1
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Smit V, de Mol J, Schaftenaar FH, Depuydt MAC, Postel RJ, Smeets D, Verheijen FWM, Bogers L, van Duijn J, Verwilligen RAF, Grievink HW, Bernabé Kleijn MNA, van Ingen E, de Jong MJM, Goncalves L, Peeters JAHM, Smeets HJ, Wezel A, Polansky JK, de Winther MPJ, Binder CJ, Tsiantoulas D, Bot I, Kuiper J, Foks AC. Single-cell profiling reveals age-associated immunity in atherosclerosis. Cardiovasc Res 2023; 119:2508-2521. [PMID: 37390467 PMCID: PMC10676459 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvad099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Aging is a dominant driver of atherosclerosis and induces a series of immunological alterations, called immunosenescence. Given the demographic shift towards elderly, elucidating the unknown impact of aging on the immunological landscape in atherosclerosis is highly relevant. While the young Western diet-fed Ldlr-deficient (Ldlr-/-) mouse is a widely used model to study atherosclerosis, it does not reflect the gradual plaque progression in the context of an aging immune system as occurs in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS Here, we show that aging promotes advanced atherosclerosis in chow diet-fed Ldlr-/- mice, with increased incidence of calcification and cholesterol crystals. We observed systemic immunosenescence, including myeloid skewing and T-cells with more extreme effector phenotypes. Using a combination of single-cell RNA-sequencing and flow cytometry on aortic leucocytes of young vs. aged Ldlr-/- mice, we show age-related shifts in expression of genes involved in atherogenic processes, such as cellular activation and cytokine production. We identified age-associated cells with pro-inflammatory features, including GzmK+CD8+ T-cells and previously in atherosclerosis undefined CD11b+CD11c+T-bet+ age-associated B-cells (ABCs). ABCs of Ldlr-/- mice showed high expression of genes involved in plasma cell differentiation, co-stimulation, and antigen presentation. In vitro studies supported that ABCs are highly potent antigen-presenting cells. In cardiovascular disease patients, we confirmed the presence of these age-associated T- and B-cells in atherosclerotic plaques and blood. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, we are the first to provide comprehensive profiling of aged immunity in atherosclerotic mice and reveal the emergence of age-associated T- and B-cells in the atherosclerotic aorta. Further research into age-associated immunity may contribute to novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools to combat cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Smit
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jill de Mol
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Frank H Schaftenaar
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marie A C Depuydt
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rimke J Postel
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Diede Smeets
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Fenne W M Verheijen
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Laurens Bogers
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Janine van Duijn
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Robin A F Verwilligen
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hendrika W Grievink
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
- Centre for Human Drug Research, Zernikedreef 8, 2333 CL Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mireia N A Bernabé Kleijn
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Eva van Ingen
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Maaike J M de Jong
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Lauren Goncalves
- Department of Surgery, Haaglanden Medical Center—location Westeinde, Lijnbaan 32, 2515 VA The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Judith A H M Peeters
- Department of Surgery, Haaglanden Medical Center—location Westeinde, Lijnbaan 32, 2515 VA The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Harm J Smeets
- Department of Surgery, Haaglanden Medical Center—location Westeinde, Lijnbaan 32, 2515 VA The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Anouk Wezel
- Department of Surgery, Haaglanden Medical Center—location Westeinde, Lijnbaan 32, 2515 VA The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Menno P J de Winther
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers—location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Experimental Vascular Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christoph J Binder
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Lazarettgasse 14, AKH BT25.2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Dimitrios Tsiantoulas
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Lazarettgasse 14, AKH BT25.2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ilze Bot
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Johan Kuiper
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Amanda C Foks
- Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
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2
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Hochmann S, Ou K, Poupardin R, Mittermeir M, Textor M, Ali S, Wolf M, Ellinghaus A, Jacobi D, Elmiger JAJ, Donsante S, Riminucci M, Schäfer R, Kornak U, Klein O, Schallmoser K, Schmidt-Bleek K, Duda GN, Polansky JK, Geissler S, Strunk D. The enhancer landscape predetermines the skeletal regeneration capacity of stromal cells. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eabm7477. [PMID: 36947595 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abm7477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Multipotent stromal cells are considered attractive sources for cell therapy and tissue engineering. Despite numerous experimental and clinical studies, broad application of stromal cell therapeutics is not yet emerging. A major challenge is the functional diversity of available cell sources. Here, we investigated the regenerative potential of clinically relevant human stromal cells from bone marrow (BMSCs), white adipose tissue, and umbilical cord compared with mature chondrocytes and skin fibroblasts in vitro and in vivo. Although all stromal cell types could express transcription factors related to endochondral ossification, only BMSCs formed cartilage discs in vitro that fully regenerated critical-size femoral defects after transplantation into mice. We identified cell type-specific epigenetic landscapes as the underlying molecular mechanism controlling transcriptional stromal differentiation networks. Binding sites of commonly expressed transcription factors in the enhancer and promoter regions of ossification-related genes, including Runt and bZIP families, were accessible only in BMSCs but not in extraskeletal stromal cells. This suggests an epigenetically predetermined differentiation potential depending on cell origin that allows common transcription factors to trigger distinct organ-specific transcriptional programs, facilitating forward selection of regeneration-competent cell sources. Last, we demonstrate that viable human BMSCs initiated defect healing through the secretion of osteopontin and contributed to transient mineralized bone hard callus formation after transplantation into immunodeficient mice, which was eventually replaced by murine recipient bone during final tissue remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Hochmann
- Cell Therapy Institute, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg (SCI-TReCS), Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Kristy Ou
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), T Cell Epigenetics, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Rodolphe Poupardin
- Cell Therapy Institute, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg (SCI-TReCS), Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Michaela Mittermeir
- Cell Therapy Institute, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg (SCI-TReCS), Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Martin Textor
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Salaheddine Ali
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Medical Genetics and Human Genetics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Wolf
- Cell Therapy Institute, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg (SCI-TReCS), Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Agnes Ellinghaus
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dorit Jacobi
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Juri A J Elmiger
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Samantha Donsante
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00189 Rome, Italy
| | - Mara Riminucci
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00189 Rome, Italy
| | - Richard Schäfer
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, Goethe University Hospital, German Red Cross Blood Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen gGmbH, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Kornak
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Medical Genetics and Human Genetics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Klein
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Katharina Schmidt-Bleek
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Georg N Duda
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), T Cell Epigenetics, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ), 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sven Geissler
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Julius Wolff Institute (JWI), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BECAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dirk Strunk
- Cell Therapy Institute, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg (SCI-TReCS), Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), 5020 Salzburg, Austria
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3
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Ou K, Hamo D, Schulze A, Roemhild A, Kaiser D, Gasparoni G, Salhab A, Zarrinrad G, Amini L, Schlickeiser S, Streitz M, Walter J, Volk HD, Schmueck-Henneresse M, Reinke P, Polansky JK. Strong Expansion of Human Regulatory T Cells for Adoptive Cell Therapy Results in Epigenetic Changes Which May Impact Their Survival and Function. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:751590. [PMID: 34869339 PMCID: PMC8639223 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.751590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Adoptive transfer of regulatory T cells (Treg) is a promising new therapeutic option to treat detrimental inflammatory conditions after transplantation and during autoimmune disease. To reach sufficient cell yield for treatment, ex vivo isolated autologous or allogenic Tregs need to be expanded extensively in vitro during manufacturing of the Treg product. However, repetitive cycles of restimulation and prolonged culture have been shown to impact T cell phenotypes, functionality and fitness. It is therefore critical to scrutinize the molecular changes which occur during T cell product generation, and reexamine current manufacturing practices. We performed genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of cells throughout the manufacturing process of a polyclonal Treg product that has proven safety and hints of therapeutic efficacy in kidney transplant patients. We found progressive DNA methylation changes over the duration of culture, which were donor-independent and reproducible between manufacturing runs. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in the final products were significantly enriched at promoters and enhancers of genes implicated in T cell activation. Additionally, significant hypomethylation did also occur in promoters of genes implicated in functional exhaustion in conventional T cells, some of which, however, have been reported to strengthen immunosuppressive effector function in Tregs. At the same time, a set of reported Treg-specific demethylated regions increased methylation levels with culture, indicating a possible destabilization of Treg identity during manufacturing, which was independent of the purity of the starting material. Together, our results indicate that the repetitive TCR-mediated stimulation lead to epigenetic changes that might impact functionality of Treg products in multiple ways, by possibly shifting to an effector Treg phenotype with enhanced functional activity or by risking destabilization of Treg identity and impaired TCR activation. Our analyses also illustrate the value of epigenetic profiling for the evaluation of T cell product manufacturing pipelines, which might open new avenues for the improvement of current adoptive Treg therapies with relevance for conventional effector T cell products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristy Ou
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dania Hamo
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anne Schulze
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andy Roemhild
- Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniel Kaiser
- Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gilles Gasparoni
- Department of Genetics and Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Abdulrahman Salhab
- Department of Genetics and Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Ghazaleh Zarrinrad
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Leila Amini
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Schlickeiser
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mathias Streitz
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jörn Walter
- Department of Genetics and Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Hans-Dieter Volk
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Schmueck-Henneresse
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Petra Reinke
- Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ) Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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4
