Une réponse immunitaire efficace repose sur un recrutement rapide de leucocytes du sang au tissu enflammé ou endommagé. Pendant ce processus, les leucocytes sont capturés par l'endothélium et migrent le long de la paroi pour atteindre les sites de transmigration. Ces processus sont médiés par des signaux externes parmi lesquels le rôle des molécules d’adhésion reste flou. L’haptotaxie adhésive a été décrite pour les cellules mésenchymateuses qui s’orientent via un mécanisme de tir à la corde - une compétition entre les bords adhérents des cellules. Pour les cellules amiboïdes, l'existence d'une haptotaxie adhésif n'a jamais été observée. Ici, nous avons étudié la migration des lymphocytes T humains sur des substrats dont l’adhérence est spatialement modulée et avons observé une haptotaxie robuste. Mécanistiquement, nous montrons que l'haptotaxie adhésive diffère à la fois de la chimiotaxie, car aucune mécanotransduction n'a été détectée, et du mécanisme de tir à la corde passif, car différentes intégrines induisent des phénotypes opposés. Les cellules ont favorisé des zones plus adhérentes avec VLA-4 et, contre-intuitivement, des zones moins adhérentes avec LFA-1. Ces résultats révèlent que les intégrines contrôlent les comportements différentiels d'haptotaxie adhésive sans mécanotransduction. Nous avons également étudié le mécanisme à l'origine de ce phénotype induit par LFA-1 et avons découvert que la dynamique du lamellipode plutôt que le niveau d'expression de l'intégrine, était impliquée. Les résultats préliminaires avec des lymphocytes T déficients en VASP indiquent également que la protéine VASP pourrait jouer un rôle important dans l'haptotaxie adhésive. / An efficient immune response relies on a rapid recruitment of leukocytes from blood to the inflamed or damaged tissue. During this process, leukocytes are captured by the endothelium and migrate along the vessel wall to reach permissive transmigration sites. These processes are mediated by multiple external cues among which the role of adhesion molecules remains unclear. Adhesive haptotaxis has been described for mesenchymal cells that develop strong pulling forces with their substrates and orient via a tug of war mechanism – a competition between cells’ adherent pulling edges. In the case of amoeboid cells that migrate with minimal interaction with their substrate, the existence of adhesive haptotaxis has yet to be evidenced. Here, we studied the crawling of human T lymphocytes on substrates with spatially modulated adhesion. and observed robust adhesive haptotaxis. Mechanistically, we show that integrin-mediated adhesive haptotaxis of lymphocytes differs both from active chemotaxis, because no mechanotransduction was detected, and from the passive tug of war mechanism, because different integrins support opposite phenotypes. Cells favored more adherent zones with VLA-4 and, counterintuitively, less adherent zones with LFA-1. These results reveal that integrins control differential adhesive haptotaxis behaviors without mechanotransduction. We further investigated the mechanism behind this specific haptotactic phenotype mediated by LFA-1 and find that the lamellipodial dynamics, rather than the integrin expression level, is involved. Preliminary findings with VASP deficient T cells indicate also that VASP protein may play an important role in T cell adhesive haptotaxis.

B cells get help in the antibody response by presenting processed antigen to helper T cells. We asked whether the antigen presenting B cell must induce T helper functions before receiving help, or whether B cell activation is a direct consequence of T cell antigen recognition on the B cell surface. Although antigen-dependent increases in B cell c-myc expression occur as early as two hours after conjugation, the B cell response depends on induction of a contact-dependent helper function in the T cell, which is inhibitable by cyclosporin A. Induction but not delivery of contact help is blocked by anti-class II MHC antibody, indicating that the delivery of T cell help is not Ag dependent or MHC restricted. Also, contact with activated helper T cells induces a different pattern of immediate early gene expression from signals transduced through the B cell antigen receptor. Egr-1 is rapidly upregulated in response to mitogenic signals induced by receptor crosslinking on murine B lymphocytes, and its expression closely correlates with B cell proliferation in several models of B cell activation and tolerance. We compared egr-1 expression during B cell stimulation with Fab'2 and IgG anti-Ig, since it is known that Fab'2 anti-Ig is mitogenic while IgG is not, due to a dominant inhibitory effect of crosslinking the B cell FcγRII to membrane Ig. While mitogenic doses of Fab'2 anti-Ig induce large and rapid increases in egr-1 expression, intact anti-Ig results in only small increases in egr-1 mRNA, comparable to that seen with submitogenic concentrations of Fab'2 anti-Ig. However, when IL-4 is added as a comitogen to induce B cell proliferation with submitogenic concentrations of Fab'2 anti-Ig or IgG anti-Ig, no concomitant increases in egr-1 are observed. The regulation of egr-1 therefore, is similar to that of c-myc in this system, since neither correlates with IL-4 induced DNA synthesis.

