A Key Role for Inhibins in Dendritic Cell Maturation and Function

PLoS One. 2016 Dec 9;11(12):e0167813. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167813. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Inhibins are members of the TGFβ superfamily, which regulate many cellular processes including differentiation, proliferation, survival and apoptosis. Although initially described as hormones regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis, based on their ability to antagonize Activins, our group has recently reported that they play a role in thymocyte differentiation and survival, as well as in thymic stromal cell maturation and nTreg generation. Here, we used Inhibin knock out mice (Inhα-/-) to investigate the role of Inhibins in peripheral dendritic cell maturation and function. We first demonstrated that LPS treated Inhα+/+ bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDC) were capable to produce significant levels of Inhibin A. Interestingly, Inhα-/- BMDC showed reduced MHCII and CD86 upregulation and increased PD-L1 expression in response to LPS compared to Inhα+/+, which correlated with reduced ability to induce proliferation of allogeneic T cells. The "semi-mature" phenotype displayed by Inhα-/- mBMDC correlated with increased levels of IL-10 and slightly decreased IL-6 production after LPS stimulation. In addition, Inhα-/- mBMDC showed impaired migration towards CCL19 and CCL21, assessed by in vitro chemotaxis and in vivo competitive homing experiments, despite their normal CCR7 expression. Furthermore, in vivo LPS-induced DC maturation was also diminished in Inhα-/- mice, specially within the LC (CD207+ CD11b+ CD103-) subpopulation. Finally, analysis of delayed type hypersensitivity responses in Inhα-/- mice, showed reduced ear swelling as a result of reduced cellular infiltration in the skin, correlating with impaired homing of CD207+ DCs to the draining lymph nodes. In summary, our data demonstrate for the first time that Inhibins play a key role in peripheral DC maturation and function, regulating the balance between immunity and tolerance.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / physiology*
  • Dendritic Cells / cytology*
  • Dendritic Cells / metabolism
  • Hypersensitivity, Delayed
  • Inhibins / physiology*
  • Interleukin-10 / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Phosphorylation
  • T-Lymphocytes / cytology

Substances

  • Interleukin-10
  • Inhibins

Grants and funding

The study was funded by Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA) UNAM, Mexico;http://dgapa.unam.mx; Grant # IN209615.ROA was a student in the Ph.D program “Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Bioquímicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México”. ROA and MFG were recipients of pre-doctoral fellowships from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), Mexico; http://www.conacyt.gob.mx, ROA # 339203; MFG # 344606. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.