Immunity最新文献

Pro-inflammatory autoantigen-specific CD4⁺ T helper (auto-Th) cells are central orchestrators of autoimmune diseases (AIDs). We aimed to characterize these cells in human AIDs with defined autoantigens by combining human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-tetramer-based and activation-based multidimensional ex vivo analyses. In aquaporin4-antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4-NMOSD) patients, auto-Th cells expressed CD154, but proliferative capacity and pro-inflammatory cytokines were strongly reduced. Instead, exhaustion-associated co-inhibitory receptors were expressed together with FOXP3, the canonical regulatory T cell (Treg) transcription factor. Auto-Th cells responded in vitro to checkpoint inhibition and provided potent B cell help. Cells with the same exhaustion-like (ThEx) phenotype were identified in soluble liver antigen (SLA)-antibody-autoimmune hepatitis and BP180-antibody-positive bullous pemphigoid, AIDs of the liver and skin, respectively. While originally described in cancer and chronic infection, our data point to T cell exhaustion as a common mechanism of adaptation to chronic (self-)stimulation across AID types and link exhausted CD4⁺ T cells to humoral autoimmune responses, with implications for therapeutic targeting.

The precise neurophysiological changes prompted by meningeal lymphatic dysfunction remain unclear. Here, we showed that inducing meningeal lymphatic vessel ablation in adult mice led to gene expression changes in glial cells, followed by reductions in mature oligodendrocyte numbers and specific lipid species in the brain. These phenomena were accompanied by altered meningeal adaptive immunity and brain myeloid cell activation. During brain remyelination, meningeal lymphatic dysfunction provoked a state of immunosuppression in the brain that contributed to delayed spontaneous oligodendrocyte replenishment and axonal loss. The deficiencies in mature oligodendrocytes and neuroinflammation due to impaired meningeal lymphatic function were solely recapitulated in immunocompetent mice. Patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis presented reduced vascular endothelial growth factor C in the cerebrospinal fluid, particularly shortly after clinical relapses, possibly indicative of poor meningeal lymphatic function. These data demonstrate that meningeal lymphatics regulate oligodendrocyte function and brain myelination, which might have implications for human demyelinating diseases.

T cell-mediated islet destruction is a hallmark of autoimmune diabetes. Here, we examined the dynamics and pathogenicity of CD4⁺ T cell responses to four different insulin-derived epitopes during diabetes initiation in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. Single-cell RNA sequencing of tetramer-sorted CD4⁺ T cells from the pancreas revealed that islet-antigen-specific T cells adopted a wide variety of fates and required XCR1⁺ dendritic cells for their activation. Hybrid-insulin C-chromogranin A (InsC-ChgA)-specific CD4⁺ T cells skewed toward a distinct T helper type 1 (Th1) effector phenotype, whereas the majority of insulin B chain and hybrid-insulin C-islet amyloid polypeptide-specific CD4⁺ T cells exhibited a regulatory phenotype and early or weak Th1 phenotype, respectively. InsC-ChgA-specific CD4⁺ T cells were uniquely pathogenic upon transfer, and an anti-InsC-ChgA:IAg7 antibody prevented spontaneous diabetes. Our findings highlight the heterogeneity of T cell responses to insulin-derived epitopes in diabetes and argue for the feasibility of antigen-specific therapies that blunts the response of pathogenic CD4⁺ T cells causing autoimmunity.

Immunological priming—in the context of either prior infection or vaccination—elicits protective responses against subsequent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. However, the changes that occur in the lung cellular milieu post-primary Mtb infection and their contributions to protection upon reinfection remain poorly understood. Using clinical and microbiological endpoints in a non-human primate reinfection model, we demonstrated that prior Mtb infection elicited a long-lasting protective response against subsequent Mtb exposure and was CD4⁺ T cell dependent. By analyzing data from primary infection, reinfection, and reinfection-CD4⁺ T cell-depleted granulomas, we found that the presence of CD4⁺ T cells during reinfection resulted in a less inflammatory lung milieu characterized by reprogrammed CD8⁺ T cells, reduced neutrophilia, and blunted type 1 immune signaling among myeloid cells. These results open avenues for developing vaccines and therapeutics that not only target lymphocytes but also modulate innate immune cells to limit tuberculosis (TB) disease.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) promotes metabolic reprogramming and dysfunction in immune cells. Here, we examined the impact of the TME on phospholipid metabolism in CD8⁺ T cells. In lung cancer, phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were lower in intratumoral CD8⁺ T cells than in circulating CD8⁺ T cells. Intratumoral CD8⁺ T cells exhibited decreased expression of phospholipid phosphatase 1 (PLPP1), which catalyzes PE and PC synthesis. T cell-specific deletion of Plpp1 impaired antitumor immunity and promoted T cell death by ferroptosis. Unsaturated fatty acids in the TME stimulated ferroptosis of Plpp1^−/− CD8⁺ T cells. Mechanistically, programmed death-1 (PD-1) signaling in CD8⁺ T cells induced GATA1 binding to the promoter region Plpp1 and thereby suppressed Plpp1 expression. PD-1 blockade increased Plpp1 expression and restored CD8⁺ T cell antitumor function but did not rescue dysfunction of Plpp1^−/− CD8⁺ T cells. Thus, PD-1 signaling regulates phospholipid metabolism in CD8⁺ T cells, with therapeutic implications for immunotherapy.

Diversity is a key feature of B cell biology—from BCR rearrangement to the heterogeneity of memory B cells. In this issue of Immunity, Wang et al. show that the zinc-finger protein ZFP318 supports mitochondrial health in certain memory B cells, thereby facilitating potent recall upon rechallenge.

Understanding determinants of immune response variation is central to developing treatment options. Even et al. show that naive CD4⁺ T cell transcriptional heterogeneity is altered by helminth infection leading to impaired immune responses independent of commensals.

The immune system is imprinted by gut microbes in early life. In this issue of Immunity, Perdijk et al. show that dysregulation of airway epithelial function by neonatal antibiotic treatment can be reversed by supplementation with a depleted microbial metabolite.

Tissue-resident memory T (T_RM) cells positively correlate with cancer survival, but the anti-tumor mechanisms underlying this relationship are not understood. This review reconciles these observations, summarizing concepts of T cell immunosurveillance, fundamental T_RM cell biology, and clinical observations on the role of T_RM cells in cancer and immunotherapy outcomes. We also discuss emerging strategies that utilize T_RM-phenotype cells for patient diagnostics, staging, and therapy. Current challenges are highlighted, including a lack of standardized T cell nomenclature and our limited understanding of relationships between T cell markers and underlying tumor biology. Existing findings are integrated into a summary of the field while emphasizing opportunities for future research.