Expression of the transcription factor Helios identifies thymocyte divergence during positive and negative selection.

Missense variants are a major source of human genetic variation. Here we analyze a new mouse missense variant, Rasgrp1Anaef, with an ENU-mutated EF hand in the Rasgrp1 Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factor. Rasgrp1Anaef mice exhibit anti-nuclear autoantibodies and gradually accumulate a CD44hi Helios+ PD-1+ CD4+ T cell population that is dependent on B cells. Despite reduced Rasgrp1-Ras-ERK activation in vitro, thymocyte selection in Rasgrp1Anaef is mostly normal in vivo, although CD44 is overexpressed on naïve thymocytes and T cells in a T-cell-autonomous manner. We identify CD44 expression as a sensitive reporter of tonic mTOR-S6 kinase signaling through a novel mouse strain, chino, with a reduction-of-function mutation in Mtor. Elevated tonic mTOR-S6 signaling occurs in Rasgrp1Anaef naïve CD4+ T cells. CD44 expression, CD4+ T cell subset ratios and serum autoantibodies all returned to normal in Rasgrp1AnaefMtorchino double-mutant mice, demonstrating that increased mTOR activity is essential for the Rasgrp1Anaef T cell dysregulation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01020.001

OBJECTIVETo define cellular mechanisms by which B cells promote type 1 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThe study measured islet-specific CD4 T cell regulation in T-cell receptor transgenic mice with elevated frequencies of CD4 T cells recognizing hen egg lysozyme (HEL) autoantigen expressed in islet β-cells and thymic epithelium under control of the insulin-gene promoter. The effects of a mutation in Roquin that dysregulates T follicular helper (Tfh) cells to promote B-cell activation and anti-islet autoantibodies were studied, as were the effects of HEL antigen–presenting B cells and passively transferred or maternally transmitted anti-islet HEL antibodies.RESULTSMouse anti-islet IgG antibodies—either formed as a consequence of excessive Tfh activity, maternally transmitted, or passively transferred—caused a breakdown of tolerance in islet-reactive CD4+ cells and fast progression to diabetes. Progression to diabetes was ameliorated in the absence of B cells or when the B cells could not secrete islet-specific IgG. Anti-islet antibodies increased the survival of proliferating islet-reactive CD4+ T cells. FcγR blockade delayed and reduced the incidence of autoimmune diabetes.CONCLUSIONSB cells can promote type 1 diabetes by secreting anti-islet autoantibodies that act in an FcγR-mediated manner to enhance the expansion of islet-reactive CD4 T cells and cooperate with inherited defects in thymic and peripheral CD4 T–cell tolerance. Cooperation between inherited variants affecting CD4 T–cell tolerance and anti-islet autoantibodies should be examined in epidemiological studies and in studies examining the efficacy of B-cell depletion.

Thymocytes that bind strongly to self-antigens are prevented from becoming naive T cells by several mechanisms. They undergo clonal deletion at two stages of development; wave 1 in immature thymocytes lacking the medulla-homing chemokine receptor, CCR7, or wave 2 in more mature CCR7(+) thymocytes. Alternatively, self-reactive thymocytes upregulate Foxp3 to become T-regulatory cells. Here, we describe the differential timing of the two waves of deletion and Foxp3 upregulation relative to the immature proliferating stage. Proliferating thymocytes were pulse-labeled in normal C57BL/6 mice with 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU). Thymocytes progressed into wave 1 (CCR7(-)) and wave 2 (CCR7(+)) of clonal deletion ~2 and 5 days after proliferation, respectively. Foxp3 upregulation occurred between 4 and 8 days after proliferation, predominantly in thymocytes with a Helios(+) CCR7(+) phenotype. These findings establish a timeline that suggests that wave 1 of clonal deletion occurs in the thymic cortex, whereas wave 2 and Foxp3 upregulation both occur in the thymic medulla.

The differentiation of hematopoietic precursors into the many functionally distinct T-cell types produced by the thymus is a complex process. It proceeds through a series of stages orchestrated by a variety of thymic microenvironments that shape the T-cell developmental processes. Numerous cytokine and cell surface receptors direct thymocyte differentiation but the primary determinant of cell fate is the engagement of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR). The strength of the TCR signal and the maturation stage of the thymocyte receiving it can direct the various differentiation programs or, alternatively, end the process by inducing cell death. The regulation of thymocyte death is critical for the efficiency of thymic T-cell differentiation and the preservation of immune tolerance. A detailed knowledge of mechanisms that eliminate thymocytes from the T-cell repertoire is essential to understand the "logic" of T-cell selection in the thymus. This review focuses on the central role of the BCL-2 family of proteins in the apoptotic checkpoints that punctuate thymocyte differentiation and the consequences of defects in these processes.