T cell infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS) is a significant underlying pathogenesis in autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating diseases. Several lines of evidence suggest that glutamate dysregulation in the CNS is an important consequence of immune cell infiltration in neuroinflammatory demyelinating diseases; yet, the causal link between inflammation and glutamate dysregulation is not well understood. A major source of glutamate release during oxidative stress is the system xc− transporter, however, this mechanism has not been tested in animal models of autoimmune inflammatory demyelination. We find that pharmacological and genetic inhibition of system xc− attenuates chronic and relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Remarkably, pharmacological blockade of system xc− seven days after induction of EAE attenuated T cell infiltration into the CNS, but not T cell activation in the periphery. Mice harboring a Slc7a11 (xCT) mutation that inactivated system xc− were resistant to EAE, corroborating a central role for system xc− in mediating immune cell infiltration. We next examined the role of the system xc− transporter in the CNS after immune cell infiltration. Pharmacological inhibitors of the system xc− transporter administered during the first relapse in a SJL animal model of relapsing-remitting EAE abrogated clinical disease, inflammation, and myelin loss. Primary co-culture studies demonstrate that myelin-specific CD4+ T helper type 1 (Th1) cells provoke microglia to release glutamate via the system xc− transporter causing excitotoxic death to mature myelin-producing OLs. Taken together these studies support a novel role for the system xc− transporter in mediating T cell infiltration into the CNS as well as promoting myelin destruction after immune cell infiltration in EAE.

CD5 activates CK2, a serine/threonine kinase that constitutively associates with the CK2-binding domain at the end of its cytoplasmic tail. To determine the physiological significance of CD5-dependent CK2 activation in T-cells we generated a knock-in mouse that expresses a CD5 protein containing a microdeletion with selective inability to interact with CK2 (CD5ΔCK2BD). The levels of CD5 on developing and mature T-cell populations from CD5ΔCK2BD mice and CD5WT mice were similar. The thymus of CD5ΔCK2BD mice contained fewer double positive (DP) thymocytes than that of both CD5WT and CD5KO mice, though the numbers of all other immature and mature T-cell populations were unaltered. CD5ΔCK2BD T-cells hypoproliferated and exhibited enhanced AICD when stimulated with anti-CD3 or cognate peptide in comparison to CD5WT T-cells. We also found that functional CD5-dependent CK2 signaling was necessary for efficient differentiation of naïve CD4+ T-cells into Th2 and Th17 cells, but not Th1 cells. We previously showed that experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in CD5KO mice was less severe and delayed in onset than in CD5WT mice. Remarkably, CD5ΔCK2BD mice recapitulated both EAE severity and disease onset of CD5KO mice. Increasing the immunization dose of myelin oligodendrocyte (MOG35-55) peptide, a model that mimics high dose tolerance, led to decreased severity of EAE in CD5 WT mice but not in CD5KO or CD5ΔCK2BD mice. This property was recapitulated in in vitro re-stimulation assays. These results demonstrate that CD5-CK2 signaling sets the threshold for T-cell responsiveness and it is necessary for efficient generation of Th2 and Th17 cells.

Mechanisms that modulate the generation of Th17 cells are incompletely understood. We report that the activation of CK2 by CD5 is essential for the efficient generation of Th17 cells in vitro and in vivo. The CD5-CK2 signaling pathway enhanced TCR induced activation of AKT and promoted the differentiation of Th17 cells by two independent mechanisms: inhibiting GSK3, and activating mTOR. Genetic ablation of the CD5-CK2 signaling pathway attenuated TCR induced AKT activation and consequently increased activity of GSK3 in Th17 cells. This resulted in Th17 cells being more sensitive to IFN-γ mediated inhibition. In the absence of CD5-CK2 signaling, we observed decreased activity of S6K and attenuated nuclear translocation of RORγt. These results reveal a novel and essential function of CD5-CK2 signaling pathway and GSK3-IFNγ axis in regulating Th differentiation and provide a possible means to dampen Th17 responses in autoimmune diseases.