Myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs) have been a focus of recent study on tumor-mediated immune suppression. However, its role in type 17 helper T (Th17) cell differentiation and the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis) has not been determined. We show here that development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice is associated with a profound expansion of CD11b+Gr-1+ MDSCs, which display efficient T cell inhibitory functions in vitro. Unexpectedly, these MDSCs enhance the differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cell precursors into Th17 cells in a highly efficient manner under Th17 polarizing conditions, as indicated by significantly increased number of Th17 cell, elevation of IL-17A production, and upregulation of the orphan nuclear receptor RORA and RORC. Mechanistic studies show that IL-1β represents a major mediator of MDSC-facilitated Th17 differentiation, which depends on the IL-1 receptor on CD4+ T cells but not MDSCs. Selective depletion of MDSCs using gemcitabine results in a marked reduction in the severity of EAE (e.g., decreased clinical scores and myelin injury), which correlates with reduced Th17 cells and inflammatory cytokines (IL-17A and IL-1β) in the lymphoid tissues and spinal cords. Adoptively transfer of MDSCs after gemcitabine treatment restores EAE disease progression. Together, we demonstrate for the first time that excessive and prolonged presence of MDSCs can drive a Th17 response and consequently contributes to the pathogenesis of EAE. These new findings provide unique insights into the pleiotropic functions of MDSCs, and may help explain the failure of immunosuppressive MDSCs to control Th17/IL-17-dependent autoimmune disorders.

Summary Multiple physiological and pathological conditions interfere with the function of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER). However, much remains unknown regarding the impact of ER stress on inflammatory responses in dendritic cells (DCs) upon the recognition of pathogen molecules. We show that ER stress greatly potentiates the expression of inflammatory cytokines and IFN-β in murine DCs stimulated by polyIC, a synthetic mimic of virus dsRNA. Both toll-like receptor 3 and melanoma differentiation-associated gene-5 are involved in the enhanced IFN-β production, which is associated with increased activation of NF-κB and IRF3 signaling as well as the splicing of X-box binding protein-1 (XBP-1), an important regulator involved in ER stress response. Surprisingly, silencing of XBP-1 reduces polyIC-stimulated IFN-β expression in the presence or absence of ER stress, indicating that XBP-1 may be essential for polyIC signaling and ER stress-amplified IFN-β production. Overexpression of a spliced form of XBP-1(XBP-1s) synergistically augments polyIC-induced inflammatory response. For the first time we show that XBP-1s overexpression-enhanced IFN-β production in DCs markedly suppresses vesicular stomatitis virus infection, revealing a previously unrecognized role of XBP-1 in an antiviral response. Our findings suggest that evolutionarily conserved ER stress response and XBP-1 may function collaboratively with the innate immunity in maintaining cellular homeostasis.

The collaboration and cross-talk between different classes of innate pattern recognition receptors are crucial for a well coordinated inflammatory response and host defense. Here we report a previously unrecognized role of scavenger receptor A (SRA; also known as CD204) as a signaling regulator in the context of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation. We show that SRA/CD204 deficiency leads to greater sensitivity to LPS-induced endotoxic shock. SRA/CD204 down-regulates inflammatory gene expression in dendritic cells by suppressing TLR4-induced activation of the transcription factor NF-B. For the first time, we demonstrate that SRA/CD204 executes its regulatory functions by directly interacting with the TRAF-C domain of TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), resulting in inhibition of TRAF6 dimerization and ubiquitination. The attenuation of NF-B activity by SRA/CD204 is independent of its ligand-binding domain, indicating that the signaling-regulatory feature of SRA/CD204 can be uncoupled from its conventional endocytic functions. Collectively, we have identified the molecular linkage between SRA/CD204 and the TLR4 signaling pathways, and our results reveal a novel mechanism by which a non-TLR pattern recognition receptor restricts TLR4 activation and consequent inflammatory response. The scavenger receptors (SRs)2 constitute a large family of structurally diverse pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) (1). Scavenger receptor A (SRA), also termed CD204, is a prototypic member of the growing SR family. The role of SRA/CD204 in atherosclerosis has been extensively studied because it was the first receptor identified for modified lipoproteins (e.g. oxidized or acetylated low density lipoproteins) that are pertinent to the development of vascular disease (2). As a PRR primarily expressed on myeloid cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, SRA/CD204 binds not only to altered or modified self macromolecules but also to a wide range of pathogenassociated molecular patterns, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), bacterial CpG DNA, and double strand RNA (3). SRA/ CD204-deficient mice are significantly more susceptible than their wild type (WT) counterparts to infection with Listeria monocytogenes (2) and Staphyloccus aureus (4). Loss of SRA/ CD204 expression led to an increased mortality in Bacillus Calmette-Guérin primed animals, which has been partially attributed to the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines by macrophages rather than impaired LPS clearance in vivo (5). Several lines of evidence suggest that SRA/CD204 on myeloid cells functions as a suppressor that can limit an inflammatory response (6, 7). However, the molecular basis underlying the SRA/CD204-mediated regulation of inflammation and production of inflammatory cytokines remains unexplored.The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent a family of evolutionarily conserved PRRs and are believed to play central roles in the induction of innate as well as adaptive immunity to pathogen infection (8). Binding of the microbial pattern molecules (i....

