Search bioRxiv⌕ Search

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.08.31.276410

Optimal CD4T Cell Priming in Lymph Nodes Requires Repertoire Scanning by CD301b+ Migratory cDC2 Cells

Abstract

Activation of CD4T cells by conventional dendritic cells (cDC) is pivotal in adaptive immunity. However, while the activation mechanism of antigen-specific CD4T cells has been extensively studied, the cellular mechanism that leads to the selection of cognate CD4T cell clones out of the polyclonal pool is incompletely understood. Here, we show that, in the reactive lymph nodes, newly homed naive polyclonal CD4T cells are temporarily retained before leaving the lymph node. This stop-and-go traffic of CD4T cells provides an adequate time window for efficient scanning and timely priming of antigen-specific clones. Mechanistically, upon immunization, CD301b+ DCs, a major subset of migratory cDC2 cells, quickly migrate to the draining lymph node and settle in the areas near the high endothelial venules, where they retain incoming polyclonal CD4T cells through MHCII-dependent but antigen-independent mechanisms while concurrently providing cognate stimuli to prime antigen-specific CD4T cells. These results indicate that CD301b+ DCs function as an immunological "display window" for CD4T cells to efficiently scan their antigen specificity. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=150 SRC="FIGDIR/small/276410v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (49K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@118d9b7org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@7daf2eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@17808c0org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@186780e_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LINewly homed polyclonal CD4T cells are temporarily retained in the reactive lymph nodes. C_LIO_LIDepletion of CD301b+ DCs results in shorter dwell time of CD4T cells in the draining lymph node and delayed priming of antigen-specific clones. C_LIO_LIThe transient retention of polyclonal CD4T cells in the draining lymph node requires MHCII expression on CD301b+ DCs but not cognate antigen. C_LIO_LICD301b+ DCs are required for robust expansion of rare antigen-specific CD4T cell clones and their skewing toward Th2 cells. C_LI

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Tatsumi, N., Codrington, A. L., Kumamoto, Y.. 2020-08-31. Optimal CD4T Cell Priming in Lymph Nodes Requires Repertoire Scanning by CD301b+ Migratory cDC2 Cells. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.31.276410

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

Proliferation and mutation as humoral immune response

The affinity maturation process, through which antibodies acquire relatively high affinity for an invading pathogen, involves complex mechanisms whose relative importance is not yet fully understood. This study proposes an analytical model of this process, to investigate the main factors governing proliferation and mutation and assess their respective roles. The model suggests that the immune system should not be expected to follow a single, rigid evolutionary pattern, as a wide range of proliferation and mutation strategies can yield nearly optimal outcomes. Keywords: Antibody, antigen, affinity, B-cell, mutation, proliferation

immunology↗

Proteome-wide discovery of novel diagnostic antigens for coccidioidomycosis

Coccidioidomycosis, commonly called Valley Fever (VF), caused by Coccidioides spp., is an understudied fungal disease that accounts for a substantial fraction of pneumonias in endemic areas. Diagnosis remains challenging because the mainstay of diagnosis is serology, and current assays have modest sensitivity in early infection. Discovery of new antigens could improve serologic detection early in disease. Here, we use PepSeq, a DNA-programmable serology platform, to represent the complete proteome of Coccidioides within a library of 244,000 DNA-barcoded peptides. By profiling antibody reactivity at the protein and epitope levels in VF patients, naturally infected pigtail macaques, and healthy controls, we identify numerous previously-unrecognized antigens and epitopes, including some shared between humans and macaque responses. When translated into a pooled peptide ELISA, we show that a subset of identified antigens can discriminate VF cases from controls in an independent cohort with high accuracy (AUC = 0.91). These findings establish high-dimensional peptide serology as a scalable approach for fungal antigen discovery and identify new targets for improved VF diagnosis.

immunology↗

Establishing an ex vivo platform for molecular profiling of skin structural cells using frozen human skin biopsies

Skin structural cells, including keratinocytes, melanocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts, play critical roles in the development of chronic inflammatory skin disease. Inflammatory stimuli induce transcriptional reprogramming and epigenetic changes in skin structural cells, which contribute to disease pathogenesis. Although two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) skin culture models have been widely used to investigate inflammatory responses in skin structural cells, ex vivo systems that maintain skin structure and cellular composition remain limited. To address this gap, we explored using frozen skin biopsies as an experimental platform to study the responses of skin structural cells to inflammatory stimuli. Using a simple air-liquid interface culture method on permeable Transwell inserts, we showed that viable skin structural cells that retain cell-type-specific transcriptional profiles can be recovered from frozen skin biopsies after prolonged in vitro culture. Stimulation with IFN-{gamma} induced robust transcriptional and chromatin accessibility changes that were largely resolved after stimulus removal, with transcriptional responses to secondary stimulation comparable to the primary stimulation. Treatment of cultured skin biopsies with histone-modifying enzyme inhibitors effectively altered global histone modification levels, but did not substantially affect the transcriptional resolution of IFN-{gamma}-induced responses. Collectively, these findings establish cryopreserved human skin biopsies as a scalable ex vivo platform that enables mechanistic studies of inflammatory responses of multiple populations of skin structural cells.

immunology↗