The Presence and Preferential Activation of Regulatory T Cells Diminish Adoptive Transfer of Autoimmune Diabetes by Polyclonal Nonobese Diabetic (NOD) T Cell Effectors into NSG versus NOD-scid Mice.

Maximiliano Presa, Yi-Guang Chen, Alexandra E Grier, Edward H Leiter, Michael A Brehm, Dale L Greiner, Leonard D Shultz, David V Serreze

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 2015 Oct 1

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NOD-scid.Il2rg(null) (NSG) mice are currently being used as recipients to screen for pathogenic autoreactive T cells in type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients. We questioned whether the restriction of IL-2R γ-chain (Il-2rγ)-dependent cytokine signaling only to donor cells in NSG recipients differently influenced the activities of transferred diabetogenic T cells when they were introduced as a monoclonal/oligoclonal population versus being part of a polyclonal repertoire. Unexpectedly, a significantly decreased T1D transfer by splenocytes from prediabetic NOD donors was observed in Il-2rγ(null)-NSG versus Il-2rγ-intact standard NOD-scid recipients. In contrast, NOD-derived monoclonal/oligoclonal TCR transgenic β cell-autoreactive T cells in either the CD8 (AI4, NY8.3) or CD4 (BDC2.5) compartments transferred disease significantly more rapidly to NSG than to NOD-scid recipients. The reduced diabetes transfer efficiency by polyclonal T cells in NSG recipients was associated with enhanced activation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) mediated by NSG myeloid APC. This enhanced suppressor activity was associated with higher levels of Treg GITR expression in the presence of NSG than NOD-scid APC. These collective results indicate NSG recipients might be efficiently employed to test the activity of T1D patient-derived β cell-autoreactive T cell clones and lines, but, when screening for pathogenic effectors within polyclonal populations, Tregs should be removed from the transfer inoculum to avoid false-negative results. Copyright © 2015 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Citation

Maximiliano Presa, Yi-Guang Chen, Alexandra E Grier, Edward H Leiter, Michael A Brehm, Dale L Greiner, Leonard D Shultz, David V Serreze. The Presence and Preferential Activation of Regulatory T Cells Diminish Adoptive Transfer of Autoimmune Diabetes by Polyclonal Nonobese Diabetic (NOD) T Cell Effectors into NSG versus NOD-scid Mice. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 2015 Oct 1;195(7):3011-9