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Wu H, Zhao X, Hochrein SM, Eckstein M, Gubert GF, Knöpper K, Mansilla AM, Öner A, Doucet-Ladevèze R, Schmitz W, Ghesquière B, Theurich S, Dudek J, Gasteiger G, Zernecke A, Kobold S, Kastenmüller W, Vaeth M. Mitochondrial dysfunction promotes the transition of precursor to terminally exhausted T cells through HIF-1α-mediated glycolytic reprogramming. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6858. [PMID: 37891230 PMCID: PMC10611730 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42634-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
T cell exhaustion is a hallmark of cancer and persistent infections, marked by inhibitory receptor upregulation, diminished cytokine secretion, and impaired cytolytic activity. Terminally exhausted T cells are steadily replenished by a precursor population (Tpex), but the metabolic principles governing Tpex maintenance and the regulatory circuits that control their exhaustion remain incompletely understood. Using a combination of gene-deficient mice, single-cell transcriptomics, and metabolomic analyses, we show that mitochondrial insufficiency is a cell-intrinsic trigger that initiates the functional exhaustion of T cells. At the molecular level, we find that mitochondrial dysfunction causes redox stress, which inhibits the proteasomal degradation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and promotes the transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming of Tpex cells into terminally exhausted T cells. Our findings also bear clinical significance, as metabolic engineering of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is a promising strategy to enhance the stemness and functionality of Tpex cells for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Xiufeng Zhao
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sophia M Hochrein
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Miriam Eckstein
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Gabriela F Gubert
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Konrad Knöpper
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ana Maria Mansilla
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Arman Öner
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine IV, Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich, University Hospital, Munich, Germany
| | - Remi Doucet-Ladevèze
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Werner Schmitz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Theodor Boveri Institute, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Bart Ghesquière
- Laboratory of Applied Mass Spectrometry, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium and Metabolomics Core Facility Leuven, Center for Cancer Biology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sebastian Theurich
- Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich, University Hospital, Department of Medicine III, Munich, Germany and LMU Gene Center, Cancer and Immunometabolism Research Group, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, a partnership between the DKFZ Heidelberg and the University Hospital of the LMU, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan Dudek
- Comprehensive Heart Failure Center (CHFC), University Hospital, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Georg Gasteiger
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alma Zernecke
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kobold
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine IV, Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich, University Hospital, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, a partnership between the DKFZ Heidelberg and the University Hospital of the LMU, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kastenmüller
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Martin Vaeth
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
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Dähling S, Mansilla AM, Knöpper K, Grafen A, Utzschneider DT, Ugur M, Whitney PG, Bachem A, Arampatzi P, Imdahl F, Kaisho T, Zehn D, Klauschen F, Garbi N, Kallies A, Saliba AE, Gasteiger G, Bedoui S, Kastenmüller W. Type 1 conventional dendritic cells maintain and guide the differentiation of precursors of exhausted T cells in distinct cellular niches. Immunity 2022; 55:656-670.e8. [PMID: 35366396 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Reinvigoration of exhausted CD8+ T (Tex) cells by checkpoint immunotherapy depends on the activation of precursors of exhausted T (Tpex) cells, but the local anatomical context of their maintenance, differentiation, and interplay with other cells is not well understood. Here, we identified transcriptionally distinct Tpex subpopulations, mapped their differentiation trajectories via transitory cellular states toward Tex cells, and localized these cell states to specific splenic niches. Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) were critical for successful αPD-L1 therapy and were required to mediate viral control. cDC1s were dispensable for Tpex cell expansion but provided an essential niche to promote Tpex cell maintenance, preventing their overactivation and T-cell-mediated immunopathology. Mechanistically, cDC1s insulated Tpex cells via MHC-I-dependent interactions to prevent their activation within other inflammatory environments that further aggravated their exhaustion. Our findings reveal that cDC1s maintain and safeguard Tpex cells within distinct anatomical niches to balance viral control, exhaustion, and immunopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Dähling
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Ana Maria Mansilla
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, 79108 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; Faculty of Biology, Albert Ludwig University, 79104 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Konrad Knöpper
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Anika Grafen
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Daniel T Utzschneider
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Milas Ugur
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Paul G Whitney
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Annabell Bachem
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | | | - Fabian Imdahl
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research (HZI), 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Tsuneyasu Kaisho
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Advanced Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 641-8509 Wakayama, Japan
| | - Dietmar Zehn
- Division of Animal Physiology and Immunology, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Frederick Klauschen
- Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Natalio Garbi
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Axel Kallies
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Antoine-Emmanuel Saliba
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research (HZI), 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Georg Gasteiger
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sammy Bedoui
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Wolfgang Kastenmüller
- Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Max Planck Research Group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany.
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