Name: generation of induced regulatory t cells from primary human na&iuml;ve and memory t cells
Uploaded: 2012-04-16T12:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Generation of Induced Regulatory T Cells from Primary Human NaÃ¯ve and Memory T Cells at JoVE.com

The authors wish to thank Jennifer Strange and Greg Bauman for their assistance with Flow Cytometry analysis and sorting. This work was supported by the NIH Grant Number 2P20 RR020171 from the NCRR and by University of Kentucky startup funds to F.M.; G.I.E. acknowledges the support of the Presidential Graduate Fellowship and the Kentucky Opportunity Fellowship.

1. Isolation of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) from Buffy Coat
<ol>
 <li>Acquire one unit of buffy coat from hospital or nearby blood center location. Our blood center provides us with about 40-60 mL of buffy coat per unit obtained from normal blood donors.</li>
 <li>Pour blood into an autoclaved 500 mL glass bottle containing sterile PBS to dilute buffy coat. The final volume of PBS + buffy coat should be 250 mL.</li>
 <li>Fill ten 50 mL conical tubes each with 20 mL Lymphoprep solution.</li>
 <li>Ge...

<ol>
	<li>Powrie, F., Correa-Oliveira, R., Mauze, S., Coffman, R. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Regulatory+interactions+between+CD45RBhigh+and+CD45RBlow+CD4++T+cells+are+important+for+the+balance+between+protective+and+pathogenic+cell-mediated+immunity.">Regulatory interactions between CD45RBhigh and CD45RBlow CD4+ T cells are important for the balance between protective and pathogenic cell-mediated immunity.</a> The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 179, 589-600 (1994).</li><li>Tarbell, K. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dendritic+cell-expanded,+islet-specific+CD4++CD25++CD62L++regulatory+T+cells+restore+normoglycemia+in+diabetic+NOD+mice.">Dendritic cell-expanded, islet-specific CD4+ CD25+ CD62L+ regulatory T cells restore normoglycemia in diabetic NOD mice.</a> The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 204, 191-201 (2007).</li><li>Morgan, M. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effective+treatment+of+collagen-induced+arthritis+by+adoptive+transfer+of+CD25++regulatory+T+cells.">Effective treatment of collagen-induced arthritis by adoptive transfer of CD25+ regulatory T cells.</a> Arthritis and Rheumatism. 52, 2212-2221 (2005).</li><li>Taylor, P. A., Lees, C. J., Blazar, B. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+infusion+of+ex+vivo+activated+and+expanded+CD4(+)CD25(+)+immune+regulatory+cells+inhibits+graft-versus-host+disease+lethality.">The infusion of ex vivo activated and expanded CD4(+)CD25(+) immune regulatory cells inhibits graft-versus-host disease lethality.</a> Blood. 99, 3493-3493 (2002).</li><li>Ziegler, S. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=FOXP3:+of+mice+and+men.">FOXP3: of mice and men.</a> Annual Review of Immunology. 24, 209-226 (2006).</li><li>Riley, J. L., June, C. H., Blazar, B. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Human+T+regulatory+cell+therapy:+take+a+billion+or+so+and+call+me+in+the+morning.">Human T regulatory cell therapy: take a billion or so and call me in the morning.</a> Immunity. 30, 656-6565 (2009).</li><li>Morgan, M. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Expression+of+FOXP3+mRNA+is+not+confined+to+CD4+CD25++T+regulatory+cells+in+humans.">Expression of FOXP3 mRNA is not confined to CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells in humans.</a> Human Immunology. 66, 13-20 (2005).</li><li>Wang, J., Huizinga, T. W. J., Toew, R. E. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=De+Novo+Generation+and+Enhanced+Suppression+of+Human+CD4+CD25++Regulatory+T+Cells+by+Retinoic+Acid.">De Novo Generation and Enhanced Suppression of Human CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells by Retinoic Acid.</a> Journal of Immunology. 183, 4119-4126 (2009).</li><li>Hori, S., Nomura, T., Sakaguchi, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Control+of+regulatory+T+cell+development+by+the+transcription+factor+Foxp3.">Control of regulatory T cell development by the transcription factor Foxp3.</a> Science (New York, N.Y.). 299, 1057-1061 (2003).</li><li>McHugh, R. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CD4(+)CD25(+)+immunoregulatory+T+cells:+gene+expression+analysis+reveals+a+functional+role+for+the+glucocorticoid-induced+TNF+receptor.">CD4(+)CD25(+) immunoregulatory T cells: gene expression analysis reveals a functional role for the glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor.</a> Immunity. 16, 311-323 (2002).</li><li>Takahashi, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Immunologic+Self-Tolerance+Maintained+by+Cd25+Cd4+Regulatory+T+Cells+Constitutively+Expressing+Cytotoxic+T+Lymphocyte-Associated+Antigen+4.">Immunologic Self-Tolerance Maintained by Cd25+Cd4+Regulatory T Cells Constitutively Expressing Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-Associated Antigen 4.</a> The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 192, 303-310 (2000).</li><li>Liu, W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CD127+expression+inversely+correlates+with+FoxP3+and+suppressive+function+of+human+CD4++T+reg+cells.">CD127 expression inversely correlates with FoxP3 and suppressive function of human CD4+ T reg cells.</a> The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 203, 1701-1711 (2006).</li><li>Schraven, B., Kalinke, U. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CD28+superagonists:+what+makes+the+difference+in+humans.">CD28 superagonists: what makes the difference in humans.</a> Immunity. 28, 591-595 (2008).</li><li>Reneer, M. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Peripherally+induced+human+Regulatory+T+cells+uncouple+Kv1.3+activation+from+TCR-associated+signaling.">Peripherally induced human Regulatory T cells uncouple Kv1.3 activation from TCR-associated signaling.</a> European Journal of Immunology. , (2011).</li></ol>

