Increased T Reg frequencies in peripheral blood were related to low peripheral blood CD4 T-cell counts and polarization toward Th2 immune responses in HIV-infected patients.

No abstract

Our results indicated that host TLR-4 is crucial for the induction of tissue protective factors and for protection against intestinal cell apoptosis during acute GVHD.

IntroductionHepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent proangiogenic molecule that induces neovascularization. The HGF antagonist, NK4, competitively antagonizes HGF binding to its receptor. In the present study, we determined the inhibitory effect of NK4 in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) model using SKG mice.MethodsArthritis was induced in SKG mice by a single intraperitoneal injection of β-glucan. Recombinant adenovirus containing NK4 cDNA (AdCMV.NK4) was also injected intravenously at the time of or 1 month after β-glucan injection. Ankle bone destruction was examined radiographically. The histopathologic features of joints were examined using hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to determine the serum levels of HGF, interferon γ (IFN-γ, interleukin 4 (IL-4) and IL-17 production by CD4+ T cells stimulated with allogeneic spleen cells.ResultsThe intravenous injection of AdCMV.NK4 into SKG mice suppressed the progression of β-glucan-induced arthritis. Bone destruction was also inhibited by NK4 treatment. The histopathologic findings of the ankles revealed that angiogenesis, inflammatory cytokines and RANKL expression in synovial tissues were significantly inhibited by NK4 treatment. Recombinant NK4 (rNK4) proteins inhibited IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17 production by CD4+ T cells stimulated with allogeneic spleen cells.ConclusionsThese results indicate that NK4 inhibits arthritis by inhibition of angiogenesis and inflammatory cytokine production by CD4+ T cells. Therefore, molecular targeting of angiogenic inducers by NK4 can potentially be used as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of RA.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P)/S1P receptor 1 (S1P1) signaling plays an important role in synovial cell proliferation and inflammatory gene expression by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synoviocytes. The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of S1P/S1P1 signaling in the expression of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) in RA synoviocytes and CD4+ T cells. We demonstrated MH7A cells, a human RA synovial cell line, and CD4+ T cells expressed S1P1 and RANKL. Surprisingly, S1P increased RANKL expression in MH7A cells and CD4+ T cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, S1P enhanced RANKL expression induced by stimulation with TNF-α in MH7A cells and CD4+ T cells. These effects of S1P in MH7A cells were inhibited by pretreatment with PTX, a specific Gi/Go inhibitor. These findings suggest that S1P/S1P1 signaling may play an important role in RANKL expression by MH7A cells and CD4+ T cells. S1P/S1P1 signaling of RA synoviocytes is closely connected with synovial hyperplasia, inflammation, and RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in RA. Thus, regulation of S1P/S1P1 signaling may become a novel therapeutic target for RA.

HighlightsRole of c-Met signaling in osteoblast differentiation was investigated.Osteoblast differentiation was determined by ALP and osteocalcin production by C2C12 and MC3T3-E1 cells.c-Met signaling negatively regulates osteoblast differentiation.Blocking c-Met signaling might serve as a therapeutic strategy for rheumatoid arthritis.

We previously demonstrated that blocking the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor, c-Met, using a HGF antagonist, NK4, inhibited arthritis in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) model mice. In the present study, we investigated the role of c-Met signaling in synovial cell function. We demonstrated that synovial tissues from RA patients and MH7A cells, a human RA synovial cell line, expressed HGF and c-Met. HGF and c-Met expression in RA synovium was increased compared to osteoarthritis synovium suggesting increased c-Met signaling in RA synovial cells. The c-Met inhibitor, SU11274, inhibited ERK1/2 and AKT phosphorylation in HGF-stimulated MH7A cells. MEK and PI3K inhibitors suppressed production of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by MH7A cells, suggesting that c-Met-MEK-ERK and c-Met-PI3K-AKT pathways are involved positively regulating MH7A cell function. Although SU11274 suppressed MMP-3 and VEGF production it enhanced PGE2 production by MH7A cells suggesting that negative regulation by c-Met signaling, independent of the MEK-ERK and PI3K-AKT pathways, is involved in PGE2 production. Blocking c-Met signaling may be therapeutically useful to inhibit angiogenesis and cartilage and bone destruction by inhibiting VEGF and MMP-3 production, while enhancing PGE2 production in synovial cells in RA.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is characterized by marked defects in CD4+ helper T cell (Th) functions that commonly progress to a substantial decline in peripheral CD4+ T cell counts. However, the mechanisms responsible for the loss of Th functions in HIV-infected patients independent of CD4+ T cell counts remains unclear. CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (T Reg) are essential for down-regulation of both autoreactive and alloreactive T cells. Therefore, we decided to investigate the role of T Reg in immune status of HIV-infected patients. We examined the expression of cell surface CD25, cytoplasmic IL-4 and cytoplasmic IFN-gamma in peripheral blood CD4+ T cells from both healthy controls (n=9) and HIV-infected patients (n=43). We also compared T Reg functions between the 2 groups. CD4+CD25+ T Reg isolated from both HIV-infected patients and healthy controls strongly expressed CD45RO, HLA-DR, and FoxP3, and suppressed the proliferation of CD4+CD25− T cells, suggesting that CD4+CD25+ T cells from both healthy controls and HIV-infected patients possess phenotypic and functional characteristics of Treg. CD4+CD25high T cells are a subset of circulating CD4+CD25+ T cells in normal humans and exhibit strong in vitro regulatory functions similar to those reported for murine CD4+CD25+ T Reg. We measured the frequency of CD4+CD25high T Reg by analysis of surface CD25 on CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood samples. We also examined Th1 and Th2 frequencies by analysis of cytoplasmic IFN-gamma and IL-4 levels in CD4+ T cells. T Reg from HIV-infected patients with detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA showed a statistically significant increase in CD4+CD25high cell frequency (p<0.05) compared to healthy controls, with T Reg frequencies inversely proportional to CD4+ T cell numbers (p<0.01). However, in HIV-infected patients with undetectable plasma HIV-RNA, frequencies of CD4+CD25high T Reg were not increased and not related to CD4+ T cell numbers. In both HIV-infected patient groups, T Reg frequency was inversely related to Th1 frequency (detectable: p<0.05, undetectable: p<0.001), but positively related to Th2 frequency (detectable: p<0.01, undetectable: p<0.001). Our results indicate that increased frequencies of peripheral blood T Reg were related to disease progression as measured by detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA, decreased peripheral blood CD4+ T cell counts, and polarization toward Th2 immune responses in HIV-infected patients. HIV infection may lead to induction of T reg that inhibit antiviral immune responses, resulting in the progression of the disease. Manipulation of T Reg could help restore antiviral immune responses in HIV infection, and prevent the progression of HIV infection.