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Failure of the most recent tuberculosis (TB) vaccine trial to boost bacillus Calmette-Guérin-mediated anti-TB immunity despite the induction of Th1-specific central memory cell and effector memory cell responses highlights the importance of identifying optimal T cell targets for protective vaccines. In this study, we describe a novel, Mycobacterium tuberculosis -specific IFN-γ + CD4 + T cell population expressing surface markers characteristic of naive-like memory T cells (T NLM ), which were induced in both human (CD45RA + CCR7 + CD27 + CD95 - ) and murine (CD62L + CD44 - Sca-1 + CD122 - ) systems in response to mycobacteria. In bacillus Calmette-Guérin-vaccinated subjects and those with latent TB infection, T NLM were marked by the production of IFN-γ but not TNF-α and identified by the absence of CD95 expression and increased surface expression CCR7, CD27, the activation markers T-bet, CD69, and the survival marker CD74. Increased tetramer-positive T NLM frequencies were noted in the lung and spleen of ESAT-6 1-20 -specific TCR transgenic mice at 2 wk postinfection with M. tuberculosis and progressively decreased at later time points, a pattern not seen with TNF-α + CD4 + T cells expressing naive cell surface markers. Importantly, adoptive transfer of highly purified T NLM alone, from vaccinated ESAT-6 1-20 -specific TCR transgenic mice, conferred equivalent protection against M. tuberculosis infection in the lungs of Rag -/- mice when compared with total memory populations (central and effector memory cells). Thus, T NLM may represent a memory T cell population that, if optimally targeted, may significantly improve future TB vaccine responses., (Copyright © 2019 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

