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Symbiotic microbes impact the severity of a variety of diseases through regulation of T-cell development. However, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms by which this is accomplished. Here we report that a secreted factor, Erdr1, is regulated by the microbiota to control T-cell apoptosis. Erdr1 expression was identified by transcriptome analysis to be elevated in splenic T cells from germfree and antibiotic-treated mice. Suppression of Erdr1 depends on detection of circulating microbial products by Toll-like receptors on T cells, and this regulation is conserved in human T cells. Erdr1 was found to function as an autocrine factor to induce apoptosis through caspase 3. Consistent with elevated levels of Erdr1, germfree mice have increased splenic T-cell apoptosis. RNA sequencing of Erdr1-overexpressing cells identified the up-regulation of genes involved in Fas-mediated cell death, and Erdr1 fails to induce apoptosis in Fas-deficient cells. Importantly, forced changes in Erdr1 expression levels dictate the survival of auto-reactive T cells and the clinical outcome of neuro-inflammatory autoimmune disease. Cellular survival is a fundamental feature regulating appropriate immune responses. We have identified a mechanism whereby the host integrates signals from the microbiota to control T-cell apoptosis, making regulation of Erdr1 a potential therapeutic target for autoimmune disease., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The mechanisms responsible for the down-modulation of the activation of separated CD4(+) or CD8(+) human T cell blasts were studied using cells obtained from healthy donors. In the absence of IL-2, human CD4(+) T cell blasts were sensitive to both FasL and Apo2L/TRAIL, but human CD8(+) T cell blasts died, with no additional effect of death receptor ligation. CD8(+) T cell blasts were more sensitive than CD4(+) T cell blasts to apoptosis induction by IL-2 deprivation, which was associated with a decrease in the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family, especially of Mcl-1 in CD8(+) T cell blasts. The maintenance of high levels of Bim expression was also necessary, since down-modulation of Bim expression by siRNA in normal human CD8(+) T cell blasts greatly reduced apoptosis by IL-2 deprivation. These data, together with previous works, point to an important role of the presence or absence of immuno-stimulatory cytokines in the type of regulation of human CD8(+) T cell responses (death by cytokine deprivation versus death receptor inhibition of cytokine-dependent growth).

Purified cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) proteases granzyme (gzm)A and gzmB with sublytic dose of perforin (perf) initiate distinct proapoptotic pathways. Their physiological relevance in CTL-mediated target cell apoptosis is elusive. Using ex vivo virus-immune CD8(+) T cells from mice deficient in perf, gzmA and/or gzmB, and the Fas-resistant EL4.F15 tumor target cell, we show that (a) CTL from gzmA(-/-) or gzmB(-/-) mice similarly induced early proapoptotic features, such as phosphatidyl serine (PS) exposure on plasma membrane, Delta Psi(m) loss, and reactive oxygen radical generation, though with distinct kinetics; (b) CTL from gzmA(-/-) but not from gzmB(-/-) mice activate caspase 3 and 9; (c) PS exposure induced by CTL from gzmA(-/-) or gzmB(-/-) mice is prevented, respectively, by caspase inhibitors or by reactive oxygen scavengers without interfering with target cell death; and (d) all gzm-induced apoptotic features analyzed depend critically on perf. Thus, perf is the principal regulator in CTL-mediated and gzm-facilitated intracellular processes. The ability of gzmA and gzmB to induce multiple independent cell death pathways may be the hosts response to circumvent evasion strategies of pathogens and tumors.

Apoptosis induced by cells from the immune system is frequently associated with an increase in the ceramide content of target cells, due to the activation of sphingomyelinases (SMase). Some studies have also reported the release of saturated and monounsaturated free fatty acids (FFA) from apoptotic cells. However, the possible relationship between these lipid biochemistry events has not been characterized. We have analysed for the first time the release of FFA triggered by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), Fas/CD95 or the perforin/granzyme system of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and their relationship to intracellular ceramide generation. TNF-alpha- and Fas-induced apoptosis are associated with both intracellular ceramide generation from sphingomyelin (SM) and release of palmitic-derived FFA, with similar kinetics. Intracellular SMase activation and FFA release from target cells during Fas-induced apoptosis are much more rapid and efficient if Fas-based cytotoxicity is exerted by alloantigenic CTL. In the case of perforin/granzyme-based cytotoxicity exerted by CTL, intracellular ceramide generation and FFA release from target cells seem to depend on the type of lysis induction used. Importantly, the correlation between intracellular SMase activation and the release of palmitic acid-derived FFA from target cells has been observed in all types of cytotoxicity assayed. In addition, exogenous natural ceramide induces the rapid release of the same FFA, well before any apoptotic sign is detected, and FFA release during Fas-induced apoptosis is inhibited in SM-depleted cells by chronic fumonisin-B(1) treatment. These results demonstrate a novel connection between the release of palmitic acid-derived FFA and intracellular ceramide accumulation during apoptosis induction.

