ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2300067
Samantha L Schroth, Rebecca T L Jones, Edward B Thorp
{"title":"Alloantigen Infusion Activates the Transcriptome of Type 2 Conventional Dendritic Cells.","authors":"Samantha L Schroth, Rebecca T L Jones, Edward B Thorp","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2300067","DOIUrl":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2300067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent studies have revealed novel molecular mechanisms by which innate monocytic cells acutely recognize and respond to alloantigen with significance to allograft rejection and tolerance. What remains unclear is the single-cell heterogeneity of the innate alloresponse, particularly the contribution of dendritic cell (DC) subsets. To investigate the response of these cells to exposure of alloantigen, C57BL/6J mice were administered live allogenic BALB/cJ splenic murine cells versus isogenic cells. In parallel, we infused apoptotic allogenic and isogenic cells, which have been reported to modulate immunity. Forty-eight hours after injection, recipient spleens were harvested, enriched for DCs, and subjected to single-cell mRNA sequencing. Injection of live cells induced a greater transcriptional change across DC subsets compared with apoptotic cells. In the setting of live cell infusion, type 2 conventional DCs (cDC2s) were most transcriptionally responsive with a Ccr2+ cDC2 subcluster uniquely responding to the presence of alloantigen compared with the isogenic control. In vitro experimentation confirmed unique activation of CCR2+ cDC2s following alloantigen exposure. Candidate receptors of allorecognition in other innate populations were interrogated and A type paired Ig-like receptors were found to be increased in the cDC2 population following alloexposure. These results illuminate previously unclear distinctions between therapeutic infusions of live versus apoptotic allogenic cells and suggest a role for cDC2s in innate allorecognition. More critically, these studies allow for future interrogation of the transcriptional response of immune cells in the setting of alloantigen exposure in vivo, encouraging assessment of novel pathways and previously unexamined receptors in this setting.</p>","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"7 10","pages":"683-693"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10615655/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49686607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2300047
Beulah E R Samuel, Teresia W Maina, Jodi L McGill
{"title":"Subcutaneous Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Administration Induces Innate Training in Monocytes in Preweaned Holstein Calves.","authors":"Beulah E R Samuel, Teresia W Maina, Jodi L McGill","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2300047","DOIUrl":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2300047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, administered to prevent tuberculosis, is a well-studied inducer of trained immunity in human and mouse monocytes. We have previously demonstrated that aerosol BCG administration induces innate training in calves. The current study aimed to determine whether s.c. BCG administration could induce innate training, identify the cell type involved, and determine whether innate training promoted resistance to bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infection, a major cause of bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves. A total of 24 calves were enrolled at 1-3 d of age and blocked by age into two treatment groups (BCG, n = 12; control, n = 12). BCG was given s.c. to preweaned calves. The control calves received PBS. We observed a trained phenotype, demonstrated by enhanced cytokine production in response to in vitro stimulation with LPS (TLR-4 agonist) in PBMCs and CD14+ monocytes from the BCG group 2 wk (IL-1β, p = 0.002) and 4 wk (IL-1β, p = 0.005; IL-6, p = 0.013) after BCG administration, respectively. Calves were experimentally infected via aerosol inoculation with BRSV strain 375 at 5 wk after BCG administration and necropsied on day 8 postinfection. There were no differences in disease manifestation between the treatment groups. Restimulation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells isolated on day 8 after BRSV infection revealed enhanced IL-1β (p = 0.014) and IL-6 (p = 0.010) production by the BCG group compared with controls. In conclusion, results from our study show that s.c. administration of the BCG vaccine can induce trained immunity in bovine monocytes and influence cytokine production in the lung environment after BRSV infection.</p>","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"7 9","pages":"626-634"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10587498/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41126156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2100091
Xiaoyong Chen, B. Cuffari, V. Dubljevic, Anupama R Shirali, Jiangbing Zhou, James A. Campbell, Stephen C Suits, K. O’Sullivan, J. Hansen