The focus of experiments presented in this dissertation is to determine how signals created by exposure to environmental stimuli are integrated at the level of transcription, resulting in the generation of specific patterns of gene expression. The model system used was expression of the neurotensinl neuromedin N (NT/N) neuropeptide gene in the neuroendocrine PC12 cell line. This gene is synergistically activated in PC12 cells in response to nerve growth factor, lithium, glucocorticoids, and activators of adenylate cyclase. Several cis-regulatory elements were identified within a 200 bp regulatory region, including AP-1, CRE, and GRE-like elements. Mutational analysis confirmed the importance of these elements for responses to inducer combinations. The primary objective was to identify proteins that interact with NT/N promoter sequences and determine if they are important in mediating responses to inducer combinations. The first set of experiments was designed to investigate changes in AP-1 binding activity. Previous analysis had shown that mutation of the AP-1 site severely curtails responses to all inducer combinations indicating that AP-1 plays a pivotal role in NT/N gene activation. DNA binding studies using in vitro synthesized AP-1 proteins revealed that all heterodimeric combinations could bind both the AP-1 and JARE sites; however, these complexes displayed a higher affinity for the AP-1 site. c-Jun homodimers were also found to bind both these sites albeit with a lower affinity and with a preference for the JARE site. These studies revealed that specificity is probably not at the level of DNA binding. Therefore, it was possible that only a subset of AP-1 proteins were activated upon stimulation. DNase I footprint analysis using nuclear extracts from PC12 cells showed changes in protection at the consensus AP-1 site upon treatment with inducers suggesting changes in AP-1 binding activity. It was found that AP-1 binding activity was increased upon stimulation, with the major component being Jun B. However, substantial levels of c-Fos and c-Jun were also detected at some time points. These results coupled with transfection data demonstrating that forced expression of c-Jun and c-Fos result in potent synergistic activation of the NT/N promoter support the hypothesis that c-Jun and c-Fos are also involved in NT/N gene activation. DNase I footprinting studies using PC12 nuclear extracts also revealed substantial areas of protection surrounding the CRE element. This result, along with the high degree of conservation of these sequences between human and rat, suggested they play a role in the regulation of the NT/N gene in PC12 cells. Mutational analysis of this region showed that sequences upstream of the CRE were important for full activation of the NT/N promoter. Specific mutation of the CRE resulted in a 75% decrease in activity upon induction, a level similar to that observed previously with less precise linker scanner mutations. This site had also been shown to be critical for c-Jun mediated NT/N activation, even though c-Jun homodimers do not bind this site in vitro. Therefore, nuclear extracts from PC12 cells were tested for the presence of proteins which could bind this site. Complexes composed of both c-Jun and ATF-2 were found in extracts from both uninduced and induced PC12 cells. ATF-2 could mediate both the recruitment of c-Jun to this site as well as mediate the effect of activators of adenylate cyclase, since ATF-2 has been shown to be a target for protein kinase A in vitro. Expression of ATF-2 in PC12 cells resulted in a modest increase in NT/N promoter activation. The significant levels of endogenous ATF-2 protein in PC12 cells most likely accounts for the relatively small magnitude of this effect. Experiments with the closely related protein, ATF-a2, revealed that it potently antagonizes c-Jun activation while forced expression of ATF-2 did not affect c-Jun activation under the conditions analyzed. Therefore, ATF proteins could be involved in both activation and repression of the NT/N gene. Both c-Jun and ATF-2 have been shown to be activated by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in response to environmental stress or cytokine activation. Therefore, the ability of inducers to activate the previously described N-terminal ATF-2 activation domain was investigated using a GAL4-ATF-2 (1-109) chimer construct. This construct was not significantly activated by inducer combinations that result in high level NT/N gene expression, indicating that activation of ATF-2 through this pathway is not involved in NT/N gene activation. Also activation of JNK, a MAPK which activates both c-Jun and ATF-2, only partially substituted for NGF indicating that NGF activates an additional pathway. The data presented here support a model involving synergistic transcriptional activation of the NT/N promoter by c-Jun/c-Fos, ATF-2, ATF-2/c-Jun and the GR. ATF-2 was found to enhance NT/N promoter activation while a splice variant (ATF-2 195) lacking a central portion of ATF-2 that is rich in Ser/Thr residues had no effect suggesting that this region could be important for ATF-2 activation in PC12 cells. The identification of the signaling pathways that mediate the effects of inducer combinations on NT/N gene activation will be an important future goal and should provide insights into the control of neuronal gene expression.