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) of eukaryotes are evolutionarily conserved molecules present in all the major intracellular organelles. They mainly function as molecular chaperones and participate in maintenance of protein homeostasis in physiological state and under stressful conditions. Despite their relative abundance, the large HSPs, i.e., Hsp110 and glucose-regulated protein 170 (Grp170), have received less attention compared to other conventional HSPs. These proteins are distantly related to the Hsp70 and belong to Hsp70 superfamily. Increased sizes of Hsp110 and Grp170, due to the presence of a loop structure, result in their exceptional capability in binding to polypeptide substrates or non-protein ligands, such as pathogen-associated molecules. These interactions that occur in the extracellular environment during tissue injury or microbial infection may lead to amplification of an immune response engaging both innate and adaptive immune components. Here, we review the current advances in understanding these large HSPs as molecular chaperones in proteostasis control and immune modulation as well as their therapeutic implications in treatment of cancer and neurodegeneration. Given their unique immunoregulatory activities, we also discuss the emerging evidence of their potential involvement in inflammatory and immune-related diseases.

The translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) can be secreted independently of the endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi pathway and has extrinsic activities when it is characterized as the histamine releasing factor (HRF). Despite its important role in allergies and inflammation, little is known about how extracellular TCTP affects cancer progression. In this study, we found that TCTP was overexpressed in the interstitial tissue of colorectal cancer (CRC) and its expression correlated with poor survival, high pathological grades and metastatic TNM stage in CRC patients. TCTP expression was greater in metastatic liver tissue than in primary tumors and was increased in highly invasive CRC cells. We demonstrated that the expression of TCTP was regulated by HIF-1α and its release was increased in response to low serum and hypoxic stress. Recombinant human TCTP (rhTCTP) promoted the migration and invasiveness of CRC cells in vitro and contributed to distant liver metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, rhTCTP activated Cdc42, phosphorylated JNK (p-JNK), increasing the translocation of p-JNK from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, as well as the secretion of MMP9. In addition, the expression of TCTP positively correlated with that of Cdc42 and p-JNK in clinical CRC samples. The silencing of Cdc42, JNK and MMP9 significantly inhibited the Matrigel invasion of rhTCTP-enhanced CRC cells. Collectively, these results identify a new role for extracellular TCTP as a promoter of CRC progression and liver metastases via Cdc42/JNK/MMP9 activation.

Mannan binding lectin (MBL), initially reported to activate the complement pathway, is also known to be involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. We report a thus far unknown function of MBL as a suppressor of T-cell activation. MBL markedly inhibited T-cell proliferation induced by anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. Moreover, the presence of MBL during T-cell priming interfered with proximal T-cell receptor signaling by decreasing phosphorylation of Lck, ZAP-70, and LAT. MBL bound to T cells through interaction between the collagen-like region of MBL and calreticulin (CRT) expressed on the T-cell surface. The neutralizing antibody against CRT abrogated MBL-mediated suppression of T-cell proliferation, suggesting that MBL down-modulates T-cell proliferation cell surface CRT. We further demonstrated that the feature of MBL-mediated T-cell suppression is shared by other serum collectins ( C1q and collectin 11). The concentrations of MBL correlated negatively with T-cell activation status in patients with early-stage silicosis. Furthermore, MBL efficiently inhibited activation and proliferation of autoreactive T cells derived from patients with silicosis, indicating that MBL serves as a negative feedback control of the T-cell responses.-Zhao, N., Wu, J., Xiong, S., Zhang, L., Lu, X., Chen, S., Wu, Q., Wang, H., Liu, Y., Chen, Z., Zuo, D. Mannan-binding lectin, a serum collectin, suppresses T-cell proliferation direct interaction with cell surface calreticulin and inhibition of proximal T-cell receptor signaling.

Although dendritic cell (DC) vaccines offer promise as cancer immunotherapy, further improvements are needed to amplify their clinical therapeutic efficacy. The pattern recognition scavenger receptor SRA/CD204 attenuates the ability of DCs to activate CD8+ T cell responses. Therefore, we examined the impact of SRA/CD204 on antitumor responses generated by DC vaccines and we also evaluated the feasibility of enhancing DC vaccine potency by SRA/CD204 blockade. DCs from SRA/CD204 deficient mice were more immunogenic in generating antitumor responses to B16 melanoma, compared to DCs from wild-type mice. Similarly, siRNA-mediated knockdown of SRA/CD204 by lentiviral vectors improved the ability of wild-type DCs to stimulate the expansion and activation of CD8+ T cells specific for idealized or established melanoma antigens in mice. Using SRA/CD204-silenced DCs to generate antigen-targeted vaccines, we documented a marked increase in the level of antitumor immunity achieved against established B16 tumors and metastases. This increase was associated with enhanced activation of antigen-specific CTLs, greater tumor infiltration by CD8+ T cells and NK cells, and increased intratumoral ratios of both CD4+ and CD8+ T effector cells to CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells. Our studies establish that downregulating SRA/CD204 strongly enhances DC-mediated antitumor immunity. Additionally, they provide a rationale to enhance DC vaccine potency through SRA/CD204-targeting approaches that can improve clinical outcomes in cancer treatment.

Metabolite alteration has been associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including colitis. Mannose, a natural bioactive monosaccharide that is involved in metabolism and synthesis of glycoproteins, exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. We show here that the circulating level of mannose is increased in patients with IBD and mice with experimental colitis. Mannose treatment attenuates intestinal barrier damage in two mouse colitis models, dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis and spontaneous colitis in IL-10-deficient mice. We demonstrate that mannose treatment enhanced lysosomal integrity and limited the release of cathepsin B, preventing mitochondrial dysfunction and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK)-induced tight junction disruption in the context of intestinal epithelial damage. Mannose exerts a synergistic therapeutic effect with mesalamine on mouse colitis. Cumulatively, the results indicate that mannose supplementation may be an optional approach to the treatment of colitis and other diseases associated with intestinal barrier dysfunction.