Anti-coreceptor therapy drives selective T cell egress by suppressing inflammation-dependent chemotactic cues

JCI Insight. 2016 Oct 20;1(17):e87636. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.87636.

Abstract

There continues to be a need for immunotherapies to treat type 1 diabetes in the clinic. We previously reported that nondepleting anti-CD4 and -CD8 Ab treatment effectively reverses diabetes in new-onset NOD mice. A key feature of the induction of remission is the egress of the majority of islet-resident T cells. How this occurs is undefined. Herein, the effects of coreceptor therapy on islet T cell retention were investigated. Bivalent Ab binding to CD4 and CD8 blocked TCR signaling and T cell cytokine production, while indirectly downregulating islet chemokine expression. These processes were required for T cell retention, as ectopic IFN-γ or CXCL10 inhibited Ab-mediated T cell purging. Importantly, treatment of humanized mice with nondepleting anti-human CD4 and CD8 Ab similarly reduced tissue-infiltrating human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. These findings demonstrate that Ab binding of CD4 and CD8 interrupts a feed-forward circuit by suppressing T cell-produced cytokines needed for expression of chemotactic cues, leading to rapid T cell egress from the islets. Coreceptor therapy therefore offers a robust approach to suppress T cell-mediated pathology by purging T cells in an inflammation-dependent manner.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies / pharmacology*
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / cytology*
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / cytology*
  • Chemotaxis*
  • Humans
  • Inflammation
  • Islets of Langerhans / cytology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / antagonists & inhibitors*

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell