IFN-Γ–Expressing Th17 Cells Are Required for Development Of
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IFN- −γ Expressing Th17 Cells Are Required for Development of Severe Ocular Surface Autoimmunity This information is current as Yihe Chen, Sunil K. Chauhan, Chunyi Shao, Masahiro of September 29, 2021. Omoto, Takenori Inomata and Reza Dana J Immunol published online 21 June 2017 http://www.jimmunol.org/content/early/2017/06/20/jimmun ol.1602144 Downloaded from Supplementary http://www.jimmunol.org/content/suppl/2017/06/20/jimmunol.160214 Material 4.DCSupplemental http://www.jimmunol.org/ Why The JI? Submit online. • Rapid Reviews! 30 days* from submission to initial decision • No Triage! Every submission reviewed by practicing scientists • Fast Publication! 4 weeks from acceptance to publication by guest on September 29, 2021 *average Subscription Information about subscribing to The Journal of Immunology is online at: http://jimmunol.org/subscription Permissions Submit copyright permission requests at: http://www.aai.org/About/Publications/JI/copyright.html Email Alerts Receive free email-alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up at: http://jimmunol.org/alerts The Journal of Immunology is published twice each month by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc., 1451 Rockville Pike, Suite 650, Rockville, MD 20852 Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc. All rights reserved. Print ISSN: 0022-1767 Online ISSN: 1550-6606. Published June 21, 2017, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1602144 The Journal of Immunology IFN-g–Expressing Th17 Cells Are Required for Development of Severe Ocular Surface Autoimmunity Yihe Chen, Sunil K. Chauhan, Chunyi Shao, Masahiro Omoto, Takenori Inomata, and Reza Dana Th17 cells are critical effectors mediating the ocular surface autoimmunity in dry eye disease (DED). Increased IFN-g has also been implicated in DED; however, it remains unclear to what extent Th1 cells contribute to DED pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the cellular source of IFN-g and assessed its contribution to corneal epitheliopathy in DED mice. We discovered a significant IL-17A+IFN-g+ (Th17/1) population and determined that these cells are derived from Th17 precursors. Adoptive transfer of Th17/1, but not Th1, cells confers the disease to naive recipients as effectively as do Th17 cells alone. DED-induced IL-12 and IL-23 are required for in vivo transition of pathogenic Th17 cells to IFN-g producers. Furthermore, using IFN-g– deficient Th17 cells, we demonstrate the disease-amplifying role of Th17-derived IFN-g in DED pathogenesis. These results clearly Downloaded from demonstrate that Th17 cells mediate ocular surface autoimmunity through both IL-17A and IFN-g. The Journal of Immunology, 2017, 199: 000–000. ry eye disease (DED) is one of the most common ocular reduces disease severity (11). However, these IFN-g–producing disorders for which patients seek care. Recent studies NK cells gradually diminish after the initial stress (11), and hence D have demonstrated that ocular surface autoimmunity is they cannot be the major producers for the abundant IFN-g in late http://www.jimmunol.org/ the major underlying mechanism for DED. Increased levels of IL- acute DED. The exact cellular source of the persisting IFN-g and 17A and IFN-g have been consistently observed in both clinical its role in DED pathogenesis thus remain to be determined. (1–3) and experimental DED (4, 5), suggesting that possibly both In this study, to our knowledge for the first time, we examined the Th1 and Th17 cell responses are involved in DED pathogenesis. pathogenicity of multiple in vivo spontaneously developed Th cell Furthermore, our group and others have demonstrated that Th17 populations that secrete IL-17A (Th17), IFN-g (Th1), or IL-17A+ cells are the principal effectors actively mediating DED, evi- IFN-g+ (Th17/1) in DED and demonstrated that similar to Th17, denced by 1) the presence of a prominent Th17 response in DED Th17/1, but not Th1, cells are potently DED pathogenic. Further- ocular surface and draining lymphoid tissues (4–6); 2) specific more, Th17 can convert to Th17/1 in vivo facilitated through IL-12 resistance of Th17 cells, but not Th1 cells, to regulatory T cell and IL-23 signaling, and such Th17-derived IFN-g enhances ocular by guest on September 29, 2021 suppression (7); 3) maintenance of disease chronicity by memory surface autoimmune response and thus amplifies DED severity. Th17 cells (8); and 4) significant disease amelioration after neu- tralization of IL-17A (5, 7, 9). Materials and Methods Nevertheless, despite the dominant role of Th17 cells and their Animals signature cytokine IL-17A in DED immunoinflammation, it has been shown that subconjunctival injection of exogenous IFN-g Female 6- to 8-wk-old wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice (Charles River Laboratories), B6.Rag1 KO mice, and B6.IFN-g KO mice (The Jackson to DED mice increases corneal epithelial apoptosis, whereas