Caveolin-1-mediated negative signaling plays a critical role in the induction of regulatory dendritic cells by DNA and protein coimmunization

J Immunol. 2012 Sep 15;189(6):2852-9. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1102828. Epub 2012 Aug 17.

Abstract

Induction of Ag-specific regulatory T cells (iTregs) by vaccination is a promising strategy for treating autoimmune diseases. We previously demonstrated that DNA and protein covaccination converted naive T cells to Ag-specific iTregs by inducing CD11c+CD40(low)IL-10+ regulatory dendritic cells (DCregs). However, it is unclear how coimmunization induces the DCregs. In this paper, we report that the event is initiated by coentry of sequence-matched DNA and protein immunogens into the same DC via caveolae-mediated endocytosis, which leads to inhibition of phosphorylation of caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the main component of caveolae, and upregulation of Tollip. This triggers downstream signaling that upregulates suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 and downregulates NF-κB and STAT-1α. Silencing either Cav-1 or Tollip blocks the negative signaling, leading to upregulated expression of CD40, downregulated production of IL-10, and loss of iTreg-inducing function. We further show that DCregs can be induced in culture from primary DCs and JAWS II DC lines by feeding them sequence-matched DNA and protein immunogens. The in vitro-generated DCregs are effective in ameliorating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in several mouse models. Our study thus suggests that DNA and protein coimmunization induces DCregs through Cav-1- and Tollip-mediated negative signaling. It also describes a novel method for generating therapeutic DCregs in vitro.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caveolae / immunology
  • Caveolae / metabolism
  • Caveolin 1 / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Caveolin 1 / metabolism
  • Caveolin 1 / physiology*
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Differentiation / immunology*
  • Cell Line
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Dendritic Cells / cytology
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology*
  • Dendritic Cells / metabolism
  • Down-Regulation / genetics
  • Down-Regulation / immunology*
  • Endocytosis / immunology
  • Female
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / immunology
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • RNA, Small Interfering / administration & dosage
  • RNA, Small Interfering / immunology
  • RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Signal Transduction / immunology*
  • Up-Regulation / immunology
  • Vaccines, DNA / administration & dosage*
  • Vaccines, DNA / genetics
  • Vaccines, DNA / immunology

Substances

  • Cav1 protein, mouse
  • Caveolin 1
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Tollip protein, mouse
  • Vaccines, DNA