While Treg transfer holds enormous therapeutic promise in combating autoimmunity graft rejection and other immune or inflammatory-mediated disorders, methods for their efficient generation and stable maintenance have not yet been developed. As only 1-5% of circulating human T cells are Tregs, their controlled expansion and differentiation overcomes this paucity as a major deterrent of implementation of Tregs into the clinic. On the other hand, as we learned from the TGN1412 trial13 , it is scientifically and e...

<table border="1">
 <tr>
 <td>Name of the reagent</td>
 <td>Company</td>
 <td>Catalogue Number</td>
 <td>Comments</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Lymphoprep</td>
 <td>Axis-Shield</td>
 <td>1114547</td>
 <td>Keep at room temperature</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Refrigerated Bench-Top Centrifuge</td>
 <td>Eppendorf</td>
 <td>5810R</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Bright-Line Hemocytometer</td>
 <td>Hausser Scientific</td>
 <td>3110</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>EasySep Human CD4+ T Cell Enrichment Kit</td>
 <td>Stem Cell Technologies</td>
 <td>19052</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>EasySep Human Memory CD4+ T Cell Enrichment Kit </td>
 <td>Stem Cell Technologies</td>
 <td>19157</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>EasySep Human Na&iuml;ve CD4+ T Cell Enrichment Kit</td>
 <td>Stem Cell Technologies</td>
 <td>19155</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>The Big Easy EasySep Magnet</td>
 <td>Stem Cell Technologies</td>
 <td>18001</td>
 <td>Silver</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>5 mL Round Bottom Polystyrene Tubes</td>
 <td>BD Falcon</td>
 <td>352008</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>15 mL Polypropylene Centrifuge Tubes</td>
 <td>VWR</td>
 <td>89004-368</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>14 mL Polypropylene Round-Bottom Tubes</td>
 <td>BD Falcon</td>
 <td>352059</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>50 mL Polypropylene Centrifuge Tubes</td>
 <td>VWR</td>
 <td>89004-364</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Human anti-CD3 Antibody</td>
 <td>Bio X Cell</td>
 <td>BE0001-2</td>
 <td>Clone: OKT3</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>24 Well Cell Polystyrene Culture Plate</td>
 <td>BD Falcon</td>
 <td>353047</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>96 Well Round Bottom Tissue Culture Plate</td>
 <td>Grenier Bio-One</td>
 <td>650180</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>RPMI 1640 with Glutamax-I and HEPES Buffer</td>
 <td>Gibco</td>
 <td>72400</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)</td>
 <td>Gibco</td>
 <td>16000</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>&beta;-Mercaptoethanol</td>
 <td>Sigma</td>
 <td>M7522</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Recombinant Human TGF-&beta;1</td>
 <td>eBioscience</td>
 <td>14-8348-62</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Recombinant Human IL-2</td>
 <td>eBioscience</td>
 <td>14-8029-63</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)</td>
 <td>MP Biomedicals Inc.</td>
 <td>810531</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>0.5 M EDTA</td>
 <td>Amresco</td>
 <td>E177</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Mouse Anti-Human CD25-PE</td>
 <td>Miltenyi Biotec</td>
 <td>130-091-024</td>
 <td>Clone: 4E3</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Mouse Anti-Human CD45RA-PE-Cy5</td>
 <td>eBioscience</td>
 <td>15-0458-42</td>
 <td>Clone: HI100</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Mouse Anti-Human CD127-APC</td>
 <td>Miltenyi Biotec</td>
 <td>130-094-890</td>
 <td>Clone: MB15-18C9</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>DNase II</td>
 <td>MP Biomedicals Inc.</td>
 <td>190370</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>MoFlo Flow Cytometer</td>
 <td>Beckman Coulter</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>FlowJo Software</td>
 <td>Tree Star, Inc.</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Cell Quest Pro Software</td>
 <td>BD Biosciences</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Newborn Calf Serum </td>
 <td>Gibco</td>
 <td>16010</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>L-glutamine</td>
 <td>Gibco</td>
 <td>25030</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>AIM-V</td>
 <td>Gibco</td>
 <td>0870112</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>CellTrace CFSE Cell Proliferation Kit</td>
 <td>Invitrogen</td>
 <td>C34554</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Treg Suppression Inspector Beads</td>
 <td>Miltenyi Biotec</td>
 <td>130-092-909</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Penicillin-Streptomycin</td>
 <td>Gibco</td>
 <td>15140</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>40 &mu;M Nylon Cell Strainer</td>
 <td>BD Falcon</td>
 <td>352340</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
</table>

