Antigen-driven PD-1+ TOX+ BHLHE40+ and PD-1+ TOX+ EOMES+ T lymphocytes regulate juvenile idiopathic arthritis in situ

Patrick Maschmeyer, Gitta Anne Heinz, Christopher Mark Skopnik, Lisanne Lutter, Alessio Mazzoni, Frederik Heinrich, Sae Lim von Stuckrad, Lorenz Elias Wirth, Cam Loan Tran, René Riedel, Katrin Lehmann, Imme Sakwa, Rolando Cimaz, Francesco Giudici, Marcus Alexander Mall, Philipp Enghard, Bas Vastert, Hyun-Dong Chang, Pawel Durek, Francesco AnnunziatoFemke van Wijk, Andreas Radbruch, Tilmann Kallinich, Mir-Farzin Mashreghi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

T lymphocytes accumulate in inflamed tissues of patients with chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) and express pro-inflammatory cytokines upon re-stimulation in vitro. Further, a significant genetic linkage to MHC genes suggests that T lymphocytes play an important role in the pathogenesis of CIDs including juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). However, the functions of T lymphocytes in established disease remain elusive. Here we dissect the transcriptional and the clonal heterogeneity of synovial T lymphocytes in JIA patients by single-cell RNA sequencing combined with T cell receptor profiling on the same cells. We identify clonally expanded subpopulations of T lymphocytes expressing genes reflecting recent activation by antigen in situ. A PD-1+ TOX+ EOMES+ population of CD4+ T lymphocytes expressed immune regulatory genes and chemoattractant genes for myeloid cells. A PD-1+ TOX+ BHLHE40+ population of CD4+ , and a mirror population of CD8+ T lymphocytes expressed genes driving inflammation, and genes supporting B lymphocyte activation in situ. This analysis points out that multiple types of T lymphocytes have to be targeted for therapeutic regeneration of tolerance in arthritis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)915-929
Number of pages15
JournalEuropean Journal of Immunology
Volume51
Issue number4
Early online date9 Dec 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2021

Keywords

  • BHLHE40
  • chronic inflammation
  • EOMES
  • juvenile idiopathic arthritis
  • PD-1
  • T cells
  • TOX

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Antigen-driven PD-1+ TOX+ BHLHE40+ and PD-1+ TOX+ EOMES+ T lymphocytes regulate juvenile idiopathic arthritis in situ'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this