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive strand RNA virus that is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis. HCV infections are an important health problem because >80% of patients become chronically infected and many develop chronic hepatitis. With approximately 400 million chronic HCV infections worldwide, understanding the pathogenesis of this disease is of critical importance in order to develop appropriate therapies and/or vaccine strategies. Strong proliferative and cytotoxic T cell responses that target multiple HCV proteins are detected in patients with self-limited infection. Conversely, HCV-specific T cell responses are minimal during acute infection in patients who become chronically infected. It is thought that the genetic diversity of HCV plays a crucial role in establishing persistence. Chronic viral hepatitis is characterized by infiltration of T lymphocytes in the liver, which are thought to play a pivotal role in disease progression. Although virus-specific T cells can be isolated from both peripheral blood and from liver biopsy samples of chronically infected patients, there appears to be a compartmentalization of HCV-specific T cells in the liver. However, the presence of virus-specific T cells is inefficient for viral clearance. Because HCV is known to be highly variable in sequence, the detailed characterization of the interaction of individual HCV-specific CTL clones with autologous viral sequences might be important for understanding the mechanisms by which HCV is able to establish a chronic infection. We isolated three intrahepatic CD8+ CTL clones from two individuals with chronic HCV infection and compared the recognition of prototype and autologous HCV sequences. These CTL recognized epitopes within the NS2 (amino acids 957-964) or NS3 (amino acids 1402-1410 and 1406-1415) proteins in the context of HLA B37, B8, or A2.1, respectively. The corresponding predominant autologous HCV sequences (SDWAANGL, ELAAKLVGL, ALRGMGLNAV, respectively) differed from the HCV-1 prototype sequences used for screening (RDWAHNGL, ELAAKLVAL, KLVALGINAV, respectively) at one to five residues. For each CTL clone, recognition of the autologous HCV sequence required significantly higher peptide concentrations than did recognition of the HCV-1 sequence; for two of the clones, recognition was minimal or absent at peptide concentrations as high as 25μM. When the HLA A2.1-restricted HCV NS3-specific T cell clone was analyzed further, we found that it was cross-reactive with peptide sequences from at least three other HCV strains. The clone recognized target cells loaded with synthetic peptides derived from sequences of genotype 1b; HCVTW (KLSALGIHAV), HCVJA (KLTGLGLNAV),and HCVBK (KLSGLGINAV). This HCV-specific T cell clone was also able to recognize target cells that were loaded with a peptide derived from an autologous protein, cellular retinoic acid binding protein I (CRABP I). When we generated HLA A2.1-restricted HCV NS3-specific T cell lines from the peripheral blood of two additional patients, almost one half of the cell lines could lyse target cells loaded with the CRABP I peptide. These data show that intrahepatic HCV-specific CD8+ CTL clones can be relatively inefficient at recognizing autologous viral epitopes and that some viral-specific CTL can recognize autoantigens in vitro. There is little information regarding the composition and stability of the liver-infiltrating T cell repertoire during chronic HCV infection. To address this issue, we used TCR complimentarity determining region 3 (CDR3) length analysis to examine the T lymphocytes in sequential biopsy samples from five individuals chronically infected with HCV. We found that although almost all TCRBV families were represented in the liver, 25-85% had skewed spectratype profiles, indicative of the presence of clonally expanded T cells. Further analysis using TCRBJ-primed run-off reactions revealed that the intrahepatic repertoires were not stable, as many expansions that existed in one biopsy sample were not detected in the other. Some expansions persisted, however, and sequencing of TCRBV-J transcripts identified CDR3 sequences that were maintained in two individuals for 10 or 45 months. Furthermore, although some expansions were found in the periphery, most were represented only in the liver. These data suggest that there is an evolution of the immune response during chronic HCV infection and that the response is largely concentrated in the liver of these individuals. Based on our observations regarding the function of intrahepatic HCV-specific CTL and the dynamics of the intrahepatic repertoire during chronic HCV infection, we propose a model in which the co-evolution of HCV quasispecies and HCV-specific T cells contribute to both viral persistence and immunopathology.

