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The recruitment of T lymphocytes during diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis is regulated by stimulation of the chemokine receptors expressed by these cells. This study was designed to assess the potential of a CXCR3-specific small-molecule agonist to inhibit the migration of activated human T cells toward multiple chemokines. Further experiments defined the molecular mechanism for this anti-inflammatory activity. Analysis in vitro demon-. strated agonist induced internalization of both CXCR3 and other chemokine receptors coexpressed by CXCR3~ T cells. Unlike chemokine receptor-specific antagonists, the CXCR3 agonist inhibited migration of activated T cells toward the chemokine mixture in synovial fluid from patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. A humanized mouse air-pouch model showed that intravenous treatment with the CXCR3 agonist prevented inflammatory migration of activated human I cells toward this synovial fluid. A potential mechanism for this action was defined by demonstration that the CXCR3 agonist induces receptor cross-phosphorylation within CXCR3-CCR5 heterodimers on the surface of activated I cells. This study shows that generalized chemokine receptor desensitization can be induced by specific stimulation of a single chemokine receptor on the surface of activated human I cells. A humanized mouse model was used to demonstrate that this receptor desensitization inhibits the inflammatory response that is normally produced by the chemokines present in synovial fluid from patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inborn errors of T cell development present a pediatric emergency in which timely curative therapy is informed by molecular diagnosis. In 11 affected patients across four consanguineous kindreds, we detected homozygosity for a single deleterious missense variant in the gene NudC domain-containing 3 ( NUDCD3 ) . Two infants had severe combined immunodeficiency with the complete absence of T and B cells (T  - B - SCID), whereas nine showed classical features of Omenn syndrome (OS). Restricted antigen receptor gene usage by residual T lymphocytes suggested impaired V(D)J recombination. Patient cells showed reduced expression of NUDCD3 protein and diminished ability to support RAG-mediated recombination in vitro, which was associated with pathologic sequestration of RAG1 in the nucleoli. Although impaired V(D)J recombination in a mouse model bearing the homologous variant led to milder immunologic abnormalities, NUDCD3 is absolutely required for healthy T and B cell development in humans.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical and functional aspects of MST1 (STK4) deficiency in a profoundly CD4-lymphopenic kindred with a novel homozygous nonsense mutation in STK4. Although recent studies have described the cellular effects of murine Mst1 deficiency, the phenotype of MST1-deficient human lymphocytes has yet to be fully explored. Patient lymphocytes were therefore investigated in the context of current knowledge of murine Mst1 deficiency., Methods: Genetic etiology was identified by whole exome sequencing of genomic DNA from two siblings, combined with linkage analysis in the wider family. MST1 protein expression was assessed by immunoblotting. The ability of patient lymphocytes to adhere to ICAM-1 under flow conditions was measured, and transwell assays were used to assess chemotaxis. Chemokine receptor expression was examined by flow cytometry and receptor signalling by immunoblotting., Results: A homozygous nonsense mutation in STK4 (c.442C > T, p.Arg148Stop) was found in the patients, leading to a lack of MST1 protein expression. Patient leukocytes exhibited deficient chemotaxis after stimulation with CXCL11, despite preserved expression of CXCR3. Patient lymphocytes were also unable to bind effectively to immobilised ICAM-1 under flow conditions, in keeping with a failure to develop high affinity binding., Conclusion: The observed abnormalities of adhesion and migration imply a profound trafficking defect among human MST1-deficient lymphocytes. By analogy with murine Mst1 deficiency and other defects of leucocyte trafficking, this is likely to contribute to immunodeficiency by impairing key aspects of T-cell development and function such as positive selection in the thymus, thymic egress and immune synapse formation in the periphery.

Antigen presentation after kidney transplantation occurs in lymphoid tissues remote from the allograft, with activated T cells then migrating towards the graft. This study examined the possibility that these activated T cells can differentiate to acquire Th17 or Treg phenotypes after a time consistent with their arrival within renal allograft tissues. An immunocytochemical study was performed to demonstrate the response to intragraft TGF-β and the phenotype of lymphoid cells within rejecting human renal allograft tissue. A series of in vitro experiments was then performed to determine the potential to induce these phenotypes by addition of appropriate cytokines 3days after initial T cell activation. During renal allograft rejection there was a strong response to TGF-β, and both FOXP3 and IL-17A were expressed by separate lymphoid cells in the graft infiltrate. FOXP3 could be induced to high levels by the addition of TGF-β1 3days after the initiation of allogeneic mixed leukocyte culture. This Treg marker was enriched in the sub-population of T cells expressing the cell-surface αE(CD103)β7 integrin. The RORγt transcription factor and IL-17A were induced 3days after T cell activation by the addition of TGF-β1, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-23; many of these Th17 cells also co-expressed CD103. T cells can develop an effector phenotype following cytokine stimulation 3days after initial activation. This suggests that the intragraft T cell phenotype may be indicative of the prevailing cytokine microenvironment., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)