Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Front Immunol. 2021 Jun 4;12:679498. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.679498. eCollection 2021.
IFN-β has been the treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) for almost three decades, but understanding the mechanisms underlying its beneficial effects remains incomplete. We have shown that MS patients have increased numbers of GM-CSF Th cells in circulation, and that IFN-β therapy reduces their numbers. GM-CSF expression by myelin-specific Th cells is essential for the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. These findings suggested that IFN-β therapy may function suppression of GM-CSF production by Th cells. In the current study, we elucidated a feedback loop between monocytes and Th cells that amplifies autoimmune neuroinflammation, and found that IFN-β therapy ameliorates central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity by inhibiting this proinflammatory loop. IFN-β suppressed GM-CSF production in Th cells indirectly by acting on monocytes, and IFN-β signaling in monocytes was required for EAE suppression. IFN-β increased IL-10 expression by monocytes, and IL-10 was required for the suppressive effects of IFN-β. IFN-β treatment suppressed IL-1β expression by monocytes in the CNS of mice with EAE. GM-CSF from Th cells induced IL-1β production by monocytes, and, in a positive feedback loop, IL-1β augmented GM-CSF production by Th cells. In addition to GM-CSF, TNF and FASL expression by Th cells was also necessary for IL-1β production by monocyte. IFN-β inhibited GM-CSF, TNF, and FASL expression by Th cells to suppress IL-1β secretion by monocytes. Overall, our study describes a positive feedback loop involving several Th cell- and monocyte-derived molecules, and IFN-β actions on monocytes disrupting this proinflammatory loop.
IFN-β 作为多发性硬化症 (MS) 的治疗方法已经有近三十年的历史,但对其有益作用的机制仍不完全了解。我们已经表明,MS 患者循环中有更多数量的 GM-CSF Th 细胞,而 IFN-β 治疗会减少它们的数量。髓鞘特异性 Th 细胞的 GM-CSF 表达对于实验性自身免疫性脑脊髓炎 (EAE) 的发展是必不可少的,EAE 是 MS 的动物模型。这些发现表明,IFN-β 治疗可能通过抑制 Th 细胞产生 GM-CSF 来发挥作用。在目前的研究中,我们阐明了一个单核细胞和 Th 细胞之间的反馈回路,该回路放大了自身免疫性神经炎症,并且发现 IFN-β 治疗通过抑制这种促炎回路来改善中枢神经系统 (CNS) 的自身免疫。IFN-β 通过作用于单核细胞间接抑制 Th 细胞中 GM-CSF 的产生,并且单核细胞中的 IFN-β 信号传导对于 EAE 的抑制是必需的。IFN-β 通过增加单核细胞中 IL-10 的表达来抑制单核细胞中的 GM-CSF 产生,并且 IL-10 是 IFN-β 抑制作用所必需的。IFN-β 治疗在患有 EAE 的小鼠的 CNS 中抑制了单核细胞中 IL-1β 的表达。Th 细胞中的 GM-CSF 诱导单核细胞产生 IL-1β,并且在正反馈回路中,IL-1β 增强了 Th 细胞中 GM-CSF 的产生。除了 GM-CSF 之外,Th 细胞中的 TNF 和 FASL 表达对于单核细胞中 IL-1β 的产生也是必需的。IFN-β 抑制 Th 细胞中 GM-CSF、TNF 和 FASL 的表达,从而抑制单核细胞中 IL-1β 的分泌。总的来说,我们的研究描述了一个涉及几个 Th 细胞和单核细胞来源的分子的正反馈回路,以及 IFN-β 对单核细胞的作用破坏了这个促炎回路。