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Vgamma9 Vdelta2 T lymphocytes are involved in the immune response against hematological malignancies and certain pathogens through the recognition of nonpeptidic Ags expressed by tumors and infected cells. Being equipped with proinflammatory chemokine receptors, they participate to the early phases of inflammation acting as both effector and connector cells between innate and adaptive immunity. We show in this study that after initial TCR triggering short- and long-term cultured gammadelta lymphocytes differ in their susceptibility to activation-induced apoptosis and proinflammatory phenotype. Activation-induced apoptosis was triggered by anti-CD95 mAbs or by the gammadeltaTCR stimuli isopentenyl pyrophosphate and pamidronate, the latter in the presence of monocytes. In particular, short-term cultured cells are resistant to apoptosis and characterized by expression of anti-apoptotic cellular FLIP molecules and partial spontaneous caspase-8 activation. Linked to this behavior, short-term gammadelta cells display constitutive activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB, which is functionally related to their apoptosis-resistant phenotype. Finally, they spontaneously secreted elevated amounts of the NF-kappaB-regulated chemokines CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5, which likely contributed to down-modulation of the inflammatory CCR5 receptor. Conversely, long-term cultured apoptosis-sensitive gammadelta cells displayed uncleaved caspase-8 and no constitutive NF-kappaB activation; moreover, they secreted CC chemokines only upon TCR triggering coupled to the re-expression of CCR5. The expression of members of the TNF receptor family, including CD30 and TNFRII, also varied according to the time in culture. Altogether our data support a link between resistance to apoptosis and a proinflammatory phenotype in gammadelta T lymphocytes, unraveling the crucial role of NF-kappaB in regulating the switch from resistance to apoptosis susceptibility.

Amino-biphosphonates (like pamidronate) activate human Vgamma9/Vdelta2 T lymphocytes and promote their cytotoxicity against multiple myeloma cells. T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated effector functions of gammadelta cells are enhanced upon triggering of the activating receptor NKG2D by MICA, a stress-inducible antigen expressed by epithelial and some hematopoietic tumors, including multiple myeloma. Here we show that MICA was expressed not only by myeloma cell lines and by 6 of 10 primary multiple myeloma cells from patients but also by bone marrow plasma cells from all (six of six) patients with preneoplastic gammopathy (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, MGUS), a direct precursor of multiple myeloma. Moreover, compared with multiple myeloma plasma cells, MICA was expressed by MGUS plasma cells at significantly (P < 0.05) higher levels. MICA expressed by myeloma cell lines contributed to killing and IFN-gamma production by Vgamma9/Vdelta2 cells only upon pamidronate treatment, suggesting a dual interaction between Vgamma9/Vdelta2 lymphocytes and multiple myeloma plasma cells involving both TCR triggering and NKG2D-mediated signals. Finally, MICA enhanced killing of freshly derived, pamidronate-treated multiple myeloma cells from patients by gammadelta cells, as indicated by the significantly (P < 0.05) higher gammadelta cytotoxicity against MICA-positive rather than MICA-negative multiple myeloma cells. Our results indicate that MICA expressed by monoclonal plasma cells is functional and correlates with disease stages, suggesting a role for the molecule in the immune surveillance against multiple myeloma. Moreover, pamidronate-activated Vgamma9/Vdelta2 lymphocytes can be exploited in the immune therapy of early stages multiple myeloma and possibly of premalignant disease.

We studied whether signaling through CD30, a member of the TNF receptor family, affected acute infection with HIV-1, encompassing its entire replicative cycle. Several non-Hodgkin cell lines, targets of CXCR4-dependent (X4) HIV-1 infection, were positive for CD30 expression. CD30 ligation induced up-regulation of viral replication only in certain CD30+ cell lines. Enhancement of X4 virus replication by CD30 engagement inversely correlated with both CD30 surface density and constitutive NF-kappaB activation. Conversely, expression of CD30, but not of other members of the TNF receptor family, was proportional to constitutive NF-kappaB binding. Concomitantly, secretion of soluble (s) CD30 increased in all cell lines by CD30 ligation. sCD30 release was enhanced by engagement of CD30 alone and, to a greater extent, by co-engagement of CD3 also in primary gamma delta T lymphocytes, along with complementary modulations of their surface CD30 expression. sCD30-containing supernatant specifically inhibited HIV-1 expression induced by CD30 engagement in chronically infected ACH-2 T cells; thus sCD30 may act as a negative feed-back molecule. In conclusion, we have delineated novel features of CD30 biology and underline the peculiar link of CD30 expression to constitutive NF-kappaB activation which is pivotal to both HIV replication and cell survival.