One third of the global population is estimated to be latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis We performed a phase I randomized controlled trial of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) before revaccination with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in healthy, tuberculin skin test-positive (≥15-mm induration), HIV-negative South African adults. We hypothesized that preclearance of latent bacilli with IPT modulates BCG immunogenicity following revaccination. Frequencies and coexpression of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-17, and/or IL-22 in CD4 T cells and IFN-γ-expressing CD8 T, γδ T, CD3(+)CD56(+) NKT-like, and NK cells in response to BCG were measured using whole blood intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry. We analyzed 72 participants who were revaccinated with BCG after IPT (n = 33) or without prior IPT (n = 39). IPT had little effect on frequencies or cytokine coexpression patterns of M. tuberculosis- or BCG-specific responses. Revaccination transiently boosted BCG-specific Th1 cytokine-expressing CD4, CD8, and γδ T cells. Despite high frequencies of IFN-γ-expressing BCG-reactive CD3(+)CD56(+) NKT-like cells and CD3(-)CD56(dim) and CD3(-)CD56(hi) NK cells at baseline, BCG revaccination boosted these responses, which remained elevated up to 1 y after revaccination. Such BCG-reactive memory NK cells were induced by BCG vaccination in infants, whereas in vitro IFN-γ expression by NK cells upon BCG stimulation was dependent on IL-12 and IL-18. Our data suggest that isoniazid preclearance of M. tuberculosis bacilli has little effect on the magnitude, persistence, or functional attributes of lymphocyte responses boosted by BCG revaccination. Our study highlights the surprising durability of BCG-boosted memory NKT-like and NK cells expressing antimycobacterial effector molecules, which may be novel targets for tuberculosis vaccines., (Copyright © 2016 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells have a semi-invariant TCR Vα-chain, and their optimal development is dependent upon commensal flora and expression of the nonpolymorphic MHC class I-like molecule MR1. MAIT cells are activated in an MR1-restricted manner by diverse strains of bacteria and yeast, suggesting a widely shared Ag. Recently, human and mouse MR1 were found to bind bacterial riboflavin metabolites (ribityllumazine [RL] Ags) capable of activating MAIT cells. In this study, we used MR1/RL tetramers to study MR1 dependency, subset heterogeneity, and protective effector functions important for tuberculosis immunity. Although tetramer(+) cells were detected in both MR1(+/+) and MR1(-/-) TCR Vα19i-transgenic (Tg) mice, MR1 expression resulted in significantly increased tetramer(+) cells coexpressing TCR Vβ6/8, NK1.1, CD44, and CD69 that displayed more robust in vitro responses to IL-12 plus IL-18 and RL Ag, indicating that MR1 is necessary for the optimal development of the classic murine MAIT cell memory/effector subset. In addition, tetramer(+) MAIT cells expressing CD4, CD8, or neither developing in MR1(+/+) Vα19i-Tg mice had disparate cytokine profiles in response to RL Ag. Therefore, murine MAIT cells are considerably more heterogeneous than previously thought. Most notably, after mycobacterial pulmonary infection, heterogeneous subsets of tetramer(+) Vα19i-Tg MAIT cells expressing CXCR3 and α4β1 were recruited into the lungs and afforded early protection. In addition, Vα19iCα(-/-)MR(+/+) mice were significantly better protected than were Vα19iCα(-/-)MR1(-/-), wild-type, and MR1(-/-) non-Tg mice. Overall, we demonstrate considerable functional diversity of MAIT cell responses, as well as that MR1-restricted MAIT cells are important for tuberculosis protective immunity., (Copyright © 2015 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Vaccines against mucosally invasive, intracellular pathogens must induce a myriad of immune responses to provide optimal mucosal and systemic protection, including CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells, and Ab-producing B cells. In general, CD4(+) T cells are known to provide important helper functions for both CD8(+) T cell and B cell responses. However, the relative importance of CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells, and B cells for mucosal protection is less clearly defined. We have studied these questions in detail using the murine model of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Despite our initial hypothesis that mucosal Abs would be important, we show that B cells are critical for systemic, but not mucosal, T. cruzi protective immunity. B cell-deficient mice developed normal levels of CD8(+) effector T cell responses early after mucosal T. cruzi infection and T. cruzi trans-sialidase vaccination. However, after highly virulent systemic challenge, T. cruzi immune mice lacking T. cruzi-specific B cells failed to control parasitemia or prevent death. Mechanistically, T. cruzi-specific CD8(+) T cells generated in the absence of B cells expressed increased PD-1 and Lag-3 and became functionally exhausted after high-level T. cruzi systemic challenge. T. cruzi immune serum prevented CD8(+) T cell functional exhaustion and reduced mortality in mice lacking B cells. Overall, these results demonstrate that T. cruzi-specific B cells are necessary during systemic, but not mucosal, parasite challenge., (Copyright © 2015 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Tumor cell-derived molecules such as cytokines and lipid mediators play a critical role in inducing chronic inflammation in the tumor microenvironment. We found that Th17 cells were increased in the peripheral blood, spleen, and tumor tissues of mammary gland tumor-bearing mice. The Th17 cell survival factor, IL-23, was also overexpressed in tumor tissues isolated from mice and human breast cancer patients. Soluble molecules secreted from breast tumor cells, but not normal breast epithelial cells, induced IL-23 protein secretion in dendritic cells via induction of p19 mRNA expression. Our data further indicate that tumor-secreted PGE2 through EP2 and EP4 receptors enhanced IL-23 p19 gene transcription through binding to the cAMP-response element in the p19 promoter. Blocking PGE2 synthesis by NS398, a COX2 inhibitor, abrogated the enhancement of p19 expression both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, blocking protein kinase A (PKA) by H89 completely abrogated the inductive effects of tumor-conditioned medium and PGE2 on p19 transcription, whereas the cAMP active analog, Forskolin, mimics the PGE2 effect. Taken together, our results indicate that tumor-secreted PGE2 induces IL-23, but not IL-12, production in the tumor microenvironment, leading to Th17 cell expansion. This inductive effect of PGE2 on IL-23 p19 transcription is mediated through cAMP/PKA signaling transduction pathway.

Fundamentally understanding the suppressive mechanisms used by different subsets of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T (Treg) cells is critical for the development of effective strategies for antitumor immunotherapy. γδ Treg cells have recently been identified in human diseases including cancer. However, the suppressive mechanisms and functional regulations of this new subset of unconventional Treg cells are largely unknown. In the current studies, we explored the suppressive mechanism(s) used by breast tumor-derived γδ Treg cells on innate and adaptive immunity. We found that γδ Treg cells induced immunosenescence in the targeted naive and effector T cells, as well as dendritic cells (DCs). Furthermore, senescent T cells and DCs induced by γδ Treg cells had altered phenotypes and impaired functions and developed potent suppressive activities, further amplifying the immunosuppression mediated by γδ Treg cells. In addition, we demonstrated that manipulation of TLR8 signaling in γδ Treg cells can block γδ Treg-induced conversion of T cells and DCs into senescent cells in vitro and in vivo. Our studies identify the novel suppressive mechanism mediated by tumor-derived γδ Treg cells on innate and adaptive immunity, which should be critical for the development of strong and innovative approaches to reverse the tumor-suppressive microenvironment and improve effects of immunotherapy.

