Enforced IL-10 expression confers type 1 regulatory T cell (Tr1) phenotype and function to human CD4(+) T cells

Mol Ther. 2012 Sep;20(9):1778-90. doi: 10.1038/mt.2012.71. Epub 2012 Jun 12.

Abstract

Type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells are an inducible subset of CD4(+) Tr cells characterized by high levels of interleukin (IL)-10 production and regulatory properties. Several protocols to generate human Tr1 cells have been developed in vitro. However, the resulting population includes a significant fraction of contaminating non-Tr1 cells, representing a major bottleneck for clinical application of Tr1 cell therapy. We generated an homogeneous IL-10-producing Tr1 cell population by transducing human CD4(+) T cells with a bidirectional lentiviral vector (LV) encoding for human IL-10 and the marker gene, green fluorescent protein (GFP), which are independently coexpressed. The resulting GFP(+) LV-IL-10-transduced human CD4(+) T (CD4(LV-IL-10)) cells expressed, upon T-cell receptor (TCR) activation, high levels of IL-10 and concomitant low levels of IL-4, and markers associated with IL-10. Moreover, CD4(LV-IL-10) T cells displayed typical Tr1 features: the anergic phenotype, the IL-10, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β dependent suppression of allogeneic T-cell responses, and the ability to suppress in a cell-to-cell contact independent manner in vitro. CD4(LV-IL-10) T cells were able to control xeno graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), demonstrating their suppressive function in vivo. These results show that constitutive over-expression of IL-10 in human CD4(+) T cells leads to a stable cell population that recapitulates the phenotype and function of Tr1 cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Clonal Anergy
  • Dendritic Cells / cytology
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Female
  • Gene Expression*
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Graft vs Host Disease / immunology
  • Graft vs Host Disease / prevention & control*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Humans
  • Immunomodulation*
  • Interleukin-10 / biosynthesis
  • Interleukin-10 / genetics
  • Interleukin-10 / immunology*
  • Interleukin-4 / immunology
  • Lentivirus / genetics
  • Lymphocyte Activation / immunology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Nude
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / cytology
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / transplantation
  • Transduction, Genetic

Substances

  • Interleukin-10
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Interleukin-4