The relative contribution of T cell receptor-dependent stimulation versus TcR-independent bystander stimulation in the massive increase in the number of activated proliferating CD8+ T cells seen during acute many acute viral infections is unclear. To determine if this increase was the result of TcR-independent bystander activation and proliferation, anti-viral cytotoxic T lymphocytes were induced in vivo via DNA immunization so that the anti-viral immune response could be examined in the absence of the high levels of cytokines generated during acute infection. After a single immunization with a plasmid encoding the nucleoprotein of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) a nearly 2 log10 reduction in viral titers in the spleen was observed 3 days after LCMV infection. After 2 or 3 immunizations a greater that 3 log10 inhibition of viral titers in the spleen was observed, with most animals having no detectable virus. After intracerebral challenge vaccinated animals displayed either protection or enhanced immunopathology leading to accelerated kinetics of death. By limiting dilution analysis LCMV-specific CTL precursors were detected in both the spleen and lymph nodes of vaccinated animals. C57BL/6 mice inoculated with DNA demonstrated an anamnestic CTL response detectable at days 4 after LCMV challenge. However, the numbers of CTL precursors elicited by DNA vaccination was too low to determine if cytokine-mediated TcR-independent bystander activation and proliferation had taken place. HY-specific TcR-transgenic mice, which have a restricted TcR repertoire, and LCMV-carrier mice, which are tolerant to LCMV, were used to determine the extent of TcR-independent bystander activation and proliferation during acute LCMV infection. LCMV infection of C57BL/6 mice induced CTL that lysed uninfected H-2k and H-2d allogeneic targets, but, LCMV-induced CTL from HY- transgenic mice lysed only the H-2k-expressing cells. The HY-mice generated both anti-H-2k and anti-H-2d CTL in mixed lymphocyte cultures, strongly suggesting that the generation of allospecific CTL during acute LCMV-infection is antigen specific. During the LCMV infection there was blastogenesis of the CDB+ T cell population, but the HY-specific T cells remained small in size, and did not alter their expression of the activation molecules CD44 and MEL-14. In order to examine the potential for bystander stimulation under conditions of a very strong CTL response, T cell chimeras were made between normal and HY-transgenic mice. Even in the context of a normal vicus-induced CTL response, no stimulation of HY -specific T cells was observed, and HY-specific cells were diluted in number by day 9 post-infection. In LCMV-carrier mice in which donor and host T cells could be distinguished by Thy 1 allotypic markers, adoptive transfer of LCMV-immune T cells into LCMV-carrier mice, whose T cells were tolerant to LCMV, resulted in activation and proliferation of donor CDB cells but little or no activation of host CDB+ T cells. These results show that TcR-independent bystander activation of non virus-specific T cells is not a significant component of an anti-viral T cell response and support the hypothesis that the massive polyclonal CTL response to LCMV infection is virus-specific. T cells activated during potent anti-viral immune responses are sensitized to undergo apoptosis after strong TcR-stimulation in a process known as activation-induced cell death (AICD). To determine if T cells, not participating in the immune response were also subject to AICD, LCMV-carrier mice were used. Using TUNEL flow cytometry, it was shown that after reconstitution of Thy 1.2+ LCMV-carrier mice with spleen cells from Thy 1.1+ LCMV-immune mice, the Thy 1.2+ host T cells which were not specific for the virus and did not proliferate in a bystander fashion, were rendered sensitive to TcR-induced apoptosis in vitro. This bystander sensitization to AICD was shown not to be dependent on the continued presence of activated proliferating donor cells during the in vitro culture period. Bystander sensitization to AICD was not the result of an antigen presenting cell defect, but rather was the result of an in vivo conditioning of the T cells themselves. The mechanism of this sensitization was, at least, partially dependent on the ability of host T cells to respond to IFNγ, and on the expression of Fas ligand on the activated, proliferating donor cells. This bystander sensitization to AICD may explain why memory T cell responses are so poor during acute viral infection and can serve as a potential mechanism for virus-induced immunosuppression.