generation of induced regulatory t cells from primary human na&iuml;ve and memory t cells

The development and maintenance of immunosuppressive CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) contribute to the peripheral tolerance needed to remain in immunologic homeostasis with the vast amount of self and commensal antigens in and on the human body. Perturbations in the balance between Tregs and inflammatory conventional T cells can result in immunopathology or cancer. Although therapeutic injection of Tregs has been shown to be efficacious in murine models of colitis1 , type I diabetes2 , rheumatoid arthritis and graft versus host disease,4 several fundamental differences in human versus mouse Treg biology5 has thus far precluded clinical use. The lack of sufficient number, purity, stability and homing specificity of therapeutic Tregs necessitated a dynamic platform of human Treg development on which to optimize conditions for their ex vivo expansion6.
Here we describe a method for the differentiation of induced Tregs (iTregs) from a single human peripheral blood donor which can be broken down into four stages: isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, magnetic selection of CD4+ T cells, in vitro cell culture and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) of T cell subsets. Since the Treg signature transcription factor forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) is an activation-induced transcription factor in humans7 and no other unique marker exists, a combinatorial panel of markers must be used to identify T cells with suppressor activity. After six days in culture, cells in our system can be demarcated into na&iuml;ve T cells, memory T cells or iTregs based on their relative expression of CD25 and CD45RA. As memory and na&iuml;ve T cells have different reported polarization requirements and plasticities8 , pre-sorting of the initial T cell population into CD45RA+ and CD45RO+ subsets can be used to examine these discrepancies. Consistent with others, our CD25HiCD45RA- iTregs express high levels of FoxP39 , GITR and CTLA-411 and low levels of CD12712 . Following FACS of each population, resultant cells can be used in a suppressor assay which evaluates the relative ability to retard the proliferation of carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-labeled autologous T cells.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Generation of Induced Regulatory T Cells from Primary Human NaÃ¯ve and Memory T Cells at JoVE.com

Generation of Induced Regulatory T Cells from Primary Human Na&#239;ve and Memory T Cells

We describe a method for generating regulatory, memory and na&#239;ve T cells from a single human blood donor. Polarized Tregs can be then compared to other subsets in a variety of genetic and functional applications with genetic homogeneity, including a suppression assay also detailed here.

Generation of Induced Regulatory T Cells from Primary Human Na&iuml;ve and Memory T Cells

The development and maintenance of immunosuppressive CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) contribute to the peripheral tolerance needed to remain in ...

generation-induced-regulatory-t-cells-from-primary-human-naive-memory

Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

Retroviral Transduction of T-cell Receptors in Mouse T-cells

T-cell receptors (TCRs) play a central role in the immune system. TCRs on T-cell surfaces can specifically recognize peptide antigens presented by antigen presenting cells (APCs)1. This recognition leads to the activation of T-cells and a series of functional outcomes (e.g. cytokine production, killing of the target cells). Understanding the functional role of TCRs is critical to harness the power of the immune system to treat a variety of immunology related diseases (e.g. cancer or autoimmunity).
It is convenient to study TCRs in mouse models, which can be accomplished in several ways. Making TCR transgenic mouse models is costly and time-consuming and currently there are only a limited number of them available2-4. Alternatively, mice with antigen-specific T-cells can be generated by bone marrow chimera. This method also takes several weeks and requires expertise5. Retroviral transduction of TCRs into in vitro activated mouse T-cells is a quick and relatively easy method to obtain T-cells of desired peptide-MHC specificity. Antigen-specific T-cells can be generated in one week and used in any downstream applications. Studying transduced T-cells also has direct application to human immunotherapy, as adoptive transfer of human T-cells transduced with antigen-specific TCRs is an emerging strategy for cancer treatment6.
Here we present a protocol to retrovirally transduce TCRs into in vitro activated mouse T-cells. Both human and mouse TCR genes can be used. Retroviruses carrying specific TCR genes are generated and used to infect mouse T-cells activated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. After in vitro expansion, transduced T-cells are analyzed by flow cytometry.

We present a protocol to produce antigen-specific mouse T-cells using retroviral transduction

T-cell receptors (TCRs) play a central role in the immune system. TCRs on T-cell surfaces can specifically recognize peptide antigens presented by antigen ...

Directed Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells towards T Lymphocytes

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of antigen-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) is a promising treatment for a variety of malignancies 1. CTLs can recognize malignant cells by interacting tumor antigens with the T cell receptors (TCR), and release cytotoxins as well as cytokines to kill malignant cells. It is known that less-differentiated and central-memory-like (termed highly reactive) CTLs are the optimal population for ACT-based immunotherapy, because these CTLs have a high proliferative potential, are less prone to apoptosis than more differentiated cells and have a higher ability to respond to homeostatic cytokines 2-7. However, due to difficulties in obtaining a high number of such CTLs from patients, there is an urgent need to find a new approach to generate highly reactive Ag-specific CTLs for successful ACT-based therapies.
TCR transduction of the self-renewable stem cells for immune reconstitution has a therapeutic potential for the treatment of diseases 8-10. However, the approach to obtain embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from patients is not feasible. Although the use of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for therapeutic purposes has been widely applied in clinic 11-13, HSCs have reduced differentiation and proliferative capacities, and HSCs are difficult to expand in in vitro cell culture 14-16. Recent iPS cell technology and the development of an in vitro system for gene delivery are capable of generating iPS cells from patients without any surgical approach. In addition, like ESCs, iPS cells possess indefinite proliferative capacity in vitro, and have been shown to differentiate into hematopoietic cells. Thus, iPS cells have greater potential to be used in ACT-based immunotherapy compared to ESCs or HSCs.
Here, we present methods for the generation of T lymphocytes from iPS cells in vitro, and in vivo programming of antigen-specific CTLs from iPS cells for promoting cancer immune surveillance. Stimulation in vitro with a Notch ligand drives T cell differentiation from iPS cells, and TCR gene transduction results in iPS cells differentiating into antigen-specific T cells in vivo, which prevents tumor growth. Thus, we demonstrate antigen-specific T cell differentiation from iPS cells. Our studies provide a potentially more efficient approach for generating antigen-specific CTLs for ACT-based therapies and facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies for diseases.

Generation of T lymphocytes from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells gives an alternative approach of using embryonic stem cells for T cell-based immunotherapy. The method shows that by utilizing either in vitro or in vivo induction system, iPS cells are able to differentiate into both conventional and antigen-specific T lymphocytes.

