No abstract

Recent convincing data have shown that naturally occurring CD8+CD122+ T cells are also regulatory T cells. Paradoxically, CD8+CD122+ T cells have been well described as memory T cells. Given their critical role in tolerance versus long-term immunity, it is important to reconcile this profound dichotomy. In this study, we reported that CD8+CD122+ T cells contain both programmed death-1 (PD-1)− and PD-1+ populations. It was CD8+CD122+PD-1+ T cells, but not their PD-1− counterparts, that suppressed T cell responses in vitro and in vivo. This suppression was largely dependent on their production of IL-10. Moreover, the costimulatory signaling of both CD28 and PD-1 is required for their optimal IL-10 production. In contrast, Ag-specific CD8+CD122+PD-1− T cells were bona fide memory T cells. Thus, CD8+CD122+ T cells can be either regulatory T or memory T cells, depending on their PD-1 expression and Ag specificity. This study reconciles previously contradictory findings and has important implications for tolerance induction.

Mice devoid of T, B, and NK cells distinguish between self and allogeneic non-self despite the absence of an adaptive immune system. When challenged with an allograft they mount an innate response characterized by accumulation of mature, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) that produce IL-12 and initiate graft rejection. The molecular mechanisms, however, by which the innate immune system detects allogeneic non-self to generate these DCs are not known. To address this question, we studied the innate response of Rag2−/−γc−/− mice, which lack T, B, NK cells, to grafts from allogeneic donors. We identified by positional cloning that donor polymorphism in the gene encoding signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) is a key modulator of the recipient’s innate allorecognition response. Donors that differed from the recipient in one or both Sirpa alleles elicited an innate alloresponse. The response was mediated by binding of donor SIRPα to recipient CD47 and was modulated by the strength of the SIRPα-CD47 interaction. Therefore, sensing SIRPα polymorphism by CD47 provides a molecular mechanism by which the innate immune system distinguishes between self and allogeneic non-self independently of T, B, and NK cells.

Immunological memory specific to previously encountered antigens is a cardinal feature of adaptive lymphoid cells. However, it is unknown whether innate myeloid cells retain memory of prior antigenic stimulation and respond to it more vigorously on subsequent encounters. In this work, we show that murine monocytes and macrophages acquire memory specific to major histocompatibility complex I (MHC-I) antigens, and we identify A-type paired immunoglobulin-like receptors (PIR-As) as the MHC-I receptors necessary for the memory response. We demonstrate that deleting PIR-A in the recipient or blocking PIR-A binding to donor MHC-I molecules blocks memory and attenuates kidney and heart allograft rejection. Thus, innate myeloid cells acquire alloantigen-specific memory that can be targeted to improve transplant outcomes.

The constitutive expression of PD-L1 in the testis is an important mechanism underlying testicular immune privilege and long-term survival of intratesticular islet allografts.