Toll-like receptor 2 induced cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 regulates Aspergillus-induced regulatory T-cells with pro-inflammatory characteristics.
Ruud P H RaijmakersEvelien G G SprenkelerFloor E AlevaCor W M JacobsThirumala-Devi KannegantiLeo A B JoostenFrank L van de VeerdonkMark S GresnigtPublished in: Scientific reports (2017)
Patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe asthma, pre-existing pulmonary lesions, and severely immunocompromised patients are susceptible to develop infections with the opportunistic pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, called aspergillosis. Infections in these patients are associated with persistent pro-inflammatory T-helper (TH)2 and TH17 responses. Regulatory T-cells, natural suppressor cells of the immune system, control pro-inflammatory T-cell responses, but can also contribute to disease by shifting to a pro-inflammatory TH17-like phenotype. Such a shift could play an important role in the detrimental immunopathology that is seen in aspergillosis. Our study demonstrates that Aspergillus fumigatus induces regulatory T-cells with a TH17-like phenotype. We also demonstrate that these regulatory T-cells with a pro-inflammatory TH17-like phenotype can be reprogrammed to their "classical" anti-inflammatory phenotype by activating Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which regulates the induction of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4). Similarly, soluble CTLA4 could reverse the pro-inflammatory phenotype of Aspergillus-induced regulatory T-cells. In conclusion, our results suggest a role for regulatory T-cells with a pro-inflammatory TH17-like phenotype in Aspergillus-associated immunopathology, and identifies key players, i.e. TLR2 and CTLA4, involved in this mechanism.
Keyphrases
- regulatory t cells
- toll like receptor
- dendritic cells
- inflammatory response
- immune response
- nuclear factor
- end stage renal disease
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- cystic fibrosis
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- high glucose
- peritoneal dialysis
- diabetic rats
- chronic kidney disease
- anti inflammatory
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- patient reported outcomes
- dna methylation
- signaling pathway
- oxidative stress
- induced apoptosis
- endothelial cells
- drug induced
- genome wide
- cell death