The immune system is a complex network of cells and molecules that is a powerful and necessary defense mechanism to protect the host from pathogens. When this system is non-functional or dysregulated, the host is susceptible to takeover or attack against self, both with often lethal sequelae. Over the past century remarkable advances have been made in understanding how the immune system functions and how to manipulate this knowledge for human benefit. One strategy used to understand immune system function is to determine how the activity of immune system cells is modulated by the proteins these cells express on their surface. One rat T cell surface protein which was originally identified with antibodies almost two decades ago is the rat T cell alloantigen, RT6. During the intervening time enormous progress has been made in understanding the function of RT6+ T cells in normal and abnormal immune responses. In addition, during this time the characterization of RT6 genes, proteins, and homologues has occurred. One characterization of RT6 that is enigmatically missing is the function of this molecule. With this information it would be possible to determine how this molecule modulates T cell function. Therefore this project set out to begin to functionally characterize RT6 proteins. Part 1 of this project set out to determine if cell-surface RT6 proteins, like some other T cell surface proteins, could mediate T cell activation. Part 2 of this project was based on the recent observation that RT6 is homologous to NAD-catabolizing enzymes, and it was investigated whether RT6 proteins have ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. In Part 1 of this work it is demonstrated that cell-surface RT6 proteins are capable of delivering activation signals to T cells. Crosslinking cell-surface RT6 with antibodies potentiates the ability of PMA treated T cells to proliferate in response to the T cell growth factors IL-2 and/or IL-4. Crosslinking RT6 on these cells increases the surface expression of IL-2 receptors, suggesting that RT6-mediated signals selectively enhance growth factor receptor expression. This work also investigated the mechanism through which RT6 may deliver its signal. It is demonstrated that RT6 proteins are physically associated with five other proteins, including the src family tyrosine kinases p56lck and p60fyn. This work also suggests a novel mechanism to regulate T cell signaling by accessory molecules, since PKC activation causes qualitative and quantitative changes in the proteins physically associated with RT6. This work indicates that cell-surface RT6 is capable of delivering an accessory T cell activation signal. Therefore, RT6 proteins may be involved in vivo with the activation and proliferation of RT6+ T cells. Previous work in another laboratory has demonstrated that the RT6.2 protein possesses NAD glycohydrolase activity and indicated that RT6 proteins share overall sequence homology with ADP-ribosyltransferases. In Part 2 of this work, RT6 proteins are shown to possess NAD:arginine ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. ADP-ribosylation of proteins is a modification known to affect cell signaling and function. It is further demonstrated in this work that the substrate for RT6, extracellular NAD, inhibits T cell proliferation in a dose- and stimulus-dependent manner. Taken together, these studies suggest that through their enzymatic activities RT6 proteins modulate T cell activity. This work is the first to demonstrate that RT6 has two, possibly separate, functional characteristics. RT6 can therefore be described as a bifunctional T cell surface protein. RT6+ T cells play critical roles in regulating immune system responses in health and disease. Because of these functional studies on RT6 proteins, it can now be investigated how RT6 proteins may modulate T cell responses in different immunological situations. Thus, this work will provide the foundation to determine if and how RT6 proteins modulate immune system function in health and disease.