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Kressler C, Gasparoni G, Nordström K, Hamo D, Salhab A, Dimitropoulos C, Tierling S, Reinke P, Volk HD, Walter J, Hamann A, Polansky JK. Targeted De-Methylation of the FOXP3-TSDR Is Sufficient to Induce Physiological FOXP3 Expression but Not a Functional Treg Phenotype. Front Immunol 2021; 11:609891. [PMID: 33488615 PMCID: PMC7817622 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.609891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are key mediators of immunological tolerance and promising effector cells for immuno-suppressive adoptive cellular therapy to fight autoimmunity and chronic inflammation. Their functional stability is critical for their clinical utility and has been correlated to the demethylated state of the TSDR/CNS2 enhancer element in the Treg lineage transcription factor FOXP3. However, proof for a causal contribution of the TSDR de-methylation to FOXP3 stability and Treg induction is so far lacking. We here established a powerful transient-transfection CRISPR-Cas9-based epigenetic editing method for the selective de-methylation of the TSDR within the endogenous chromatin environment of a living cell. The induced de-methylated state was stable over weeks in clonal T cell proliferation cultures even after expression of the editing complex had ceased. Epigenetic editing of the TSDR resulted in FOXP3 expression, even in its physiological isoform distribution, proving a causal role for the de-methylated TSDR in FOXP3 regulation. However, successful FOXP3 induction was not associated with a switch towards a functional Treg phenotype, in contrast to what has been reported from FOXP3 overexpression approaches. Thus, TSDR de-methylation is required, but not sufficient for a stable Treg phenotype induction. Therefore, targeted demethylation of the TSDR may be a critical addition to published in vitro Treg induction protocols which so far lack FOXP3 stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Kressler
- Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Immuno-Epigenetics, German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ), Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Karl Nordström
- Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Dania Hamo
- Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Immuno-Epigenetics, German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ), Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Sascha Tierling
- Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Petra Reinke
- Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hans-Dieter Volk
- Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jörn Walter
- Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Alf Hamann
- Immuno-Epigenetics, German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ), Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Berlin Institute of Health Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Immuno-Epigenetics, German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ), Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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5
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Salhab A, Nordström K, Gasparoni G, Kattler K, Ebert P, Ramirez F, Arrigoni L, Müller F, Polansky JK, Cadenas C, G Hengstler J, Lengauer T, Manke T, Walter J. A comprehensive analysis of 195 DNA methylomes reveals shared and cell-specific features of partially methylated domains. Genome Biol 2018; 19:150. [PMID: 30266094 PMCID: PMC6161375 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-018-1510-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Partially methylated domains are extended regions in the genome exhibiting a reduced average DNA methylation level. They cover gene-poor and transcriptionally inactive regions and tend to be heterochromatic. We present a comprehensive comparative analysis of partially methylated domains in human and mouse cells, to identify structural and functional features associated with them. Results Partially methylated domains are present in up to 75% of the genome in human and mouse cells irrespective of their tissue or cell origin. Each cell type has a distinct set of partially methylated domains, and genes expressed in such domains show a strong cell type effect. The methylation level varies between cell types with a more pronounced effect in differentiating and replicating cells. The lowest level of methylation is observed in highly proliferating and immortal cancer cell lines. A decrease of DNA methylation within partially methylated domains tends to be linked to an increase in heterochromatic histone marks and a decrease of gene expression. Characteristic combinations of heterochromatic signatures in partially methylated domains are linked to domains of early and middle S-phase and late S-G2 phases of DNA replication. Conclusions Partially methylated domains are prominent signatures of long-range epigenomic organization. Integrative analysis identifies them as important general, lineage- and cell type-specific topological features. Changes in partially methylated domains are hallmarks of cell differentiation, with decreased methylation levels and increased heterochromatic marks being linked to enhanced cell proliferation. In combination with broad histone marks, partially methylated domains demarcate distinct domains of late DNA replication. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13059-018-1510-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulrahman Salhab
- Department of Genetics, Saarland University, Campus Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Karl Nordström
- Department of Genetics, Saarland University, Campus Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Gilles Gasparoni
- Department of Genetics, Saarland University, Campus Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Kathrin Kattler
- Department of Genetics, Saarland University, Campus Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Peter Ebert
- Department of Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Fidel Ramirez
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, 79108, Germany
| | - Laura Arrigoni
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, 79108, Germany
| | - Fabian Müller
- Department of Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies at the Charité, Berlin, Germany.,University Medicine Berlin and German Rheumatism Research Centre, Berlin, Germany
| | - Cristina Cadenas
- Leibniz Research Center for working Environment and Human Factors IfADo, Dortmund, 44139, Germany
| | - Jan G Hengstler
- Leibniz Research Center for working Environment and Human Factors IfADo, Dortmund, 44139, Germany
| | - Thomas Lengauer
- Department of Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Thomas Manke
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, 79108, Germany
| | | | - Jörn Walter
- Department of Genetics, Saarland University, Campus Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany.
