MicroRNA-181a/b-1 Is Not Required for Innate γδ NKT Effector Cell Development

PLoS One. 2015 Dec 16;10(12):e0145010. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145010. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Thymic development of αβ T lymphocytes into invariant natural killer (NK) T cells depends on their selection via agonistic lipid antigen presented by CD1d. If successful, newly selected NKT cells gain effector functions already in the thymus. Some γδ T cell subsets also acquire effector functions in the thymus. However, it is not clear whether agonistic TCR stimulation is involved in thymic γδ T cell selection and development. Here we combine two genetic models to address this question. MiR-181a/b-1-/-mice, which show impaired agonistic T cell selection of invariant αβ NKT cells, were crossed to Tcrd-H2BeGFP reporter mice to monitor selection, intra-thymic expansion and differentiation of γδ T cells. We found that miR-181a/b-1-deficiency had no effect on numbers of thymic γδ T cell or on their differentiation towards an IL-17- or IFN-γ-producing effector phenotype. Also, the composition of peripheral lymph node γδ T cells was not affected by miR-181a/b-1-deficiency. Dendritic epidermal γδ T cells were normally present in knock-out animals. However, we observed elevated frequencies and numbers of γδ NKT cells in the liver, possibly because γδ NKT cells can expand and replace missing αβ NKT cells in peripheral niches. In summary, we investigated the role of miR-181a/b-1 for selection, intrathymic development and homeostasis of γδ T cells. We conclude that miR-181a/b-1-dependent modulation of T cell selection is not critically required for innate development of γδ NKT cells or of any other γδ T cell subtypes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens, CD1d / metabolism
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Clonal Selection, Antigen-Mediated / genetics
  • Immunity, Innate*
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Liver / cytology
  • Liver / immunology
  • Lymph Nodes / cytology
  • Lymph Nodes / immunology
  • Lymph Nodes / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Natural Killer T-Cells / cytology
  • Natural Killer T-Cells / immunology*
  • Natural Killer T-Cells / metabolism*
  • Phenotype
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / metabolism*
  • T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity / immunology
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / cytology
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / immunology
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / metabolism
  • Thymus Gland / cytology
  • Thymus Gland / immunology
  • Thymus Gland / metabolism

Substances

  • Antigens, CD1d
  • MicroRNAs
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta
  • mirn181 microRNA, mouse

Grants and funding

Assistance was provided by the Cell Sorting Core Facility of the Hannover Medical School, supported in part by Braukmann-Wittenberg-Herz-Stiftung and German Research Foundation (DFG). The work was supported by grants from the DFG (PR727/4-1; PR727/5-1; and SFB900-B8 to I.P. and cluster of excellence EXC62-2 “REBIRTH”, KR2320/3-1 and SFB738-A7 to A.K.). I.S. was supported in part by the Ministry For Science and Culture of Lower Saxony through the Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg Scholarship scheme.