Acute viral infections in humans and mice induce T lymphocyte responses which mediate viral clearance and result in the establishment of immunological memory. The course of an immune response to acute viral infection is associated with an immune deficiency in the lymphocyte compartment. This is usually characterized by the inability of lymphocytes to productively respond to mitogen or recall antigen. This thesis examined the acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection of the mouse and showed that T lymphocytes isolated from acutely LCMV-infected mice underwent activation-induced apoptosis upon signalling through the T-cell receptor (TcR)-CD3 complex. Kinetic studies demonstrated that this sensitivity to apoptosis directly correlated with the induction of immune deficiency, as measured by impaired proliferation in response to anti-CD3 antibody or to concanavalin A. Cell cycling in interleukin-2 (IL-2) alone stimulated proliferation of LCMV-induced T cells without inducing apoptosis, but preculturing of T cells from acutely-infected mice in IL-2 accelerated apoptosis upon subsequent TcR-CD3 crosslinking. T lymphocytes isolated from mice after the acute infection were less responsive to IL-2, but IL-2 receptor-bearing T cells, presumably memory T cells, responding to IL-2 were primed in each case to die a rapid apoptotic death upon TcR-CD3 crosslinking. These results indicated that virus infection-induced unresponsiveness to T-cell mitogens is in part attributable to apoptosis of the activated lymphocytes and suggest that the sensitization of memory cells by IL-2 and other stimulatory cytokines induced during an acute infection will cause them to die upon antigen recognition, thereby impairing specific responses to nonviral (recall) antigens. The cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to acute LCMV infection is characterized by a massive (10-20 fold) expansion of CD8+ cell number, which after clearance of virus declines in number and returns to levels present prior to infection. This thesis documents the presence of high levels of apoptotic lymphocytes in situ in the spleens of mice during the silencing of the immune response to acute LCMV infection. Apoptotic cells were detected by an in situ nucleotidyl transferase (ISNT) assay. Both T and B lymphocytes, as revealed by immunohistochemical analysis, are shown to be dying in vivo, the latter in clusters. A biphasic occurrence of apoptosis during the course of the acute infection was found, with an increase in numbers of apoptotic cells above background at day 3 post-infection, and at day 11 post-infection, a second more pronounced peak coincident with the decline of the CTL response to the infection and with the decrease in total spleen leukocyte number. Apoptosis in vivo was detected in lpr mice lacking Fas expression, a molecule involved in lymphocyte apoptosis. Fas expression thus may not be required for lymphocyte apoptosis in the context of an acute viral infection. Apoptosis in situ and the silencing of the CD8+ T lymphocyte response to acute LCMV infection were unaffected by the enforced lymphocyte-directed expression of Bcl-2, a protein blocking IL-2 deprivation-induced apoptosis of lymphocytes. Experiments aimed at addressing the role of Bcl-2-sensitive apoptotic pathways in the development of viral persistence revealed that high-dose infection of Bcl-2-transgenic mice results in death of the animals. Flow cytometric analysis showed an accumulation of Thy1.2+ T cells in the lungs of these animals, and the air spaces in the lungs were occluded with cellular and fluid infiltrates. These results suggest that the pathology seen in the Bcl-2-transgenic mice upon high-dose infection is perhaps immune response-mediated (an immunopathology). This is consistent with a role for Bcl-2-sensitive pathways of lymphocyte apoptosis in the pathogenesis of persistent LCMV infection. The in situ demonstration of apoptosis in spleens during infection provide direct in vivo evidence for the death of lymphocytes during the recovery from an acute viral infection. This indicates that apoptotic elimination of the population en masse is a mechanism for halting an antiviral immune response upon clearance of virus. Furthermore, the data argue that IL-2 deprivation-driven apoptosis, upon clearance of virus, of the expanded T lymphocyte compartment is not the major mechanism involved in the silencing of the T cell response to acute LCMV infection. Resolution of an acute immune response leads into the generation of longterm immunological memory. Since this thesis focussed on T cell responses in viral infection, it was important to characterize the in vivo state of memory CD8+ T cells. During acute LCMV infection, the majority of the LCMV-specific CTL activity tested immediately ex vivo was mediated by CD8+ L-selectin-Mac-1+ CTL. The L-selectin- population of CD8+ cells elicited during acute infection also carried >99% of the restimulatable CD8+ CTLp to LCMV, and these required added IL-2 for development into effectors in vitro. In contrast to the acute infection, most of the virus-specific CTLp in immune mice were L-selectin+. Examination of CD8+ T cells in LCMV-immune mice revealed that a L-selectin+ blast-sized population of cycling CD8+ cells contained CTLp which developed into effector CTL in the absence of added IL-2. These cells also expressed Mac-1 and IL-2R. Flow cytometric sorting for IL-2R+ and IL-2R-CD8+ cells in the immune animal revealed, by limiting dilution analysis, similar frequencies of CTLp in both populations. In bulk restimulation assays, the CD25+ CTLp did not require added IL-2 for their in vitro development into effectors, whereas the CD25- CTLp did. Hence, the different requirements for CTLp to effector development in vitro reflect qualitative differences in the in vivo state of the CTLp in the various subpopulations. LCMV-specific memory CTLp not requiring added IL-2 for differentiation were also found in the small-sized, non-cycling, CD8+L-selectin- cells. In contrast, the small-sized, non-cycling, CD8+L-selectin+, and CD8+IL-2R- populations also carried CTLp, but these required added IL-2 for development into effector CTL. Hence, T cell memory to LCMV is distributed among various lymphocyte subpopulations in immune animals, and the presence of an activated cycling cell component may account for the stability and long-term perpetuation of antiviral immunological memory. In summary, the susceptibility of activated T lymphocytes to apoptosis probably explains an aspect of virus-induced immune deficiency and allows for the establishment of homeostasis subsequent to the resolution of an acute viral infection.

Leukocytes express a family of high molecular weight glycoproteins called leukocyte common antigens (CD45) which have tyrosine phosphatase activity and are involved in phosphotyrosine signal transduction. Antibodies to different CD45 isoforms distinguish functionally different CD4+ T cell subsets in humans, rats, and mice. Selected protein isoforms are expressed through a process of exon splicing which is cell-type and differentiation-state specific. Splicing of the three variable exons, A, B, and C, which encode amino acids located near the extracellular amino terminus of the protein, potentially results in generation of eight different mRNA transcripts. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative levels of all eight different CD45 transcripts present in a panel of murine CD4+ T cell lines and normal murine and human CD4+ T cell subsets separated with antibodies to CD45 variable exons. I show, as expected, that the broad features of CD45 surface isoform expression in these cells can be accounted for by the relative amounts of the eight differentially spliced transcripts. Unexpectedly, all the differences in CD45 isoform expression among the CD4+ T cell subpopulations that I measured could be accounted for by differences in the overall level of variable exon expression. I did not see differences among T cell populations in the relative expression of particular variable exons. Exon B was always found in greater abundance than exons C or A. Of the dual exon species, only AB and BC were found in CD4+ T cells. The AC species was undetectable. Human CD4+ T cells, especially those in the naive subset, express higher levels of CD45 variable exons than murine CD4+ T cells. In unrelated studies, I have generated a rat-mouse hybridoma which secretes a rat IgG antibody reactive with mouse CD45. I show that the monoclonal antibody, 25D10, defines a novel epitope consistent with a post-translational modification of CD45, similar but distinct from the epitope recognized by monoclonal antibody RA3.6B2 (anti-B220). This conclusion is based on evidence that it precipitates similar molecular weight bands from cells as does a framework monoclonal antibody to CD45, yet has a distinct cell surface expression as determined by flow cytometric analysis. It stains activated Th cell lines at a higher intensity than resting Th cells, stains 60-70% of splenocytes, and 25-30% of lymph node cells. It stains all class II positive cells but not freshly isolated CD4+, CD8+ T cells or CD45 transfected fibroblasts.