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6
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Nowak A, Lock D, Bacher P, Hohnstein T, Vogt K, Gottfreund J, Giehr P, Polansky JK, Sawitzki B, Kaiser A, Walter J, Scheffold A. CD137+CD154- Expression As a Regulatory T Cell (Treg)-Specific Activation Signature for Identification and Sorting of Stable Human Tregs from In Vitro Expansion Cultures. Front Immunol 2018; 9:199. [PMID: 29467769 PMCID: PMC5808295 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are an attractive therapeutic tool for several different immune pathologies. Therapeutic Treg application often requires prolonged in vitro culture to generate sufficient Treg numbers or to optimize their functionality, e.g., via genetic engineering of their antigen receptors. However, purity of clinical Treg expansion cultures is highly variable, and currently, it is impossible to identify and separate stable Tregs from contaminating effector T cells, either ex vivo or after prior expansion. This represents a major obstacle for quality assurance of expanded Tregs and raises significant safety concerns. Here, we describe a Treg activation signature that allows identification and sorting of epigenetically imprinted Tregs even after prolonged in vitro culture. We show that short-term reactivation resulted in expression of CD137 but not CD154 on stable FoxP3+ Tregs that displayed a demethylated Treg-specific demethylated region, high suppressive potential, and lack of inflammatory cytokine expression. We also applied this Treg activation signature for rapid testing of chimeric antigen receptor functionality in human Tregs and identified major differences in the signaling requirements regarding CD137 versus CD28 costimulation. Taken together, CD137+CD154- expression emerges as a universal Treg activation signature ex vivo and upon in vitro expansion allowing the identification and isolation of epigenetically stable antigen-activated Tregs and providing a means for their rapid functional testing in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Nowak
- German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ) Berlin, Leibniz Association, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dominik Lock
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Petra Bacher
- Department of Cellular Immunology, Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thordis Hohnstein
- Department of Cellular Immunology, Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katrin Vogt
- Institute for Medical Immunology, Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Judith Gottfreund
- Department of Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Pascal Giehr
- Department of Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Birgit Sawitzki
- Institute for Medical Immunology, Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Jörn Walter
- Department of Genetics/Epigenetics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Alexander Scheffold
- German Rheumatism Research Centre (DRFZ) Berlin, Leibniz Association, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Cellular Immunology, Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
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7
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Schmidt F, Gasparoni N, Gasparoni G, Gianmoena K, Cadenas C, Polansky JK, Ebert P, Nordström K, Barann M, Sinha A, Fröhler S, Xiong J, Dehghani Amirabad A, Behjati Ardakani F, Hutter B, Zipprich G, Felder B, Eils J, Brors B, Chen W, Hengstler JG, Hamann A, Lengauer T, Rosenstiel P, Walter J, Schulz MH. Combining transcription factor binding affinities with open-chromatin data for accurate gene expression prediction. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:54-66. [PMID: 27899623 PMCID: PMC5224477 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw1061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Revised: 10/18/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The binding and contribution of transcription factors (TF) to cell specific gene expression is often deduced from open-chromatin measurements to avoid costly TF ChIP-seq assays. Thus, it is important to develop computational methods for accurate TF binding prediction in open-chromatin regions (OCRs). Here, we report a novel segmentation-based method, TEPIC, to predict TF binding by combining sets of OCRs with position weight matrices. TEPIC can be applied to various open-chromatin data, e.g. DNaseI-seq and NOMe-seq. Additionally, Histone-Marks (HMs) can be used to identify candidate TF binding sites. TEPIC computes TF affinities and uses open-chromatin/HM signal intensity as quantitative measures of TF binding strength. Using machine learning, we find low affinity binding sites to improve our ability to explain gene expression variability compared to the standard presence/absence classification of binding sites. Further, we show that both footprints and peaks capture essential TF binding events and lead to a good prediction performance. In our application, gene-based scores computed by TEPIC with one open-chromatin assay nearly reach the quality of several TF ChIP-seq data sets. Finally, these scores correctly predict known transcriptional regulators as illustrated by the application to novel DNaseI-seq and NOMe-seq data for primary human hepatocytes and CD4+ T-cells, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Schmidt
- Cluster of Excellence for Multimodal Computing and Interaction, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
- Computational Biology & Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Nina Gasparoni
- Department of Genetics, University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Gilles Gasparoni
- Department of Genetics, University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Kathrin Gianmoena
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors IfADo, Dortmund, 44139, Germany
| | - Cristina Cadenas
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors IfADo, Dortmund, 44139, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Centre, Berlin, 10117, Germany