{"title":"Inhibition of NETosis by a Nuclear-Penetrating Anti-DNA Autoantibody","authors":"Xiaoyong Chen, B. Cuffari, V. Dubljevic, Anupama R Shirali, Jiangbing Zhou, James A. Campbell, Stephen C Suits, K. O’Sullivan, J. Hansen","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2100091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2100091","url":null,"abstract":"Nuclear-penetrating anti-DNA autoantibodies have therapeutic potential as delivery agents and in targeting DNA and the DNA damage response (DDR). Derivatives of such Abs have advanced to human testing in genetic disease and are in preparation for oncology clinical trials. DNA release associated with neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) contributes to immunity, inflammation, and the pathophysiology of multiple diseases. The DDR contributes to mechanisms of NETosis, and we hypothesize that anti-DNA autoantibodies that localize into live cell nuclei and inhibit DNA repair will suppress release of NETs by activated neutrophils. In the current study we evaluated the impact of a nuclear-penetrating anti-DNA autoantibody that interferes with the DDR on decondensation and release of DNA and NETs by activated human granulocyte-like differentiated PLB-985 cells and neutrophils isolated from C57BL/6 mice. The response of cells pretreated with control or autoantibody to subsequent stimulators of NETosis, including PMA and the calcium ionophore ionomycin, was evaluated by DAPI and SYTOX Green stains, measurement of DNA release, analysis of histone citrullination by Western blot, or visualization of NETs by immunostaining and confocal fluorescence microscopy. Autoantibody treatment of the cells yielded significant inhibition of NADPH oxidase–dependent and independent NETosis. These findings establish the concept of nuclear-penetrating anti-DNA autoantibodies as modulators of neutrophil biology with potential for use in strategies to suppress NETosis.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"356 - 365"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47867810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2200030
Jiaan Yang, Peng Zhang, Wenxiang Cheng, Gang Wu, Q. Niu, Lan Yang, Shun Luo, Xianghua Lin, Lianshan Zhang
{"title":"Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Epitope Mapping for Antibodies","authors":"Jiaan Yang, Peng Zhang, Wenxiang Cheng, Gang Wu, Q. Niu, Lan Yang, Shun Luo, Xianghua Lin, Lianshan Zhang","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2200030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2200030","url":null,"abstract":"Epitope mapping of the interactions between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Abs is challenging because of complexity in protein three-dimensional structures. Protein structure fingerprint technology was applied for epitope mapping of 44 SARS-CoV-2 Abs with three-dimensional structure complexes. The results defined how the epitopes were distributed on SARS-CoV-2 and how the patterns of six CDRs from Abs participated in neutralization. Also, the residue–residue recognition revealed that certain residues had higher frequencies on the interfaces between SARS-CoV-2 and Abs, and the activity correlated with the physicochemical properties of the residues at the interface. Thus, epitope mapping provides significant lead information for development of epitope-based designs for Abs, vaccines, and diagnostic reagents. This is a bioinformatics project of structural data analysis; no animals or cells were used.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"344 - 355"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44207926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2100104
Cora B Cox, Mike Castro, T. Brown, N. J. Bigley
{"title":"IL-10 and TGF-β Increase Connexin-43 Expression and Membrane Potential of HL-1 Cardiomyocytes Coupled with RAW 264.7 Macrophages","authors":"Cora B Cox, Mike Castro, T. Brown, N. J. Bigley","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2100104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2100104","url":null,"abstract":"Cardiac resident macrophages facilitate electrical conduction by interacting with cardiomyocytes via connexin-43 (Cx43) hemichannels. Cx43 is critical for impulse propagation and coordination between muscle contractions. Cardiomyocyte electrophysiology can be altered when coupled with noncardiomyocyte cell types such as M2c tissue-resident macrophages. Using cocultures of murine HL-1 cardiomyocytes and RAW 264.7 macrophages, we examined the hypothesis that cytokine signals, TGF-β1 and IL-10, upregulate Cx43 expression at points of contact between the two cell types. These cytokine signals maintain the macrophages in an M2c anti-inflammatory phenotype, mimicking cardiac resident macrophages. The electrophysiology of cardiomyocytes was examined using di-8-ANEPPS potentiometric dye, which reflects a change in membrane potential. Greater fluorescence intensity of di-8-ANEPPS occurred in areas where macrophages interacted with cardiomyocytes. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) peptide mimetic downregulated fluorescence of this membrane potentiometric stain. Cx43 expression in cocultures was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Confocal images of these interactions demonstrate the Cx43 hemichannel linkages between the cardiomyocytes and macrophages. These results suggest that TGF-β1 and IL-10 upregulate Cx43 hemichannels, thus enhancing macrophage–cardiomyocyte coupling, raising the cellular resting membrane potential and leading to a more excitatory cardiomyocyte.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"334 - 343"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47679472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-05-26DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2200031
