Tnfrsf4-expressing regulatory T cells promote immune escape of chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells

Autor: Magdalena Hinterbrandner, Viviana Rubino, Carina Stoll, Stefan Forster, Noah Schnüriger, Ramin Radpour, Gabriela M. Baerlocher, Adrian F. Ochsenbein, Carsten Riether
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: JCI Insight, Vol 6, Iss 23 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2379-3708
DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.151797
Popis: Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) promote the disease and seem resistant to therapy and immune control. Why LSCs are selectively resistant against elimination by CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) is still unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that LSCs in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) can be recognized and killed by CD8+ CTLs in vitro. However, Tregs, which preferentially localized close to CD8+ CTLs in CML BM, protected LSCs from MHC class I–dependent CD8+ CTL–mediated elimination in vivo. BM Tregs in CML were characterized by the selective expression of tumor necrosis factor receptor 4 (Tnfrsf4). Stimulation of Tnfrsf4 signaling did not deplete Tregs but reduced the capacity of Tregs to protect LSCs from CD8+ CTL–mediated killing. In the BM of newly diagnosed CML patients, TNFRSF4 mRNA levels were significantly increased and correlated with the expression of the Treg-restricted transcription factor FOXP3. Overall, these results identify Tregs as key regulators of immune escape of LSCs and TNFRSF4 as a potential target to reduce the function of Tregs and boost antileukemic immunity in CML.
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