| | - Peter Ebert
- Computational Biology & Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Computer Science, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Karl Nordström
- Department of Genetics, University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Matthias Barann
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, 24105, Germany
| | - Anupam Sinha
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, 24105, Germany
| | - Sebastian Fröhler
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, 13092, Germany
| | - Jieyi Xiong
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, 13092, Germany
| | - Azim Dehghani Amirabad
- Cluster of Excellence for Multimodal Computing and Interaction, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
- Computational Biology & Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Computer Science, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Fatemeh Behjati Ardakani
- Cluster of Excellence for Multimodal Computing and Interaction, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
- Computational Biology & Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Barbara Hutter
- Applied Bioinformatics, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Gideon Zipprich
- Data Management and Genomics IT, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Bärbel Felder
- Data Management and Genomics IT, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Jürgen Eils
- Data Management and Genomics IT, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Benedikt Brors
- Applied Bioinformatics, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Wei Chen
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, 13092, Germany
| | - Jan G Hengstler
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors IfADo, Dortmund, 44139, Germany
| | - Alf Hamann
- International Max Planck Research School for Computer Science, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Thomas Lengauer
- Computational Biology & Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Philip Rosenstiel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, 24105, Germany
| | - Jörn Walter
- Department of Genetics, University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
| | - Marcel H Schulz
- Cluster of Excellence for Multimodal Computing and Interaction, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
- Computational Biology & Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, 66123, Germany
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8
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Pink M, Ratsch BA, Mardahl M, Durek P, Polansky JK, Karl M, Baumgrass R, Wallner S, Cadenas C, Gianmoena K, Floess S, Chen W, Nordstroem K, Tierling S, Olek S, Walter J, Hamann A, Syrbe U. Imprinting of Skin/Inflammation Homing in CD4+ T Cells Is Controlled by DNA Methylation within the Fucosyltransferase 7 Gene. J Immunol 2016; 197:3406-3414. [PMID: 27591321 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1502434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
E- and P-selectin ligands (E- and P-ligs) guide effector memory T cells into skin and inflamed regions, mediate the inflammatory recruitment of leukocytes, and contribute to the localization of hematopoietic precursor cells. A better understanding of their molecular regulation is therefore of significant interest with regard to therapeutic approaches targeting these pathways. In this study, we examined the transcriptional regulation of fucosyltransferase 7 (FUT7), an enzyme crucial for generation of the glycosylated E- and P-ligs. We found that high expression of the coding gene fut7 in murine CD4+ T cells correlates with DNA demethylation within a minimal promoter in skin/inflammation-seeking effector memory T cells. Retinoic acid, a known inducer of the gut-homing phenotype, abrogated the activation-induced demethylation of this region, which contains a cAMP responsive element. Methylation of the promoter or mutation of the cAMP responsive element abolished promoter activity and the binding of CREB, confirming the importance of this region and of its demethylation for fut7 transcription in T cells. Furthermore, studies on human CD4+ effector memory T cells confirmed demethylation within FUT7 corresponding to high FUT7 expression. Monocytes showed an even more extensive demethylation of the FUT7 gene whereas hepatocytes, which lack selectin ligand expression, exhibited extensive methylation. In conclusion, we show that DNA demethylation within the fut7 gene controls selectin ligand expression in mice and humans, including the inducible topographic commitment of T cells for skin and inflamed sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Pink
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Boris A Ratsch
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Maibritt Mardahl
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Durek
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Karl
- Signal Transduction, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ria Baumgrass
- Signal Transduction, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Wallner
- Institute of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Cristina Cadenas
- Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Kathrin Gianmoena
- Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stefan Floess
- Experimental Immunology, Helmholz Center for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Wei Chen
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13092 Berlin, Germany
| | - Karl Nordstroem
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Sascha Tierling
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Sven Olek
- Epiontis GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany; and
| | - Jörn Walter
- Laboratory of Epigenetics, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Alf Hamann
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Uta Syrbe
- Medical Clinic for Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology, Charité University Hospital, 12200 Berlin, Germany
