白细胞介素-21 受体阻断可改变滤泡性 T 细胞平衡并减少供体特异性抗体的产生。
IL-21 Receptor Blockade Shifts the Follicular T Cell Balance and Reduces Donor-Specific Antibody Generation.
机构信息
Department of Kidney Transplantation, Tianjin First Central Hospital, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
Kidney Transplantation Research Laboratory, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China.
出版信息
Front Immunol. 2021 Apr 9;12:661580. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.661580. eCollection 2021.
Donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) play a key role in chronic kidney allograft injury. Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells trigger the humoral alloimmune response and promote DSA generation, while T-follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells inhibit antibody production by suppressing Tfh and B cells. Interleukin (IL)-21 exerts a distinct effect on Tfh and Tfr. Here, we studied whether blocking IL-21R with anti-IL-21R monoclonal antibody (αIL-21R) changes the Tfh/Tfr balance and inhibits DSA generation. First, we investigated the impact of αIL-21R on CD4 T cell proliferation and apoptosis. The results showed that αIL-21R did not have cytotoxic effects on CD4 T cells. Next, we examined Tfh and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in an conditioned culture model. Naïve CD4 T cells were isolated from 3-month-old C57BL/6 mice and cultured in Tfh differentiation inducing conditions in presence of αIL-21R or isotype IgG and differentiation was evaluated by CXCR5 expression, a key Tfh marker. αIL-21R significantly inhibited Tfh differentiation. In contrast, under Treg differentiation conditions, FOXP3 expression was inhibited by IL-21. Notably, αIL-21R rescued IL-21-inhibited Treg differentiation. For investigation, a fully mismatched skin transplantation model was utilized to trigger the humoral alloimmune response. Consistently, flow cytometry revealed a reduced Tfh/Tfr ratio in recipients treated with αIL-21R. Germinal center response was evaluated by flow cytometry and lectin histochemistry. We observed that αIL-21R significantly inhibited germinal center reaction. Most importantly, DSA levels after transplantation were significantly inhibited by αIL-21R at different time points. In summary, our results demonstrate that αIL-21R shifts the Tfh/Tfr balance toward DSA inhibition. Therefore, αIL-21R may be a useful therapeutic agent to prevent chronic antibody mediated rejection after organ transplantation.
供体特异性抗体 (DSA) 在慢性肾移植损伤中起关键作用。滤泡辅助 T 细胞 (Tfh) 触发体液免疫反应并促进 DSA 的产生,而 T 滤泡调节 (Tfr) 细胞通过抑制 Tfh 和 B 细胞来抑制抗体产生。白细胞介素 (IL)-21 对 Tfh 和 Tfr 具有独特的作用。在这里,我们研究了用抗 IL-21R 单克隆抗体 (αIL-21R) 阻断 IL-21R 是否会改变 Tfh/Tfr 平衡并抑制 DSA 的产生。首先,我们研究了 αIL-21R 对 CD4 T 细胞增殖和凋亡的影响。结果表明,αIL-21R 对 CD4 T 细胞没有细胞毒性作用。接下来,我们在条件培养模型中检查了 Tfh 和调节性 T 细胞 (Treg)。从 3 个月大的 C57BL/6 小鼠中分离出幼稚 CD4 T 细胞,并在存在 αIL-21R 或同型 IgG 的情况下在 Tfh 分化诱导条件下培养,并通过 CXCR5 表达(Tfh 的关键标记物)评估分化。αIL-21R 显著抑制 Tfh 分化。相比之下,在 Treg 分化条件下,IL-21 抑制 FOXP3 的表达。值得注意的是,αIL-21R 挽救了 IL-21 抑制的 Treg 分化。为了进一步研究,我们利用完全不匹配的皮肤移植模型来触发体液免疫反应。一致地,流式细胞术显示接受 αIL-21R 治疗的受者 Tfh/Tfr 比值降低。通过流式细胞术和凝集素组织化学评估生发中心反应。我们观察到 αIL-21R 显著抑制生发中心反应。最重要的是,移植后不同时间点,αIL-21R 显著抑制 DSA 水平。总之,我们的结果表明,αIL-21R 使 Tfh/Tfr 平衡向抑制 DSA 倾斜。因此,αIL-21R 可能是预防器官移植后慢性抗体介导排斥反应的一种有用的治疗药物。