Cross-reactive protection was observed in some studies but, with notable exceptions (e.g., Donawho and Kripke, 1990;Frey and Cestari, 1995), such immunity was substantially weaker than the individually specific immunity (Coggin and Anderson, 1974).

Cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells are emerging as a therapeutically useful T cell lineage that can effectively target tumors, but until now the pathways that govern their differentiation have been poorly understood. We demonstrate that CD134 (OX40) costimulation programs naive self- and virus-reactive CD4 T cells to undergo in vivo differentiation into cytotoxic Th1 effectors. CD137 (4-1BB) costimulation maximized clonal expansion and IL-2 was necessary for cytotoxic Th1 differentiation. Importantly, the T-box transcription factor Eomesodermin (Eomes) was critical for inducing the cytotoxic marker granzyme B. CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation also imprinted a cytotoxic phenotype on bystanding CD4 T cells. Thus, the present study identifies for the first time a specific costimulatory pathway and an intracellular mechanism relying on Eomes that induces both antigen-specific and bystander cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells. This mechanism might be therapeutically useful since CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation induced CD4 T cell-dependent tumoricidal function in a mouse melanoma model.

Inflammasome-activated caspase-1 cleaves gasdermin D to unmask its pore-forming activity, the predominant consequence of which is pyroptosis. Here, we report an additional biological role for gasdermin D in limiting cytosolic DNA surveillance. Cytosolic DNA is sensed by Aim2 and cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) leading to inflammasome and type I interferon responses, respectively. We found that gasdermin D activated by the Aim2 inflammasome suppressed cGAS-driven type I interferon response to cytosolic DNA and Francisella novicida in macrophages. Similarly, interferon-β (IFN-β) response to F. novicida infection was elevated in gasdermin D-deficient mice. Gasdermin D-mediated negative regulation of IFN-β occurred in a pyroptosis-, interleukin-1 (IL-1)-, and IL-18-independent manner. Mechanistically, gasdermin D depleted intracellular potassium (K) via membrane pores, and this K efflux was necessary and sufficient to inhibit cGAS-dependent IFN-β response. Thus, our findings have uncovered an additional interferon regulatory module involving gasdermin D and K efflux.

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