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9
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Kinkley S, Helmuth J, Polansky JK, Dunkel I, Gasparoni G, Fröhler S, Chen W, Walter J, Hamann A, Chung HR. reChIP-seq reveals widespread bivalency of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 in CD4(+) memory T cells. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12514. [PMID: 27530917 PMCID: PMC4992058 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The combinatorial action of co-localizing chromatin modifications and regulators determines chromatin structure and function. However, identifying co-localizing chromatin features in a high-throughput manner remains a technical challenge. Here we describe a novel reChIP-seq approach and tailored bioinformatic analysis tool, normR that allows for the sequential enrichment and detection of co-localizing DNA-associated proteins in an unbiased and genome-wide manner. We illustrate the utility of the reChIP-seq method and normR by identifying H3K4me3 or H3K27me3 bivalently modified nucleosomes in primary human CD4(+) memory T cells. We unravel widespread bivalency at hypomethylated CpG-islands coinciding with inactive promoters of developmental regulators. reChIP-seq additionally uncovered heterogeneous bivalency in the population, which was undetectable by intersecting H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 ChIP-seq tracks. Finally, we provide evidence that bivalency is established and stabilized by an interplay between the genome and epigenome. Our reChIP-seq approach augments conventional ChIP-seq and is broadly applicable to unravel combinatorial modes of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kinkley
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory: Epigenomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes Helmuth
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory: Epigenomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ilona Dunkel
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory: Epigenomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Gilles Gasparoni
- The Department of Genetics and Epigenetics, University of Saarland, Campus A2.4 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Sebastian Fröhler
- The Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Systems Biology, Max Delbruck Centrum for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Strasse 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany
| | - Wei Chen
- The Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Systems Biology, Max Delbruck Centrum for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Strasse 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jörn Walter
- The Department of Genetics and Epigenetics, University of Saarland, Campus A2.4 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Alf Hamann
- Experimental Rheumatology, German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ho-Ryun Chung
- Otto-Warburg-Laboratory: Epigenomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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10
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Goldstein JD, Burlion A, Zaragoza B, Sendeyo K, Polansky JK, Huehn J, Piaggio E, Salomon BL, Marodon G. Inhibition of the JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway in Regulatory T Cells Reveals a Very Dynamic Regulation of Foxp3 Expression. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0153682. [PMID: 27077371 PMCID: PMC4831811 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The IL-2/JAK3/STAT-5 signaling pathway is involved on the initiation and maintenance of the transcription factor Foxp3 in regulatory T cells (Treg) and has been associated with demethylation of the intronic Conserved Non Coding Sequence-2 (CNS2). However, the role of the JAK/STAT pathway in controlling Foxp3 in the short term has been poorly investigated. Using two different JAK/STAT pharmacological inhibitors, we observed a detectable loss of Foxp3 after 10 min. of treatment that affected 70% of the cells after one hour. Using cycloheximide, a general inhibitor of mRNA translation, we determined that Foxp3, but not CD25, has a high turnover in IL-2 stimulated Treg. This reduction was correlated with a rapid reduction of Foxp3 mRNA. This loss of Foxp3 was associated with a loss in STAT-5 binding to the CNS2, which however remains demethylated. Consequently, Foxp3 expression returns to normal level upon restoration of basal JAK/STAT signaling in vivo. Reduced expression of several genes defining Treg identity was also observed upon treatment. Thus, our results demonstrate that Foxp3 has a rapid turn over in Treg partly controlled at the transcriptional level by the JAK/STAT pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérémie D. Goldstein
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S CR7, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI), INSERM U1135, CNRS ERL 8255, Paris, France
| | - Aude Burlion
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S CR7, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI), INSERM U1135, CNRS ERL 8255, Paris, France
| | - Bruno Zaragoza
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S CR7, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI), INSERM U1135, CNRS ERL 8255, Paris, France
| | - Kélhia Sendeyo
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S CR7, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI), INSERM U1135, CNRS ERL 8255, Paris, France
| | - Julia K. Polansky
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jochen Huehn
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | - Benoit L. Salomon
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S CR7, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI), INSERM U1135, CNRS ERL 8255, Paris, France
| | - Gilles Marodon
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S CR7, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI), INSERM U1135, CNRS ERL 8255, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
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11
