematopoietic cell lineages, including differentiated cells that constitute the immune system. HCT reconstitutes hematopoiesis and thus, eventually, also antiviral effector cells. In cases of an unrelated donor, that is, in allogeneic HCT, HLA-matching is performed to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host reaction and disease (GvHR/D), but a mismatch in minor histocompatibility antigens (minor HAg) is unavoidable. The transient immunodeficiency in the period between hematoablative treatment and reconstitution by HCT gives latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) the chance to reactivate from latently infected donor HC or from latently infected organs of the recipient, or from both. Clinical experience shows that HLA and/or minor-HAg mismatches increase the risk of complications from CMV. Recent results challenge the widespread, though never proven, view of a mechanistic link between GvHR/D and CMV. Instead, new evidence suggests that histoincompatibility promotes CMV disease by inducing non-cognate transplantation tolerance that inhibits an efficient reconstitution of high-avidity CD8+ T cells capable of recognizing and resolving cytopathogenic tissue infection.
Collapse
|
12
|
Immunodominant Cytomegalovirus Epitopes Suppress Subdominant Epitopes in the Generation of High-Avidity CD8 T Cells. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10080956. [PMID: 34451420 PMCID: PMC8400798 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10080956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
CD8+ T-cell responses to pathogens are directed against infected cells that present pathogen-encoded peptides on MHC class-I molecules. Although natural responses are polyclonal, the spectrum of peptides that qualify for epitopes is remarkably small even for pathogens with high coding capacity. Among those few that are successful at all, a hierarchy exists in the magnitude of the response that they elicit in terms of numbers of CD8+ T cells generated. This led to a classification into immunodominant and non-immunodominant or subordinate epitopes, IDEs and non-IDEs, respectively. IDEs are favored in the design of vaccines and are chosen for CD8+ T-cell immunotherapy. Using murine cytomegalovirus as a model, we provide evidence to conclude that epitope hierarchy reflects competition on the level of antigen recognition. Notably, high-avidity cells specific for non-IDEs were found to expand only when IDEs were deleted. This may be a host’s back-up strategy to avoid viral immune escape through antigenic drift caused by IDE mutations. Importantly, our results are relevant for the design of vaccines based on cytomegaloviruses as vectors to generate high-avidity CD8+ T-cell memory specific for unrelated pathogens or tumors. We propose the deletion of vector-encoded IDEs to avoid the suppression of epitopes of the vaccine target.
Collapse
|
13
|
Direct Evidence for Viral Antigen Presentation during Latent Cytomegalovirus Infection. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10060731. [PMID: 34200578 PMCID: PMC8229173 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10060731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Revised: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Murine models of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection have revealed an immunological phenomenon known as “memory inflation” (MI). After a peak of a primary CD8+ T-cell response, the pool of epitope-specific cells contracts in parallel to the resolution of productive infection and the establishment of a latent infection, referred to as “latency.” CMV latency is associated with an increase in the number of cells specific for certain viral epitopes over time. The inflationary subset was identified as effector-memory T cells (iTEM) characterized by the cell surface phenotype KLRG1+CD127−CD62L−. As we have shown recently, latent viral genomes are not transcriptionally silent. Rather, viral genes are sporadically desilenced in a stochastic fashion. The current hypothesis proposes MI to be driven by presented viral antigenic peptides encoded by the corresponding, stochastically expressed viral genes. Although this mechanism suggests itself, independent evidence for antigen presentation during viral latency is pending. Here we fill this gap by showing that T cell-receptor transgenic OT-I cells that are specific for peptide SIINFEKL proliferate upon adoptive cell transfer in C57BL/6 recipients latently infected with murine CMV encoding SIINFEKL (mCMV-SIINFEKL), but not in those latently infected with mCMV-SIINFEKA, in which antigenicity is lost by mutation L8A of the C-terminal amino acid residue.
Collapse
|
14
|
Griessl M, Renzaho A, Freitag K, Seckert CK, Reddehase MJ, Lemmermann NAW. Stochastic Episodes of Latent Cytomegalovirus Transcription Drive CD8 T-Cell "Memory Inflation" and Avoid Immune Evasion. Front Immunol 2021; 12:668885. [PMID: 33968074 PMCID: PMC8100209 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.668885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute infection with murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV) is controlled by CD8+ T cells and develops into a state of latent infection, referred to as latency, which is defined by lifelong maintenance of viral genomes but absence of infectious virus in latently infected cell types. Latency is associated with an increase in numbers of viral epitope-specific CD8+ T cells over time, a phenomenon known as "memory inflation" (MI). The "inflationary" subset of CD8+ T cells has been phenotyped as KLRG1+CD62L- effector-memory T cells (iTEM). It is agreed upon that proliferation of iTEM requires repeated episodes of antigen presentation, which implies that antigen-encoding viral genes must be transcribed during latency. Evidence for this has been provided previously for the genes encoding the MI-driving antigenic peptides IE1-YPHFMPTNL and m164-AGPPRYSRI of mCMV in the H-2d haplotype. There exist two competing hypotheses for explaining MI-driving viral transcription. The "reactivation hypothesis" proposes frequent events of productive virus reactivation from latency. Reactivation involves a coordinated gene expression cascade from immediate-early (IE) to early (E) and late phase (L) transcripts, eventually leading to assembly and release of infectious virus. In contrast, the "stochastic transcription hypothesis" proposes that viral genes become transiently de-silenced in latent viral genomes in a stochastic fashion, not following the canonical IE-E-L temporal cascade of reactivation. The reactivation hypothesis, however, is incompatible with the finding that productive virus reactivation is exceedingly rare in immunocompetent mice and observed only under conditions of compromised immunity. In addition, the reactivation hypothesis fails to explain why immune evasion genes, which are regularly expressed during reactivation in the same cells in which epitope-encoding genes are expressed, do not prevent antigen presentation and thus MI. Here we show that IE, E, and L genes are transcribed during latency, though stochastically, not following the IE-E-L temporal cascade. Importantly, transcripts that encode MI-driving antigenic peptides rarely coincide with those that encode immune evasion proteins. As immune evasion can operate only in cis, that is, in a cell that simultaneously expresses antigenic peptides, the stochastic transcription hypothesis explains why immune evasion is not operative in latently infected cells and, therefore, does not interfere with MI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Niels A. W. Lemmermann
- Institute for Virology, Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI) at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| |
Collapse
|