Michael K Tu, Samantha H Chiang, David T W Wong, Charles M Strom
{"title":"Variability in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 IgG Antibody Affinity to Omicron and Delta Variants in Convalescent and Community mRNA-Vaccinated Individuals.","authors":"Michael K Tu, Samantha H Chiang, David T W Wong, Charles M Strom","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2200031","DOIUrl":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2200031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emergence of the omicron and delta variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has begun a number of discussions regarding breakthrough infection, waning immunity, need and timing for vaccine boosters, and whether existing mRNA vaccines for the original SARS-CoV-2 strain are adequate. Our work leverages a biosensor-based technique to evaluate the binding efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 S1-specific salivary Abs to the omicron and delta variants using a cohort of mRNA-vaccinated (<i>n</i> = 109) and convalescent (<i>n</i> = 19) subjects. We discovered a wide range of binding efficacies to the variant strains, with a mean reduction of 60.5, 26.7, and 14.7% in measurable signal to the omicron strain and 13.4, 2.4, and -6.4% mean reduction to the delta variant for convalescent, Pfizer-, and Moderna-vaccinated groups, respectively. This assay may be an important tool in determining susceptibility to infection or need for booster immunization as the pandemic evolves.</p>","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"307-311"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10858985/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47841986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-05-01DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.28.22274443
R. Kedl, Elena W Y Hsieh, T. Morrison, Gabriela Samayoa-Reyes, Siobhan Flaherty, Conner L Jackson, R. Rochford
{"title":"Evidence for Aerosol Transfer of SARS-CoV2-specific Humoral Immunity","authors":"R. Kedl, Elena W Y Hsieh, T. Morrison, Gabriela Samayoa-Reyes, Siobhan Flaherty, Conner L Jackson, R. Rochford","doi":"10.1101/2022.04.28.22274443","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.28.22274443","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Despite the obvious knowledge that infectious particles can be shared through respiration, whether other constituents of the nasal/oral fluids can be passed between hosts has surprisingly never even been postulated, let alone investigated. The circumstances of the present pandemic facilitated a unique opportunity to fully examine this provocative idea. The data we show provides evidence for a new mechanism by which herd immunity may be manifested, the aerosol transfer of antibodies between immune and non- immune hosts.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"7 5 1","pages":"307-309"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44108510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-05-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2200004
S. Pandey, Heather A. Bruns, D. Condry, Adam J. Kleinschmit, Archana Lal, Sarah Sletten, R. Sparks-Thissen, T. Vanniasinkam, Rebekah T. Taylor, L. Justement, Samantha L. Elliott
{"title":"Antigen and Immunogen: An Investigation into the Heterogeneity of Immunology Terminology in Learning Resources","authors":"S. Pandey, Heather A. Bruns, D. Condry, Adam J. Kleinschmit, Archana Lal, Sarah Sletten, R. Sparks-Thissen, T. Vanniasinkam, Rebekah T. Taylor, L. Justement, Samantha L. Elliott","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2200004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2200004","url":null,"abstract":"The need to focus on immunology education has never been greater. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has revealed that a significant proportion of our society is vaccine hesitant. Some of this hesitancy may stem from a general lack of understanding of how the immune system and immunological interventions work. In addition, social media platforms undercut public health efforts by quickly propagating a multitude of misconceptions and erroneous information surrounding the science behind these interventions. The responsibility to be advocates for science is well recognized by immunology researchers, educators, and public health professionals, as evidenced by the rich body of resources developed to communicate science to the lay audience. Scientific jargon, however, can be a barrier to effective communication and can negatively impact learning and comprehension. The field of immunology is especially laden with discipline-specific terminology, which can hamper educators’ efforts to convey key concepts to learners. Furthermore, a lack of consistency in accepted definitions can complicate students’ conceptual understanding. Learning resources, including textbooks, published in print or available online, and exclusively digital resources, continue to serve as the primary sources of information for both educators and students. In this article, we describe a vast heterogeneity in learning resource glossary descriptions of two key conceptual terms: antigen and immunogen. We provide a perspective on pedagogical strategies to address these critical terms. Using current knowledge, we recommend an approach to standardize the definitions of the terms antigen and immunogen within the immunology educator community.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"312 - 323"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45770553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-05-01DOI: 10.4049/immunohorizons.2200028