Laboratory) were used for this study. All animal experiments were approved the corneal epithelium in IFN-g knockout (KO) mice is resistant by the Schepens Eye Research Institute Animal Care and Use Committee to apoptosis (10), indicating a strong association of corneal epi- and adhered to the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology theliopathy and increased IFN-g in DED. Recently, we have Statement for the Use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Vision Research. shown that NK cells are the major source of IFN-g during the DED induction innate immunity-dominant early acute DED stage, and depletion DED was induced in mice as previously described (9). In brief, mice were of NK cells or neutralization of IFN-g in the early stage of DED placed in a controlled-environment chamber with a relative humidity ,20%, airflow of 15 l/min, and a constant temperature of 21–23˚C for 14 consecutive days. Thereafter, mice were transferred to the standard Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department nondesiccated vivarium, where mice were maintained for an additional of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 4 mo. Corneal epithelial disease was evaluated using fluorescein (Sigma- ORCIDs: 0000-0003-3917-8191 (M.O.); 0000-0002-5732-5100 (R.D.). Aldrich) staining and scored using the National Eye Institute (Bethesda, Received for publication December 21, 2016. Accepted for publication May 25, MD) grading system. 2017. Histology This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant EY20889 (to R.D.). Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Reza Dana, Schepens Eye Re- The whole eyeball was excised and fixed in 10% formalin for fixation. After search Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmol- dehydration, the specimens were embedded in methacrylate, cross- ogy, Harvard Medical School, 20 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114. E-mail sectioned, and stained with H&E. The morphology of the cornea and the address: [email protected] conjunctiva was observed under a microscope (Nikon Eclipse E800) with 3 The online version of this article contains supplemental material. a 40 objective. Abbreviations used in this article: DED, dry eye disease; KO, knockout; Th17/1, IL- Flow cytometry analysis 17A+IFN-g+; WT, wild-type. Conjunctiva tissues were first digested in RPMI 1640 (Invitrogen) with Copyright Ó 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc. 0022-1767/17/$30.00 2 mg/ml DNase and 2 mg/ml collagenase (Roche) at 37˚C. The following www.jimmunol.org/cgi/doi/10.4049/jimmunol.1602144 2 Th17-SECRETED IFN-g IS REQUIRED FOR SEVERE DED Abs were used for flow cytometry analysis: FITC-conjugated anti-CD3, rechallenged with desiccating stress, Th17/1 cells increased again, FITC-conjugated anti-CD4, PerCP-Cy5.5– or allophycocyanin-conjugated along with exacerbated disease (Supplemental Fig. 1). The same ki- anti–IFN-g (BioLegend), and PE-Cy7– or PE-conjugated anti–IL-17A netic patterns of Th17 and Th17/1 cells were observed at the inflamed (eBioscience). For intracellular IL-17A staining, cells were stimulated with 50 ng/ml PMA and 500 ng/ml ionomycin (Sigma-Aldrich) for 6 h at ocular surface (conjunctiva) (Fig. 1E). In contrast, Th1 cell frequen- 37˚C and 5% CO2 in the presence of GolgiStop (4 ml/6 ml cell culture; BD cies remained unchanged throughout the course of DED (Fig. 1C). Biosciences) to inhibit cytokine secretion. Stained cells were examined with an LSR II flow cytometer (BD Biosciences), and the results were Th17/1 cells isolated from DED are capable of inducing ocular analyzed using FlowJo software (Tree Star). surface inflammation T cell adoptive transfer The pathogenicity of Th17 cells in DED has been demonstrated previously by blocking IL-17A in vivo (5, 7, 9). In the present Draining lymph node cells from DED mice were harvested and their CD4+ T cells were enriched via negative selection with a CD4+ T cell study, we adoptively transferred Th subsets from DED mice into isolation kit (Miltenyi Biotec). Thereafter, Th17 (IL-17A+IFN-g2), Th17/1 T cell–deficient naive Rag1 KO mice to determine their function. (IL-17A+IFN-g+), and Th1 (IL-17A2IFN-g+) subsets were further sorted Th1, Th17, and Th17/1 cells were isolated (Supplemental Fig. 2) using IL-17A and IFN-g cytokine secretion assay kits (Miltenyi Biotec) at day 14 after the development of severe DED, and they were 3 and a BD FACSAria sorter (BD Biosciences). Each of these subsets (2 then i.v. transferred to Rag1 KO recipients, which were subse- 104 cells) was subsequently injected i.v. into naive B6.Rag1 KO mice, which were then placed in the controlled-environment chamber for 5 d. In quently challenged with desiccating environmental stress for 5 d. the Ab treatment studies, sorted Th17 cells were injected i.v. into naive Rag1 KO mice without adoptive transfer served as controls and B6.Rag1 KO mice, which were then placed in the controlled-environment showed no disease after 5 d of desiccating stress (mean disease chamber for 5 d.