The peptide-exchange catalyst, HLA-DM, and its inhibitor, HLA-DO control endosomal generation of peptide/class II major histocompatibility protein (MHC-II) complexes; these complexes traffic to the cell surface for inspection by CD4+ T cells. Some evidence suggests that pH influences DO regulation of DM function, but pH also affects the stability of polymorphic MHC-II proteins, spontaneous peptide loading, DM/MHC-II interactions and DM catalytic activity, imposing challenges on approaches to determine pH effects on DM-DO function and their mechanistic basis. Using optimized biochemical methods, we dissected pH-dependence of spontaneous and DM-DO-mediated class II peptide exchange and identified an MHC-II allele-independent relationship between pH, DO/DM ratio and efficient peptide exchange. We demonstrate that active, free DM is generated from DM-DO complexes at late endosomal/lysosomal pH due to irreversible, acid-promoted DO destruction rather than DO/DM molecular dissociation. Any soluble DM that remains in complex with DO stays inert. pH-exposure of DM-DO in cell lysates corroborates such a pH-regulated mechanism, suggesting acid-activated generation of functional DM in DO-expressing cells.

Individuals with narcolepsy suffer from abnormal sleep patterns due to loss of neurons that uniquely supply hypocretin (HCRT). Previous studies found associations of narcolepsy with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ6 allele and T-cell receptor α (TRA) J24 gene segment and also suggested that in vitro-stimulated T cells can target HCRT. Here, we present evidence of in vivo expansion of DQ6-HCRT tetramer+/TRAJ24+/CD4+ T cells in DQ6+ individuals with and without narcolepsy. We identify related TRAJ24+ TCRαβ clonotypes encoded by identical α/β gene regions from two patients and two controls. TRAJ24-G allele+ clonotypes only expand in the two patients, whereas a TRAJ24-C allele+ clonotype expands in a control. A representative tetramer+/G-allele+ TCR shows signaling reactivity to the epitope HCRT87–97. Clonally expanded G-allele+ T cells exhibit an unconventional effector phenotype. Our analysis of in vivo expansion of HCRT-reactive TRAJ24+ cells opens an avenue for further investigation of the autoimmune contribution to narcolepsy development.

B cells internalize extracellular antigen into endosomes using the immunoglobulin (Ig) component of the B cell receptor. In endosomes, antigen-derived peptides are loaded onto MHC class II proteins (MHC-II). How these pathways intersect remains unclear. We find that HLA-DM (DM), a catalyst for MHC-II peptide loading, co-precipitates with Ig in lysates from human tonsillar B cells and B cell lines. The molecules in the Ig/DM complexes have mature glycans, and the complexes co-localize with endosomal markers in intact cells. A larger fraction of Ig precipitates with DM after BCR crosslinking, implying that complexes can form when DM meets endocytosed Ig. In vitro, in the endosomal pH range, soluble HLA-DM (sDM) directly binds the Ig Fab domain, and increases levels of free antigen released from immune complexes. Together, these results argue that DM and Ig intersect in the endocytic pathway of B cells with potential functional consequences.

Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is a childhood rheumatic disease of unknown origin. Dysregulated innate immunity is implicated in disease pathology. We investigated if IL-1 inhibition affects circulating cytokines and monocyte gene expression. CD14+ monocytes from patients in the RAPPORT trial were analyzed by RT-PCR for expression of IL1B and transcription factors associated with monocyte activation. Serum IL-1ra decreased with treatment, and IL-18BP transiently increased. Serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-18 were unchanged. IRF5 and STAT6 were decreased, and PPARG was increased, independent of clinical response, and may represent a skew toward a PPARG-driven M2-like phenotype. IL1B expression was decreased in early clinical responders. A transient increase in STAT1, and a decrease in SOCS1 preceded the reduction in IL1B in early clinical responders. Changes in IL1B/STAT1/SOCS1 could be associated with crosstalk between IL-1 and IFN pathways in sJIA. These transcriptional changes might be useful as drug response biomarkers.

Antigen presenting cells (APC) are key regulators of immunity. They are involved in stimulating naïve and effector cells and are critical for orchestrating protective responses to infectious agents as well as aberrant responses to self-antigens. Among APC, B cells are uniquely capable of presenting small amounts of antigen, which they capture and take up through surface immunoglobulin (Ig). The uptake of antigen by B cells is well studied, and so is the loading of peptides onto MHC II, but how these two pathways intersect is less well elucidated. We propose that HLA-DM is a key factor in linking these pathways by interacting with Ig. Here we show that HLA-DM and Ig can be co-precipitated from B cell lines. We also utilized proximity ligation assays and confocal microscopy to show a close interaction between HLA-DM and Ig in fixed B cell lines. In addition, we show by western blot and FACS staining that mutant cell lines lacking HLA-DM have lower levels of Ig than their parent, DM-expressing cell lines. Our data suggest that HLA-DM is involved in linking the antigen uptake and antigen presentation pathways by interacting not only with MHC II but also with Ig.