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Bahri R, Pateras IS, D'Orlando O, Goyeneche-Patino DA, Campbell M, Polansky JK, Sandig H, Papaioannou M, Evangelou K, Foukas PG, Gorgoulis VG, Bulfone-Paus S. IL-15 suppresses colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis by inducing antitumor immunity. Oncoimmunology 2015; 4:e1002721. [PMID: 26405589 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2014.1002721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 12/18/2014] [Accepted: 12/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
IL-15 regulates the development, survival, and proliferation of multiple innate and adaptive immune cells and plays a dual role, inducing both tumor cell growth and antitumor immunity. However, the role of IL-15 in inflammation-induced cancer remains unclear. To explore this, we have compared the colon carcinoma burden of Il15-/- and Il15rα -/- mice with wild type (WT) mice after induction of colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis utilizing the AOM/DSS model. Compared to WT mice, Il15-/- but not Il15rα -/- mice showed reduced survival, along with higher tumor incidence, colon weight, and tumor size. This suggests that low affinity IL-15 signaling via the shared IL-2Rβ/γc decreases the risk for developing colitis-associated cancer. CD11c-Il15 mice, in which IL-15 expression is reconstituted in Il15-/- mice under the control of the CD11c-promoter, showed that selective reconstitution of IL-15 in antigen-presenting cells restored the CD8+ T and NK cell compartments, serum levels of IFNγ, G-CSF, IL-10, and CXCL1 and reduced tumor burden. After demonstrating IL-15 expression in human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in situ, we investigated the role of this cytokine in the modulation of key colonic oncogenic pathways in the tumor. While these pathways were found to be unaltered in the absence of IL-15, tumor transcriptome analysis showed that the loss of IL-15 upregulates key inflammatory mediators associated with colon cancer progression, such as IL-1β, IL-22, IL-23, Cxcl5, and Spp1. These findings provide evidence that IL-15 suppresses colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis through regulation of antitumor cytotoxicity, and modulation of the inflammatory tumor micromilieu.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajia Bahri
- Institute of Inflammation and Repair and MCCIR; University of Manchester ; Manchester, UK ; Priority Area Asthma and Allergies; Research Center Borstel ; Borstel, Germany
| | - Ioannis S Pateras
- Molecular Carcinogenesis Group; Department of Histology & Embryology; School of Medicine; University of Athens ; Athens, Greece
| | - Orietta D'Orlando
- Priority Area Asthma and Allergies; Research Center Borstel ; Borstel, Germany
| | | | - Michelle Campbell
- Institute of Inflammation and Repair and MCCIR; University of Manchester ; Manchester, UK
| | - Julia K Polansky
- Priority Area Asthma and Allergies; Research Center Borstel ; Borstel, Germany
| | - Hilary Sandig
- Institute of Inflammation and Repair and MCCIR; University of Manchester ; Manchester, UK
| | - Marilena Papaioannou
- Molecular Carcinogenesis Group; Department of Histology & Embryology; School of Medicine; University of Athens ; Athens, Greece
| | - Kostas Evangelou
- Molecular Carcinogenesis Group; Department of Histology & Embryology; School of Medicine; University of Athens ; Athens, Greece
| | - Periklis G Foukas
- Molecular Carcinogenesis Group; Department of Histology & Embryology; School of Medicine; University of Athens ; Athens, Greece ; 2nd Department of Pathology; University of Athens Medical School; "Attikon" University Hospital ; Athens, Greece
| | - Vassilis G Gorgoulis
- Molecular Carcinogenesis Group; Department of Histology & Embryology; School of Medicine; University of Athens ; Athens, Greece ; Biomedical Research Foundation; Academy of Athens ; Athens, Greece ; Faculty Institute for Cancer Sciences; University of Manchester; Manchester Academic Health Science Centre ; Manchester, UK
| | - Silvia Bulfone-Paus
- Institute of Inflammation and Repair and MCCIR; University of Manchester ; Manchester, UK
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12
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Polansky JK, Syrbe U, Hamann A. [Epigenetic analyses - new therapeutic approaches for rheumatic diseases?]. Z Rheumatol 2013; 72:804-8. [PMID: 24122220 DOI: 10.1007/s00393-012-1121-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J K Polansky
- Experimentelle Rheumatologie, Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Deutschland,
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13
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Toker A, Engelbert D, Garg G, Polansky JK, Floess S, Miyao T, Baron U, Düber S, Geffers R, Giehr P, Schallenberg S, Kretschmer K, Olek S, Walter J, Weiss S, Hori S, Hamann A, Huehn J. Active demethylation of the Foxp3 locus leads to the generation of stable regulatory T cells within the thymus. J Immunol 2013; 190:3180-8. [PMID: 23420886 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1203473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 192] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Stable expression of Foxp3 in regulatory T cells (Tregs) depends on DNA demethylation at the Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR), a conserved, CpG-rich region within the Foxp3 locus. The TSDR is selectively demethylated in ex vivo Tregs purified from secondary lymphoid organs, but it is unclear at which stage of Treg development demethylation takes place. In this study, we show that commitment to a stable lineage occurred during early stages of murine thymic Treg development by engraving of lineage-specific epigenetic marks in parallel with establishment of a Treg-specific gene expression profile. TSDR demethylation was achieved through an active mechanism and involved enzymes of the ten-eleven-translocation family and hydroxylation of methylated cytosines, a modification that is implicated as an initiating step of mitosis-independent DNA demethylation pathways and has not yet been observed at specific loci during immune cell differentiation. Together, our results demonstrate that initiating TSDR demethylation during early stages of thymic Treg development commences stabilization of Foxp3 expression and guarantees full functionality and long-term lineage stability of Tregs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aras Toker