Abstract: The mechanisms responsible for the down-modulation of the activation of separated CD4+ or CD8+ human T cell blasts were studied using cells obtained from healthy donors. In the absence of IL-2, human CD4+ T cell blasts were sensitive to both FasL and Apo2L/TRAIL, but human CD8+ T cell blasts died, with no additional effect of death receptor ligation. CD8+ T cell blasts were more sensitive than CD4+ T cell blasts to apoptosis induction by IL-2 deprivation, which was associated with a decrease in the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family, especially of Mcl-1 in CD8+ T cell blasts. The maintenance of high levels of Bim expression was also necessary, since down-modulation of Bim expression by siRNA in normal human CD8+ T cell blasts greatly reduced apoptosis by IL-2 deprivation. These data, together with previous works, point to an important role of the presence or absence of immuno-stimulatory cytokines in the type of regulation of human CD8+ T cell responses (death by cytokine deprivation versus death receptor inhibition of cytokine-dependent growth). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Interferon-α (IFN-α) is currently used for the therapy of multiple myeloma (MM) though it is only effective in some patients. IFN-α induces apoptosis in some MM cell lines and it has been proposed to occur through an autocrine loop involving Apo2L/TRAIL. We have analysed the sensitivity to IFN-α and Apo2L/TRAIL of five MM cell lines and found no correlation between the apoptosis inducing ability of both cytokines. IFN-α-induced apoptosis in MM cells was not prevented by a caspase-8 selective inhibitor (Z-IETD-fmk) or blocking Apo2L/TRAIL. However, human monocytes treated with IFN-α release bioactive Apo2L/TRAIL to culture media which was cytotoxic for MM cells resistant to IFN-α. We propose that Apo2L/TRAIL released from IFN-α-stimulated blood monocytes would be a major mediator of the anti-myeloma effect of IFN-α in vivo. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by chronic lymphoproliferation, autoimmune manifestations and expansion of TCRαβ +CD4−CD8− lymphocytes. The main pathogenic factor is a defective Fas-mediated apoptosis generally caused by mutations in the Fas gene. This report describes a new heterozygous Fas gene mutation in a boy with clinical and immunological features of ALPS. In vitro, T-cell blasts from the patient are completely resistant to the effects on the anti-Fas cytotoxic mAb CH-11, they also have a higher proliferation rate than T cells from healthy donors, while PHA-induced AICD is normal. The location of the mutation (I246S) found in the intracytoplasmic death domain, and the conservation of that residue in four different species from human suggest that I246 is an essential amino acid for Fas function. The patient has inherited the mutation from his father who also shows defective Fas-mediated apoptosis but the clinical and immunological manifestations are much less severe. These results provide evidence that the penetrance of genetic defects in Fas is variable and that other factors may influence the phenotype of the disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The infiltration and accumulation of T cells in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial fluid (SF) are hallmarks of disease. We aimed to assess the functional relevance of FasL and of APO2L/TRAIL in the persistence of T cells in the rheumatoid SF. We have analyzed the expression of the activation markers HLA-DR and CD69 and also of the death receptor Fas/CD95 and death ligands FasL or APO2L/TRAIL in CD3+ lymphocytes from SF of 62 RA patients, together with their sensitivity to anti-Fas mAb or to rAPO2L/TRAIL, using as controls T lymphocytes present in SF of 20 patients with traumatic arthritis. T lymphocytes infiltrated in SF of RA patients have a chronically activated phenotype, but they are resistant to Fas-induced toxicity. However, they are more susceptible to rAPO2L/TRAIL than T cells in the SF of traumatic arthritis patients. In addition, we found very low amounts of bioactive FasL and APO2L/TRAIL associated with exosomes in SF from RA patients as compared with SF from traumatic arthritis patients. The observation on the sensitivity of RA SF T cells to rAPO2L could have therapeutic implications because bioactive APO2L/TRAIL could be beneficial as a RA treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]