Cutting edge: Receptors for C3a and C5a modulate stability of alloantigen-reactive induced regulatory T cells

J Immunol. 2013 Jun 15;190(12):5921-5. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1300847. Epub 2013 May 20.

Abstract

CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) are critical regulators of immune homeostasis and self-tolerance. Whereas thymic-derived or natural Treg stably express Foxp3, adaptive or induced Treg (iTreg) generated from peripheral CD4 T cells are susceptible to inflammation-induced reversion to pathogenic effector T cells. Building upon our previous observations that T cell-expressed receptors for C3a (C3aR) and C5a (C5aR) drive Th1 maturation, we tested the impact of C3aR/C5aR signaling on induction and stability of alloreactive iTreg. We observed that genetic deficiency or pharmacological blockade of C3aR/C5aR signaling augments murine and human iTreg generation, stabilizes Foxp3 expression, resists iTreg conversion to IFN-γ/TNF-α-producing efffector T cells, and, as a consequence, limits the clinical expression of graft-versus-host disease. Taken together, the findings highlight the expansive role of complement as a crucial modulator of T cell alloimmunity and demonstrate proof-of-concept that targeting C3a/C3aR and C5a/C5aR interactions could facilitate iTreg-mediated tolerance to alloantigens in humans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Complement C3a / immunology*
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Isoantigens* / immunology
  • Lymphocyte Activation / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Receptor, Anaphylatoxin C5a / immunology*
  • Self Tolerance / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology*

Substances

  • Isoantigens
  • Receptor, Anaphylatoxin C5a
  • Complement C3a