Early during an immune response, dendritic cells (DC) interact closely with CD4+ T cells, and cross-talk between these cells can come in the form of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily ligand-receptor interactions. These signals are critical for the maturation, function and survival of DC, and thereby dictate the capacity of DC to prime a robust T cell response. Among these cues, helper T cell-expressed CD40L interaction with DC-expressed CD40 is required to fully mature DC for cross-priming of help-dependent CD8+ T cell responses. The lymphotoxin-beta receptor (LTβR) is another TNF family receptor on DC, and it’s ligands LTα1β2 and LIGHT are expressed on activated T cells. Since abrogated LTβR signaling impairs T cell immunity, we have examined whether LTαβ represents another possible helper T cell-derived cue for full DC maturation. However the LT pathway controls lymphoid tissue organization and DC homeostasis, a second possible mechanism explaining the necessity of LTβR signaling for T cell immunity. Here we dissect the role of helper T cell-expressed LTβR ligands and DC-intrinsic LTβR signaling, independent of DC homeostasis or lymphoid organization, in DC function and T cell immunity. Absence of LTα1β2 and not LIGHT on helper T cells results in compromised T cell priming by DC ex vivo, and LTβ-/- CD4+ T cell responses are impaired in vivo. Ag-specific CD4+ T cell-expressed LTα1β2 and DC-intrinsic LTβR signaling are required for an optimal cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response in vivo. While CD40 induces IL-12 and is required for CTL function, DC-intrinsic LTβR signaling is necessary for CTL activation and expansion, early up-regulation of CD86 and IFNα/β production. Our results reveal non-redundant roles for distinct TNF family receptors in enabling DC to program different features in Ag-specific CD8+ T cells.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OTU.1807/32965 |
| Date | 05 September 2012 |
| Creators | Summers deLuca, Leslie |
| Contributors | Gommerman, Jennifer Lynn |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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