There is increasing evidence that the effect of chemotherapy on tumor rejection is not cell autonomous but relies on the immune system. Indeed, several reports have shown that human and murine tumors respond to chemotherapeutic agents more efficiently when the host immune system is intact. In particular, we have shown that cyclophosphamide treatment of DBA/2 mice bearing P815 mastocytoma induces rejection and long term protection in a CD4- and CD8-dependent manner. We used this tumor model, as it is poorly immunogenic, expresses tumor-associated P1A and tumor-specific P1E antigens, encoded by germline and mutated genes, respectively, and allows the identification of some tumor-specific CD8+ T cells.We have previously reported that tumor regression correlates with selective infiltration of CD8+ T cells specific for P1E/H-2Kd antigen in tumor bed upon cyclophosphamide treatment. Unexpectedly, the proportion of CD8+ T cells specific for the tumor-associated antigen P1A in the context of H-2Ld decreases concomitantly, indicating that cyclophosphamide alters the repertoire of CD8+ T cells recognizing tumor antigens. Using P1A KO mice, we found that preferential activation of CD8+ T cells to P1E is not solely due to thymic negative selection. The major role of “mutated” antigens in tumor resistance has been recently highlighted in humans and raises an interesting question about the immune mechanisms of tumor rejection. Additionally to its effect on the specific immune response, cyclophosphamide promotes tumor infiltration by effector memory (P1E/H-2Kd)+ CD8+ T cells which are characterized by higher expression of KLRG1 and Eomes. Our data point to a role of IL-15 and type 1 IFNs for their development, as increased levels of IL-15 and IRF7 were measured in tumor after cyclophosphamide. IFNAR1 blockade interferes with the tumor rejection in 50% of mice and decreases the (P1E/H-2Kd)+ CD8+ T cell infiltration induced by cyclophosphamide, suggesting a role of this cytokine in the expansion and/or recruitment of (P1E/H-2Kd)+ CD8+ T cells in vivo.Altogether, our results suggest that type 1 IFNs and IL-15 induced after cyclophosphamide promote the reprogramming of CD8+ T cells specific for the “mutated” P1E/H-2Kd antigen into effector memory lymphocytes. / Option Biologie moléculaire du Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Les tumeurs solides emploient diverses stratégies afin de se maintenir dans l’organisme et d’échapper à l’inhibition du système immunitaire. Un des mécanismes les plus puissants est la production de la cytokine Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-bêta). Cependant, cette cytokine est sécrétée dans le micro-environnement tumoral sous une forme inactive, incapable de se lier à son récepteur et donc d’exercer ses fonctions hautement immunosuppressives. Ces travaux de thèse démontrent qu’une population de lymphocytes T (LT) CD4+ dite T régulateurs (Tregs), qui exprime le facteur de transcription Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), est responsable de l’activation du TGF-bêta au sein de la tumeur. Nous avons montré que parmi les cellules du système immunitaire, les Tregs constituent la principale population exprimant l’intégrine avb8 (Itgb8), protéine responsable de l’activation du TGF-bêta. L’absence de l’Itgb8 spécifiquement à la surface des Tregs entraîne une forte diminution de la croissance tumorale. Par conséquent, l’activation de la signalisation du TGF-bêta est réduite dans les LT CD8+ qui infiltrent la tumeur, conduisant à une exacerbation de leurs fonctions cytotoxiques et donc à une élimination accrue des cellules tumorales. La relevance de ces données obtenues chez la souris a été confirmée chez l’Homme à la fois par des approches ex vivo sur des tumeurs fraîches ainsi que par des approches bio-informatiques et biostatistiques à partir d’étude de cohortes de patients. Nous proposons donc que les Tregs et les cellules tumorales travaillent de concert pour fournir une source bio-active de TGF-bêta capable de réprimer efficacement la réponse immunitaire anti-tumorale et donc de permettre à la tumeur d’échapper au système immunitaire / Solid tumors employ diverse strategies to be maintained in the organism and escape the suppression mediated by the immune system. One of the most powerful mechanisms they use is through the production of Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-beta). However, this cytokine is secreted within the tumor microenvironment in its inactive form, unable to bind to its receptor and exert its highly immunosuppressive functions. The present thesis project demonstrates that a population of CD4+ T lymphocytes called regulatory T cells (Tregs), which express the transcription factor Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), is responsible for TGF-beta activation in tumors. We show that among the cells of the immune system, Tregs constitute the main population expressing the integrin avb8 (Itgb8) which is responsible for TGF-beta activation. The absence of Itgb8 specifically on Tregs surface leads to strong decrease of tumor growth. As a result, TGF-beta signaling pathway is impaired in tumor infiltrating CD8+ T lymphocytes leading to exacerbation of their cytotoxic and efficient elimination of tumor cells. The relevance of these data obtained in mice was confirmed in the human pathology by ex vivo approaches using fresh tumors as well as by bioinformatics and biostatistics approaches from studies on patient cohorts. We propose that Tregs and tumor cells cooperate to provide a bioactive source of TGF-beta which is able to efficiently repress the anti-tumor response and thus allowing tumors to escape the immune system