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of antigen-specific CD8+  cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) is a promising treatment for a variety of  malignancies 1. CTLs can  ...

piggyBac Transposon System Modification of Primary Human T Cells

The piggyBac transposon system is naturally active, originally derived from the cabbage looper moth1,2. This non-viral system is plasmid based, most commonly utilizing two plasmids with one expressing the piggyBac transposase enzyme and a transposon plasmid harboring the gene(s) of interest between inverted repeat elements which are required for gene transfer activity. PiggyBac mediates gene transfer through a "cut and paste" mechanism whereby the transposase integrates the transposon segment into the genome of the target cell(s) of interest. PiggyBac has demonstrated efficient gene delivery activity in a wide variety of insect1,2, mammalian3-5, and human cells6 including primary human T cells7,8. Recently, a hyperactive piggyBac transposase was generated improving gene transfer efficiency9,10.
Human T lymphocytes are of clinical interest for adoptive immunotherapy of cancer11. Of note, the first clinical trial involving transposon modification of human T cells using the Sleeping beauty transposon system has been approved12. We have previously evaluated the utility of piggyBac as a non-viral methodology for genetic modification of human T cells. We found piggyBac to be efficient in genetic modification of human T cells with a reporter gene and a non-immunogenic inducible suicide gene7. Analysis of genomic integration sites revealed a lack of preference for integration into or near known proto-oncogenes13. We used piggyBac to gene-modify cytotoxic T lymphocytes to carry a chimeric antigen receptor directed against the tumor antigen HER2, and found that gene-modified T cells mediated targeted killing of HER2-positive tumor cells in vitro and in vivo in an orthotopic mouse model14. We have also used piggyBac to generate human T cells resistant to rapamycin, which should be useful in cancer therapies where rapamycin is utilized15.
Herein, we describe a method for using piggyBac to genetically modify primary human T cells. This includes isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from human blood followed by culture, gene modification, and activation of T cells. For the purpose of this report, T cells were modified with a reporter gene (eGFP) for analysis and quantification of gene expression by flow cytometry.
PiggyBac can be used to modify human T cells with a variety of genes of interest. Although we have used piggyBac to direct T cells to tumor antigens14, we have also used piggyBac to add an inducible safety switch in order to eliminate gene modified cells if needed7. The large cargo capacity of piggyBac has also enabled gene transfer of a large rapamycin resistant mTOR molecule (15 kb)15. Therefore, we present a non-viral methodology for stable gene-modification of primary human T cells for a wide variety of purposes.

piggyBac Transposon System Modification of Primary Human T Cells

We describe a method to genetically modify primary human T cells with a transgene using the non-viral piggyBac transposon system. T cells modified to using the piggyBac transposon system exhibit stable transgene expression.

The piggyBac transposon system is naturally active, originally derived from the cabbage looper moth1,2. This non-viral system is plasmid based, most ...

New Tools to Expand Regulatory T Cells from HIV-1-infected Individuals

CD4+ Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are potent immune modulators and serve an important function in human immune homeostasis. Depletion of Tregs has led to measurable increases in antigen-specific T cell responses in vaccine settings for cancer and infectious pathogens. However, their role in HIV-1 immuno-pathogenesis remains controversial, as they could either serve to suppress deleterious HIV-1-associated immune activation and thus slow HIV-1 disease progression or alternatively suppress HIV-1-specific immunity and thereby promote virus spread. Understanding and modulating Treg function in the context of HIV-1 could lead to potential new strategies for immunotherapy or HIV vaccines. However, important open questions remain on their role in the context of HIV-1 infection, which needs to be carefully studied.
Representing roughly 5% of human CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood, studying the Treg population has proven to be difficult, especially in HIV-1 infected individuals where HIV-1-associated CD4 T cell and with that Treg depletion occurs. The characterization of regulatory T cells in individuals with advanced HIV-1 disease or tissue samples, for which only very small biological samples can be obtained, is therefore extremely challenging. We propose a technical solution to overcome these limitations using isolation and expansion of Tregs from HIV-1-positive individuals.
Here we describe an easy and robust method to successfully expand Tregs isolated from HIV-1-infected individuals in vitro. Flow-sorted CD3+CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs were stimulated with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 coated beads and cultured in the presence of IL-2. The expanded Tregs expressed high levels of FOXP3, CTLA4 and HELIOS compared to conventional T cells and were shown to be highly suppressive. Easier access to large numbers of Tregs will allow researchers to address important questions concerning their role in HIV-1 immunopathogenesis. We believe answering these questions may provide useful insight for the development of an effective HIV-1 vaccine.

