Estrogen Signaling in Bystander Foxp3neg CD4+ T Cells Suppresses Cognate Th17 Differentiation in Trans and Protects from Central Nervous System Autoimmunity

Abstract

17β-Estradiol (E2) suppresses the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) through estrogen receptor (ER) α, yet the cellular targets remain elusive. We have used an adoptive transfer model of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-specific CD4⁺ T cells from 2D2 TCR transgenic mice. We show that in the recipient mice, ERα expression in bystander CD4⁺ T cells, rather than in cognate 2D2 T cells, is required for the inhibition of Th17 cell differentiation by E2. Coadministration of estrogen-primed WT, but not ERα-deficient CD4⁺ T cells, with naive 2D2 T cells lacking ERα inhibited the development of Th17 cell-mediated EAE. Suppression of Th17 cells and protection from EAE were maintained when ERα was deleted in Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells. We showed that in vivo PD-L1 blockade alleviated the anti-inflammatory action of E2 and that PD-1 expression on cognate but not bystander T cells was required for the E2-dependent inhibition of Th17 differentiation. In cotransfer experiments, we found that only WT but not PD-1^KO 2D2 T cells were amenable to E2-dependent inhibition of Th17 differentiation. These results support the conclusion that the restriction of Th17 cell development by E2-primed bystander CD4⁺ T cells requires cell-intrinsic PD-1 signaling within cognate T cells rather than induction of regulatory 2D2 T cells through PD-1 engagement. Altogether, our results indicate that pregnancy-level concentrations of estrogen signal in conventional Foxp3^neg CD4⁺ T cells to limit the differentiation of cognate Th17 cells through a trans-acting mechanism of suppression that requires a functional PD-1/PD-L1 regulatory axis.