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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by broad clinical manifestations including cardiovascular and renal complications with periodic disease flares and significant morbidity and mortality. One of the main contributing factors to the pathology of SLE is the accumulation and impaired clearance of immune complexes of which the principle components are host auto-antigens and antibodies. The contribution of host lipids to the formation of these autoimmune complexes remains poorly defined. The aim of the present study was to identify and analyze candidate lipid autoantigens and their corresponding anti-lipid antibody responses in a well-defined SLE patient cohort using a combination of immunological and biophysical techniques. Disease monitoring in the SLE cohort was undertaken with serial British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) scoring. Correlations between specific lipid/anti-lipid responses were investigated as disease activity developed from active flares to quiescent during a follow up period. We report a significant negative correlation between anti-lipid antibodies for 24S-hydroxycholesterol, cardiolipin and phosphatidylserine with SLE disease activity. Taken together, these data suggest that lipid autoantigens represent a new family of biomarkers that can be employed to monitor disease activity plus the efficacy of therapeutic intervention in SLE.

Foxp3(+) CD4(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) represent a highly suppressive T cell subset with well-characterized immunosuppressive effects during immune homeostasis and chronic infections, although the role of these cells in acute viral infections is poorly understood. The present study sought to examine the induction of Foxp3(+) CD4(+) Tregs in a nonlethal murine model of pulmonary viral infection by the use of the prototypical respiratory virus influenza A. We establish that influenza A virus infection results in a robust Foxp3(+) CD4(+) T cell response and that regulatory T cell induction at the site of inflammation precedes the effector T cell response. Induced Foxp3(+) CD4(+) T cells are highly suppressive ex vivo, demonstrating that influenza virus-induced Foxp3(+) CD4(+) T cells are phenotypically regulatory. Influenza A virus-induced regulatory T cells proliferate vigorously in response to influenza virus antigen, are disseminated throughout the site of infection and primary and secondary lymphoid organs, and retain Foxp3 expression in vitro, suggesting that acute viral infection is capable of inducing a foreign-antigen-specific Treg response. The ability of influenza virus-induced regulatory T cells to suppress antigen-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell proliferation and cytokine production correlates closely to their ability to respond to influenza virus antigens, suggesting that virus-induced Tregs are capable of attenuating effector responses in an antigen-dependent manner. Collectively, these data demonstrate that primary acute viral infection is capable of inducing a robust, antigen-responsive, and suppressive regulatory T cell response.

The uptake, transport, and presentation of Ags by lung dendritic cells (DCs) are central to the initiation of CD8 T cell responses against respiratory viruses. Although several studies have demonstrated a critical role of CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs for the initiation of cytotoxic T cell responses against the influenza virus, the underlying mechanisms for its potent ability to prime CD8 T cells remain poorly understood. Using a novel approach of fluorescent lipophilic dye-labeled influenza virus, we demonstrate that CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs are the dominant lung DC population transporting influenza virus to the posterior mediastinal lymph node as early as 20 h postinfection. By contrast, CD11b(high)CD103(neg) DCs, although more efficient for taking up the virus within the lung, migrate poorly to the lymph node and remain in the lung to produce proinflammatory cytokines instead. CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs efficiently load viral peptide onto MHC class I complexes and therefore uniquely possess the capacity to potently induce proliferation of naive CD8 T cells. In addition, the peptide transporters TAP1 and TAP2 are constitutively expressed at higher levels in CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs, providing, to our knowledge, the first evidence of a distinct regulation of the Ag-processing pathway in these cells. Collectively, these results show that CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs are functionally specialized for the transport of Ag from the lung to the lymph node and also for efficient processing and presentation of viral Ags to CD8 T cells.

Protective memory CD8 T cell responses are generally associated with the rapid and efficient acquisition of CTL function. However, the ability of memory CD8 T cells to modulate immune responses through interactions with dendritic cells (DCs) during the early states of secondary Ag exposure is poorly understood. In this study, we show that murine Ag-specific CD44(high) CD8 T cells, representing CD8 T cells of the memory phenotype, potently activate DCs to produce high levels of IL-12p70 in conjunction with stimulation of DCs with the TLR 9 ligand, unmethylated CpG DNA. IL-12p70 production was produced predominantly by CD8alpha(+) DCs and plasmacytoid DCs, and mediated by CD8 T cell-derived cytokines IFN-gamma, GM-CSF, TNF-alpha, and surface CD40L. We also find that CD44(high) memory phenotype CD8 T cells were better DC IL-12p70 stimulators than CD44(low) naive phenotype CD8 T cells, and this was attributed to higher levels of IFN-gamma and GM-CSF produced by CD44(high) memory phenotype CD8 T cells during their Ag specific interaction with DCs. Our study identifies CpG DNA as the most effective TLR ligand that cooperates with CD8 T cells for DC IL-12p70 production, and suggests that effectiveness of memory CD8 T cells could be attributed to their ability to rapidly and effectively induce protective Th1 immunity during early stages of pathogen reinfection.

CD8alpha(+) DC are implicated as the principle DC subset for cross-presentation and cross-priming of cytotoxic CD8 T cell responses. In this study, we demonstrate another unique facet of the CD8alpha(+) DC and CD8 T cell relationship, by showing that CD8 T cells reciprocally activate CD8alpha(+) DC, but not CD8alpha(-) DC, for IL-12p70 production, the key Th1-promoting cytokine. This effect was observed during an antigen-specific interaction between DC and activated CD8 T cells, along with secondary TLR stimulation of DC by LPS. Activated CD8 T cells use a combination of IFN-gamma and CD40L, which is rapidly up-regulated post-stimulation, to prime DC for IL-12p70 production during an antigen-specific response. Our results suggest that the interaction between CD8alpha(+) DC and antigen-primed CD8 T cells may form an important component of Th1-mediated immunity through the induction of IL-12p70.