Granuloma is a typical feature of tuberculosis. We evaluated the chemotaxis of selected human leucocyte subsets induced by macrophages incubated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT)-derived products in vitro. The release of monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) correlated with the specific induction of strong chemotaxis towards monocytes and polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs). gammadelta and T helper type 1 (Th1) alphabeta lymphocytes were chemoattracted, while T-resting, IL-2-activated and Th2 lymphocytes were unaffected. Activation with mycobacterium-derived, phosphate-containing components, modulated the chemokine receptor profile of gammadelta T lymphocytes as well as their pattern of cyto-chemokine production, disclosing a potential for their active participation in granuloma formation. In particular, CXCR3 and IP-10, which we found to be released by MT-pulsed alveolar macrophages, seem to represent the receptor-counter-receptor pair implicated in the chemotaxis of gammadelta lymphocytes. Immunohistochemical analysis and in situ hybridization revealed the in vivo presence of IL-8, MCP-1 and IL-10 in lymph node and lung tuberculous granulomas. Our results underscore the role of MT extracts in the induction of macrophage-derived chemokines responsible for the orchestrated recruitment of PMNs, monocytes, and Th1 and gammadelta T cells, as well as in the regulation of gammadelta function.

Human Vgamma9/Vdelta2(+) T lymphocytes participate in the immune response against intracellular pathogens through the secretion of type-1 cytokines and chemokines and by killing of infected cells. Little is known of the effects by type-2 differentiation of gamma delta cells on these functions. Here, we report that bona fide naive cord blood-derived gamma delta lymphocytes expanded in vitro with the mycobacterial antigen isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) can be differentiated as either type-1 or type-2 cells, in the presence of an appropriate cytokine milieu. Instead, peripheral gamma delta cells from PPD-negative healthy adults displayed a type-1 cytokine profile, i.e. IPP-stimulated secretion of IFN-gamma, but not of IL-4 and IL-10. Moreover, they released the macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1beta, but not IL-8 nor the Th2 chemoattractants I-309 and TARC (thymus and activation-regulated chemokine). This cytokine profile was not significantly affected by in vitro culture in Th2 polarizing conditions. Only in one case out of seven were peripheral gamma delta cells fully differentiated to type-2 lymphocytes, characterized by sustained IL-4 and IL-10 production, along with secretion of substantial amounts of IL-8, I-309 and TARC. Type-2 gamma delta T lymphocytes preferentially expressed the co-stimulatory molecule CD30; conversely, no skewing in chemokine receptor expression was observed. Both polarized populations displayed high levels of CXCR3 in the absence of CCR3, CCR4 and CCR5. Finally, type-1, but not type-2, gamma delta T lymphocytes killed IPP-pulsed U937 cells and displayed elevated perforin content. Overall, our data suggest that type-2 differentiation of gamma delta T lymphocytes profoundly affects both their effector functions and their potential to recruit the appropriate leukocyte subsets to the sites of inflammation.

Down-regulation of expression of MHC alleles, as well as tumor-specific antigens, is observed frequently during tumor progression, resulting in an impairment of MHC-restricted, alphabeta-T-cell-mediated, tumor-specific immunity. Given the unique set of antigens recognized and the lack of requirement for classical antigen-presenting molecules, gammadelta T cells might, therefore, represent a nonredundant system in anticancer surveillance, as proposed for the immune response against pathogens. Evidence that gammadelta and alphabeta T cells make distinct contributions to anticancer surveillance has been provided recently in mice. Here, we discuss the potential role played by resident Vdelta1(+) and circulating Vdelta2(+) T cells in the defense against solid tumors and hematological malignancies.