Yue-yi Wang, Li Nie, Xiao-xiao Xu, Tong Shao, Dong-dong Fan, Ai-fu Lin, L. Xiang, J. Shao
{"title":"Essential Role of RIG-I in Hematopoietic Precursor Emergence in Primitive Hematopoiesis during Zebrafish Development","authors":"Yue-yi Wang, Li Nie, Xiao-xiao Xu, Tong Shao, Dong-dong Fan, Ai-fu Lin, L. Xiang, J. Shao","doi":"10.4049/immunohorizons.2200028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2200028","url":null,"abstract":"Retinoic acid–inducible gene I (RIG-I) is an important cytosolic pattern recognition receptor crucial for sensing RNA virus infection and initiating innate immune responses. However, the participation of RIG-I in cellular development under physiological conditions remains limited. In this study, the regulatory role of RIG-I in embryonic hematopoiesis was explored in a zebrafish model. Results showed that rig-I was ubiquitously expressed during embryogenesis at 24 h postfertilization (hpf). A defect in RIG-I remarkably disrupted the emergence of primitive hematopoietic precursors and subsequent myeloid and erythroid lineages. In contrast, RIG-I deficiency did not have an influence on the generation of endothelial precursors and angiogenesis and the development of mesoderm and adjacent tissues. The alteration in these phenotypes was confirmed by whole-mount in situ hybridization with lineage-specific markers. In addition, immunostaining and TUNEL assays excluded the abnormal proliferation and apoptosis of hematopoietic precursors in RIG-I–deficient embryos. Mechanistically, RIG-I regulates primitive hematopoiesis through downstream IFN signaling pathways, as shown by the decline in ifnφ2 and ifnφ3 expression, along with rig-I knockdown, and rescue of the defects of hematopoietic precursors in RIG-I–defective embryos after administration with ifnφ2 and ifnφ3 mRNAs. Additionally, the defects of hematopoietic precursors in RIG-I morphants could be efficiently rescued by the wild-type RIG-I but could not be restored by the RNA-binding–defective RIG-I with site mutations at the RNA-binding pocket, which are essential for association with RNAs. This finding suggested that endogenous RNAs may serve as agonists to activate RIG-I–modulated primitive hematopoiesis. This study revealed the functional diversity of RIG-I under physiological conditions far beyond that previously known.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"283 - 298"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45106460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ImmunoHorizonsPub Date : 2022-04-20DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.20.488956
Wendy M. Zinzow-Kramer, E. Kolawole, J. Eggert, B. Evavold, Christopher D. Scharer, Byron B. Au-Yeung
{"title":"Strong Basal/Tonic TCR Signals Are Associated with Negative Regulation of Naive CD4+ T Cells","authors":"Wendy M. Zinzow-Kramer, E. Kolawole, J. Eggert, B. Evavold, Christopher D. Scharer, Byron B. Au-Yeung","doi":"10.1101/2022.04.20.488956","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.20.488956","url":null,"abstract":"T cells experience varying intensities of tonic or basal TCR signaling in response to self-peptides presented by MHC (self-pMHC) in vivo. We analyzed four subpopulations of mouse naive CD4+ cells that express different levels of Nur77-GFP and Ly6C, surrogate markers that positively and inversely correlate with the strength of tonic TCR signaling, respectively. Adoptive transfer studies suggest that relatively weak or strong Nur77-GFP intensity in thymocytes tends to be maintained in mature T cells. Two-dimensional affinity measurements were lowest for Nur77-GFPloLy6C+ cells and highest for Nur77-GFPhiLy6C− cells, highlighting a positive correlation between apparent TCR affinity and tonic TCR signal strength. Despite experiencing the strongest tonic TCR signaling, Nur77-GFPhiLy6C− cells were least responsive to multiple concentrations of a cognate or suboptimal pMHC. Gene expression analyses suggest that Nur77-GFPhiLy6C− cells induce a gene expression program that has similarities with that of acutely stimulated T cells. However, strong tonic TCR signaling also correlates with increased expression of genes with inhibitory functions, including coinhibitory receptors. Similarly, assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing analyses suggested that increased tonic TCR signal strength correlated with increased chromatin accessibility associated with genes that have positive and inhibitory roles in T cell activation. Strikingly, Nur77-GFPhiLy6C− cells exhibited differential accessibility within regions of Cd200r1 and Tox that were similar in location to differentially accessible regions previously identified in exhausted CD8+ T cells. We propose that constitutive strong tonic TCR signaling triggers adaptations detectable at both the transcriptional and epigenetic levels, ultimately contributing to the tuning of T cell responsiveness.","PeriodicalId":94037,"journal":{"name":"ImmunoHorizons","volume":"6 1","pages":"671 - 683"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46161641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}