Understanding and dissecting the role of different subsets of regulatory tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the immunopathogenesis of individual cancer is a challenge for anti-tumor immunotherapy. High levels of γδ regulatory T cells have been discovered in breast TILs. However, the clinical relevance of these intratumoral γδ T cells is unknown. In this study, γδ T cell populations were analyzed by performing immunohistochemical staining in primary breast cancer tissues from patients with different stages of cancer progression. Retrospective multivariate analyses of the correlations between γδ T cell levels and other prognostic factors and clinical outcomes were completed. We found that γδ T cell infiltration and accumulation in breast tumor sites was a general feature in breast cancer patients. Intratumoral γδ T cell numbers were positively correlated with advanced tumor stages, HER2 expression status, and high lymph node metastasis but inversely correlated with relapse-free survival and overall survival of breast cancer patients. Multivariate and univariate analyses of tumor-infiltrating γδ T cells and other prognostic factors further suggested that intratumoral γδ T cells represented the most significant independent prognostic factor for assessing severity of breast cancer compared with the other known factors. Intratumoral γδ T cells were positively correlated with FOXP3(+) cells and CD4(+) T cells but negatively correlated with CD8(+) T cells in breast cancer tissues. These findings suggest that intratumoral γδ T cells may serve as a valuable and independent prognostic biomarker, as well as a potential therapeutic target for human breast cancer.

Trypanosoma cruzi is an intracellular parasite and the causative agent of Chagas disease. Previous work has shown that the chemokine receptor CCR5 plays a role in systemic T. cruzi protection. We evaluated the importance of CCR5 and CCL5 for mucosal protection against natural oral and conjunctival T. cruzi challenges. T. cruzi-immune CCR5(-/-) and wild-type C57BL/6 mice were generated by repeated infectious challenges with T. cruzi. CCR5(-/-) and wild-type mice developed equivalent levels of cellular, humoral, and protective mucosal responses. However, CCR5(-/-)-immune mice produced increased levels of CCL5 in protected gastric tissues, suggesting compensatory signaling through additional receptors. Neutralization of CCL5 in CCR5(-/-)-immune mice resulted in decreased mucosal inflammatory responses, reduced T. cruzi-specific Ab-secreting cells, and significantly less mucosal T. cruzi protection, confirming an important role for CCL5 in optimal immune control of T. cruzi replication at the point of initial mucosal invasion. To investigate further the mechanism responsible for mucosal protection mediated by CCL5-CCR5 signaling, we evaluated the effects of CCL5 on B cells. CCL5 enhanced proliferation and IgM secretion in highly purified B cells triggered by suboptimal doses of LPS. In addition, neutralization of endogenous CCL5 inhibited B cell proliferation and IgM secretion during stimulation of highly purified B cells, indicating that B cell production of CCL5 has important autocrine effects. These findings demonstrate direct effects of CCL5 on B cells, with significant implications for the development of mucosal adjuvants, and further suggest that CCL5 may be important as a general B cell coactivator.

IL-23 plays an essential role in maintenance of IL-17-producing Th17 cells that are involved in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases. Regulation of Th17 cells is tightly controlled by multiple factors such as IL-27 and IFN-γ. However, the detailed mechanisms responsible for IFN-γ-mediated Th17 cell inhibition are still largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that IFN-γ differentially regulates IL-12 and IL-23 production in both dendritic cells and macrophages. IFN-γ suppresses IL-23 expression by selectively targeting p19 mRNA stability through its 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR). Furthermore, IFN-γ enhances LPS-induced tristetraprolin (TTP) mRNA expression and protein production. Overexpression of TTP suppresses IL-23 p19 mRNA expression and p19 3'UTR-dependent luciferase activity. Additionally, deletion of TTP completely abolishes IFN-γ-mediated p19 mRNA degradation. We further demonstrate that IFN-γ suppresses LPS-induced p38 phosphorylation, and blockade of p38 MAPK signaling pathway with SB203580 inhibits IFN-γ- and LPS-induced p19 mRNA expression, whereas overexpression of p38 increases p19 mRNA expression via reducing TTP binding to the p19 3'UTR. Finally, inhibition of p38 phosphorylation by IFN-γ leads to TTP dephosphorylation that could result in stronger binding of the TTP to the adenosine/uridine-rich elements in the p19 3'UTR and p19 mRNA degradation. In summary, our results reveal a direct link among TTP, IFN-γ, and IL-23, indicating that IFN-γ-mediated Th17 cell suppression might act through TTP by increasing p19 mRNA degradation and therefore IL-23 inhibition.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a major global challenge to human health care, and the mechanisms of how M. tuberculosis evades host immune surveillance to favor its survival are still largely unknown. In this study, we found that bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and viable M. tuberculosis as well as M. tuberculosis lysates could activate IL-27 expression in human and mouse macrophages by induction of p28 subunit transcription. However, in parallel with these effects, BCG and M. tuberculosis lysate stimulation of macrophages induced activation of p38 MAPK signaling molecules MLK3/MKK3/MK2 to prevent maximal IL-27 production. M. tuberculosis lysate-induced p28 transcription was dependent on MyD88 signaling pathway. AP-1/c-Fos was shown to bind directly to the p28 promoter and induce p28 expression after M. tuberculosis lysate stimulation. Overexpression of p38α inhibited the binding of c-Fos to the p28 promoter but had no effect on c-Fos protein expression or phosphorylation in response to M. tuberculosis lysate stimulation. Furthermore, blockade of p38 by SB203580 enhanced M. tuberculosis-induced AP-1 binding to the p28 promoter. Importantly, we show that adding exogenous IL-27 to increase the levels produced by PBMCs stimulated with live mycobacteria enhanced the ability of BCG-expanded T cells to inhibit intracellular mycobacterial growth in human macrophages. Taken together, our data demonstrate that mycobacterial stimulation induces both IL-27 production and p38 MAPK activation. Strategies designed to tip the balance toward positive regulation of p28 induction by mycobacteria could lead to enhanced protective tuberculosis immunity.