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig 38124, Germany
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14
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Polansky JK, Schreiber L, Thelemann C, Ludwig L, Krüger M, Baumgrass R, Cording S, Floess S, Hamann A, Huehn J. Methylation matters: binding of Ets-1 to the demethylated Foxp3 gene contributes to the stabilization of Foxp3 expression in regulatory T cells. J Mol Med (Berl) 2010; 88:1029-40. [PMID: 20574810 PMCID: PMC2943068 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-010-0642-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2010] [Revised: 05/21/2010] [Accepted: 05/31/2010] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
The forkhead-box protein P3 (Foxp3) is a key transcription factor for the development and suppressive activity of regulatory T cells (Tregs), a T cell subset critically involved in the maintenance of self-tolerance and prevention of over-shooting immune responses. However, the transcriptional regulation of Foxp3 expression remains incompletely understood. We have previously shown that epigenetic modifications in the CpG-rich Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR) in the Foxp3 locus are associated with stable Foxp3 expression. We now demonstrate that the methylation state of the CpG motifs within the TSDR controls its transcriptional activity rather than a Treg-specific transcription factor network. By systematically mutating every CpG motif within the TSDR, we could identify four CpG motifs, which are critically determining the transcriptional activity of the TSDR and which serve as binding sites for essential transcription factors, such as CREB/ATF and NF-κB, which have previously been shown to bind to this element. The transcription factor Ets-1 was here identified as an additional molecular player that specifically binds to the TSDR in a demethylation-dependent manner in vitro. Disruption of the Ets-1 binding sites within the TSDR drastically reduced its transcriptional enhancer activity. In addition, we found Ets-1 bound to the demethylated TSDR in ex vivo isolated Tregs, but not to the methylated TSDR in conventional CD4+ T cells. We therefore propose that Ets-1 is part of a larger protein complex, which binds to the TSDR only in its demethylated state, thereby restricting stable Foxp3 expression to the Treg lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia K Polansky
- Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany
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15
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Polansky JK, Huehn J. [To be or not to be a Treg: epigenetic regulation of Foxp3 expression in regulatory T cells]. Z Rheumatol 2007; 66:417-20. [PMID: 17717678 DOI: 10.1007/s00393-007-0192-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Treg) harbor great therapeutic potential for the treatment of autoimmune diseases due to their potent suppressive capacity. The majority of these cells express the transcription factor Foxp3, which is critical for both development and function of Treg. We discuss here our recent data indicating a contribution of epigenetic regulation for the permanent expression of Foxp3 in stable Treg a finding that is of significant importance if Treg are devised for clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- J K Polansky
- Medizinische Klinik mit Schwerpunkt Rheumatologie und Klinische Immunologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Experimentelle Immunregulation, c/o Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
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Marson A, Kretschmer K, Frampton GM, Jacobsen ES, Polansky JK, MacIsaac KD, Levine SS, Fraenkel E, von Boehmer H, Young RA. Foxp3 occupancy and regulation of key target genes during T-cell stimulation. Nature 2007; 445:931-5. [PMID: 17237765 PMCID: PMC3008159 DOI: 10.1038/nature05478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 556] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2006] [Accepted: 11/27/2006] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Foxp3+CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (T(reg)) cells are essential for the prevention of autoimmunity. T(reg) cells have an attenuated cytokine response to T-cell receptor stimulation, and can suppress the proliferation and effector function of neighbouring T cells. The forkhead transcription factor Foxp3 (forkhead box P3) is selectively expressed in T(reg) cells, is required for T(reg) development and function, and is sufficient to induce a T(reg) phenotype in conventional CD4+CD25- T cells. Mutations in Foxp3 cause severe, multi-organ autoimmunity in both human and mouse. FOXP3 can cooperate in a DNA-binding complex with NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells) to regulate the transcription of several known target genes. However, the global set of genes regulated directly by Foxp3 is not known and consequently, how this transcription factor controls the gene expression programme for T(reg) function is not understood. Here we identify Foxp3 target genes and report that many of these are key modulators of T-cell activation and function. Remarkably, the predominant, although not exclusive, effect of Foxp3 occupancy is to suppress the activation of target genes on T-cell stimulation. Foxp3 suppression of its targets appears to be crucial for the normal function of T(reg) cells, because overactive variants of some target genes are known to be associated with autoimmune disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Marson
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
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