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Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells are innate lymphocytes that respond to glycolipids presented by the MHC class Ib molecule CD1d and are rapidly activated to produce large quantities of cytokines and chemokines. iNKT cell development uniquely depends on interactions between double-positive thymocytes that provide key homotypic interactions between signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) family members. However, the role of SLAM receptors in the differentiation of iNKT cell effector subsets and activation has not been explored. In this article, we show that C57BL/6 mice containing the New Zealand Black Slam locus have profound alterations in Ly108, CD150, and Ly9 expression that is associated with iNKT cell hyporesponsiveness. This loss of function was only apparent when dendritic cells and iNKT cells had a loss of SLAM receptor expression. Using small interfering RNA knockdowns and peptide-blocking strategies, we demonstrated that trans-Ly108 interactions between dendritic cells and iNKT cells are critical for robust activation. LY108 costimulation similarly increased human iNKT cell activation. Thus, in addition to its established role in iNKT cell ontogeny, Ly108 regulates iNKT cell function in mice and humans.

We showed previously that C57BL/6 congenic mice with an introgressed homozygous 70 cM (125.6 Mb) to 100 cM (179.8 Mb) interval on c1 from the lupus-prone New Zealand Black (NZB) mouse develop high titers of antinuclear Abs and severe glomerulonephritis. Using subcongenic mice, we found that a genetic locus in the 88–96 cM region was associated with altered dendritic cell (DC) function and synergized with T cell functional defects to promote expansion of pathogenic proinflammatory T cell subsets. In this article, we show that the promoter region of the NZB gene encoding the SLAM signaling pathway adapter molecule EWS-activated transcript 2 (EAT-2) is polymorphic, which results in an ∼70% reduction in EAT-2 in DC. Silencing of the EAT-2 gene in DC that lacked this polymorphism led to increased production of IL-12 and enhanced differentiation of T cells to a Th1 phenotype in T cell–DC cocultures, reproducing the phenotype observed for DC from congenic mice with the NZB c1 70–100 cM interval. SLAM signaling was shown to inhibit production of IL-12 by CD40L-activated DCs. Consistent with a role for EAT-2 in this inhibition, knockdown of EAT-2 resulted in increased production of IL-12 by CD40-stimulated DC. Assessment of downstream signaling following CD40 cross-linking in the presence or absence of SLAM cross-linking revealed that SLAM coengagement blocked activation of p38 MAPK and JNK signaling pathways in DC, which was reversed in DC with the NZB EAT-2 allele. We conclude that EAT-2 negatively regulates cytokine production in DC downstream of SLAM engagement and that a genetic polymorphism that disturbs this process promotes the development of lupus.

Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells are innate lymphocytes that respond to glycolipids presented by the MHC class Ib molecule CD1d and are rapidly activated to produce large quantities of cytokines and chemokines. iNKT cell development uniquely depends on interactions between double-positive thymocytes that provide key homotypic interactions between signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) family members. However, the role of SLAM receptors in the differentiation of iNKT cell effector subsets and activation has not been explored. In this article, we show that C57BL/6 mice containing the New Zealand Black

Investigation of co-distribution of 35 biomarkers simultaneously (major cell type and immune-oncology, stromal and tissue architecture markers, as well as cell proliferation and nuclear markers) in normal lymphoid sections using Imaging Mass Cytometry (Qing et al, Cytometry: Part A, 2017) is presented. Tonsil tissue revealed primary lymph follicles as dense clusters of lymphocytes expressing B-cell markers, surrounded by CD3, CD4, and CD8 T-cells. Secondary lymph follicles could be distinguished by proliferating B-cells with high Ki-67 expression. Strong expression of Bcl-6 was detected in germinal-center B-cells. Tonsillar FoxP3 CD8 T-cells exhibit a Treg phenotype with high CTLA-4 and CD45RO. CD68+ mac/mono were found in germinal centers and rarely in stroma. Squamous epithelium of crypts was beta-catenin positive and infiltrated by PD-L1+ T-cells, while PD-1+ cells were also found within the follicle centers. Images acquired on the Hyperion™ Imaging System (Fluidigm Inc.) were compared to immunofluorescence (IF) of sequential sections stained with the same antibodies (Ab) conjugated to fluorophores (FL). For direct comparison of IF and IMC, dual tagged Abs were created by attaching a metal tag first (Maxpar®, Fluidigm Inc.), then conjugating to FL using click chemistry. CD3 and CD19 were labeled with metals and FL, and tested in combination with the full panel on 8 μm frozen tonsil sections. CD3+ and CD19+ lymphs were identified by IF first, followed by IMC analysis. Results show that IMC is comparable to IF images and allows identification, characterization and localization of cell populations and tissue architecture in the absence of autofluorescence, photobleaching, with low background for acquisition of up to 50 targets.

Genetic loci on NZB c1 lead to antinuclear antibody (Ab) production and glomerulonephritis (GN). Using subcongenic lines, we found at least 5 genetic loci within a 35-106cM interval modulate disease. Notably, mice with a 70-100cM interval (c1(70-100cM)) develop high titre anti-dsDNA Ab, increased numbers of large germinal centers and severe GN a characteristic feature of lupus-prone mice with abnormalities of T follicular helper (TFH) and Th17 cells. In this study we determined whether variations in disease severity in c1 subcongenic mice are associated with differences in these subsets. The proportion of splenic TFH cells was significantly increased in c1(70-100) mice. Splenocytes from all c1 congenic mouse strains demonstrated increased production of IL-21 and IL-17 following anti-CD3/CD28 crosslinking which was greatest in c1(70-100) mice. The majority of IL-21 producing cells were TFH, many of which also secreted IFN-γ, but not IL-17. Immunization of 8-wk-old pre-autoimmune mice with ovalbumin (OVA) led to increased generation of TFH and Th17 cells in c1 (70-100) mice. This appeared to result in part from altered T cell function, as adoptively transferred OVA-specific TCR transgenic c1(70-100) T cells and naïve c1(70-100) T cells cultured in-vitro, demonstrated enhanced differentiation to TFH and IL-17-producing cells. Thus, genetic loci on NZB c1 promote differentiation of T cells to TFH and Th17 cells and this capacity correlates with the severity of disease.