Although Th17 cells play critical roles in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, their prevalence among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and function in human tumor immunity remains largely unknown. We have recently demonstrated high percentages of Th17 cells in TILs from ovarian cancer patients, but the mechanisms of accumulation of these Th17 cells in the tumor microenvironment are still unclear. In this study, we further showed elevated Th17 cell populations in the TILs obtained from melanoma and breast and colon cancers, suggesting that development of tumor-infiltrating CD4(+) Th17 cells may be a general feature in cancer patients. We then demonstrated that tumor microenvironmental RANTES and MCP-1 secreted by tumor cells and tumor-derived fibroblasts mediate the recruitment of Th17 cells. In addition to their recruitment, we found that tumor cells and tumor-derived fibroblasts produce a proinflammatory cytokine milieu as well as provide cell-cell contact engagement that facilitates the generation and expansion of Th17 cells. We also showed that inflammatory TLR and nucleotide oligomerization binding domain 2 signaling promote the attraction and generation of Th17 cells induced by tumor cells and tumor-derived fibroblasts. These results identify Th17 cells as an important component of human TILs, demonstrate mechanisms involved in the recruitment and regulation of Th17 cells in tumor microenvironments, and provide new insights relevant for the development of novel cancer immunotherapeutic approaches.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) induce potent expansions of human memory Vgamma(9)(+)Vdelta(2)(+) T cells capable of IFN-gamma production, cytolytic activity, and mycobacterial growth inhibition. Certain phosphoantigens expressed by mycobacteria can stimulate gamma(9)delta(2) T cell expansions, suggesting that purified or synthetic forms of these phosphoantigens may be useful alone or as components of new vaccines or immunotherapeutics. However, we show that while mycobacteria-activated gamma(9)delta(2) T cells potently inhibit intracellular mycobacterial growth, phosphoantigen-activated gamma(9)delta(2) T cells fail to inhibit mycobacteria, although both develop similar effector cytokine and cytolytic functional capacities. gamma(9)delta(2) T cells receiving TLR-mediated costimulation during phosphoantigen activation also failed to inhibit mycobacterial growth. We hypothesized that mycobacteria express Ags, other than the previously identified phosphoantigens, that induce protective subsets of gamma(9)delta(2) T cells. Testing this hypothesis, we compared the TCR sequence diversity of gamma(9)delta(2) T cells expanded with BCG-infected vs phosphoantigen-treated dendritic cells. BCG-stimulated gamma(9)delta(2) T cells displayed a more restricted TCR diversity than phosphoantigen-activated gamma(9)delta(2) T cells. In addition, only a subset of phosphoantigen-activated gamma(9)delta(2) T cells functionally responded to mycobacteria-infected dendritic cells. Furthermore, differential inhibitory functions of BCG- and phosphoantigen-activated gamma(9)delta(2) T cells were confirmed at the clonal level and were not due to differences in TCR avidity. Our results demonstrate that BCG infection can activate and expand protective subsets of phosphoantigen-responsive gamma(9)delta(2) T cells, and provide the first indication that gamma(9)delta(2) T cells can develop pathogen specificity similar to alphabeta T cells. Specific targeting of protective gamma(9)delta(2) T cell subsets will be important for future tuberculosis vaccines.

The Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase (TS) is a unique enzyme with neuraminidase and sialic acid transfer activities important for parasite infectivity. The T. cruzi genome contains a large family of TS homologous genes, and it has been suggested that TS homologues provide a mechanism of immune escape important for chronic infection. We have investigated whether the consensus TS enzymatic domain could induce immunity protective against acute and chronic, as well as mucosal and systemic, T. cruzi infection. We have shown that: 1) TS-specific immunity can protect against acute T. cruzi infection; 2) effective TS-specific immunity is maintained during chronic T. cruzi infection despite the expression of numerous related TS superfamily genes encoding altered peptide ligands that in theory could promote immune tolerization; and 3) the practical intranasal delivery of recombinant TS protein combined with a ssDNA oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) adjuvant containing unmethylated CpG motifs can induce both mucosal and systemic protective immunity. We have further demonstrated that the intranasal delivery of soluble TS recombinant Ag combined with CpG ODN induces both TS-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells associated with vaccine-induced protective immunity. In addition, optimal protection induced by intranasal TS Ag combined with CpG ODN requires B cells, which, after treatment with CpG ODN, have the ability to induce TS-specific CD8(+) T cell cross-priming. Our results support the development of TS vaccines for human use, suggest surrogate markers for use in future human vaccine trials, and mechanistically identify B cells as important APC targets for vaccines designed to induce CD8(+) CTL responses.

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunity can be studied as one experimental model for mycobacterial protective immunity. We have used flow cytometry to investigate human T cell subsets induced by BCG vaccination. PBMC harvested from BCG-vaccinated individuals and controls were stimulated with mycobacterial Ags, and the T cell subsets present after 7 days of in vitro expansion were characterized. The most dramatic expansions induced by mycobacterial Ags were detected in gamma delta T cells. The gamma delta T cell expansions measured after in vitro stimulation with mycobacterial Ags were significantly greater in BCG responders compared with nonsensitized controls, indicating that BCG vaccination induced gamma delta T cell activation associated with enhanced secondary responses. The majority of gamma delta T cells induced by BCG vaccination were gamma 9+ delta 2+ T cells reactive with isoprenyl pyrophosphates. Coculture with CD4+ T cells induced optimal gamma delta T cell expansion, although IL-2 alone could provide this helper function in the absence of CD4+ T cells. Gamma delta T cells were found to provide helper functions for mycobacterial specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as well, demonstrating reciprocal stimulatory interactions between gamma delta T cells and other T cell subsets. Finally, prominent mycobacterial specific gamma delta T cell expansions were detected in a subset of unvaccinated controls with evidence for prior sensitization to mycobacterial lysates (elevated mycobacterial specific lymphoproliferative responses). These latter findings are consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to atypical mycobacteria or related environmental Ags may induce gamma delta T cells cross-reactive with Ags present in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Our results suggest that gamma delta T cells may be capable of developing a memory immune-like phenotype, and therefore might be important targets for new vaccines.

The Tulahuén strain of Trypanosoma cruzi has been shown previously to cause higher parasitemias and greater mortality in BALB/c mice compared with C57BL6/J mice. The goal of our study was to determine whether different cytokine responses to parasite Ag during T. cruzi infection correlate with the susceptible and resistant phenotypes identified in these mice. At several time points after initial infection with insect-derived metacyclic trypomastigotes, lymph node and spleen cell suspensions were prepared from animals of each mouse strain. These lymphocyte suspensions were stimulated with Ag prepared from cultured parasites and the production of IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-2, and IL-5 was measured. Lymphocytes from C57BL6/J mice produced 10-fold more IFN-gamma than BALB/c lymphocytes. However, this enhanced response occurred only for a limited time preceding peak parasitemias. Ag-induced secretion of IL-4 from BALB/c lymphocytes was detectable by 2 wk of infection and increased during the 2nd and 3rd mo of infection. Most C57BL6/J culture supernatants did not contain measurable levels of IL-4. Lymphocytes from both murine strains produced levels of IL-2 and IL-5 indistinguishable from uninfected controls. These results indicate that increased numbers or potency of lymphocytes that produce Ag-specific IFN-gamma responses are present in resistant mice during T. cruzi infection. This phenomenon may be responsible for the lower parasitemias seen in C57BL6/J mice. However, even these relatively resistant mice become chronically infected with T. cruzi, and spleen cells from infected mice can suppress IFN-gamma induced by heterologous Ag. Our data suggest that IL-4 production is a marker for the T. cruzi susceptible phenotype. Differential production of IL-2 or IL-5 was not found, suggesting that these cytokines are not important factors in T. cruzi resistance or susceptibility.