CD4+ Regulatory T cells are potent immune-modulators and serve important functions in immune homeostasis. The paucity of these cells in peripheral blood makes functional studies challenging, specifically in the context of HIV-1-infection. We here describe a method to isolate and expand functional CD4+ Tregs from peripheral blood from HIV-1-infected individuals.

CD4+ Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are potent immune modulators and serve an important function in human immune homeostasis. Depletion of Tregs has led to ...

Derivation of T Cells In Vitro from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

The OP9/OP9-DL1 co-culture system has become a well-established method for deriving differentiated blood cell types from embryonic and hematopoietic progenitors of both mouse and human origin. It is now used to address a growing variety of complex genetic, cellular and molecular questions related to hematopoiesis, and is at the cutting edge of efforts to translate these basic findings to therapeutic applications. The procedures are straightforward and routinely yield robust results. However, achieving successful hematopoietic differentiation in vitro requires special attention to the details of reagent and cell culture maintenance. Furthermore, the protocol features technique sensitive steps that, while not difficult, take care and practice to master. Here we focus on the procedures for differentiation of T lymphocytes from mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC). We provide a detailed protocol with discussions of the critical steps and parameters that enable reproducibly robust cellular differentiation in vitro. It is in the interest of the field to consider wider adoption of this technology, as it has the potential to reduce animal use, lower the cost and shorten the timelines of both basic and translational experimentation.

Derivation of T Cells In Vitro from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Mouse embryonic stem cells can be differentiated to T cells in vitro using the OP9-DL1 co-culture system. Success in this procedure requires careful attention to reagent/cell maintenance, and key technique sensitive steps. Here we discuss these critical parameters and provide a detailed protocol to encourage adoption of this technology.

The OP9/OP9-DL1 co-culture system has become a well-established method for deriving differentiated blood cell types from embryonic and hematopoietic ...

Generation of Human Alloantigen-specific T Cells from Peripheral Blood

The study of human T lymphocyte biology often involves examination of responses to activating ligands. T cells recognize and respond to processed peptide antigens presented by MHC (human ortholog HLA) molecules through the T cell receptor (TCR) in a highly sensitive and specific manner. While the primary function of T cells is to mediate protective immune responses to foreign antigens presented by self-MHC, T cells respond robustly to antigenic differences in allogeneic tissues. T cell responses to alloantigens can be described as either direct or indirect alloreactivity. In alloreactivity, the T cell responds through highly specific recognition of both the presented peptide and the MHC molecule. The robust oligoclonal response of T cells to allogeneic stimulation reflects the large number of potentially stimulatory alloantigens present in allogeneic tissues. While the breadth of alloreactive T cell responses is an important factor in initiating and mediating the pathology associated with biologically-relevant alloreactive responses such as graft versus host disease and allograft rejection, it can preclude analysis of T cell responses to allogeneic ligands. To this end, this protocol describes a method for generating alloreactive T cells from naive human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) that respond to known peptide-MHC (pMHC) alloantigens. The protocol applies pMHC multimer labeling, magnetic bead enrichment and flow cytometry to single cell in vitro culture methods for the generation of alloantigen-specific T cell clones. This enables studies of the biochemistry and function of T cells responding to allogeneic stimulation.

This article describes a method for the generation and propagation of human T cell clones that specifically respond to a defined alloantigen. This protocol can be adapted for cloning human T cells specific for a variety of peptide-MHC ligands.

The study of human T lymphocyte biology often involves examination of responses to activating ligands. T cells recognize and respond to processed peptide ...

T Cells Capture Bacteria by Transinfection from Dendritic Cells

Recently, we have shown, contrary to what is described, that CD4+ T cells, the paradigm of adaptive immune cells, capture bacteria from infected dendritic cells (DCs) by a process called transinfection. Here, we describe the analysis of the transinfection process, which occurs during the course of antigen presentation. This process was unveiled by using CD4+ T cells from transgenic OTII mice, which bear a T cell receptor (TCR) specific for a peptide of ovoalbumin (OVAp), which therefore can form stable immune complexes with infected dendritic cells loaded with this specific OVAp. The dynamics of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing bacteria during DC-T cell transmission can be monitored by live-cell imaging and the quantification of bacterial transinfection can be performed by flow cytometry. In addition, transinfection can be quantified by a more sensitive method based in the use of gentamicin, a non-permeable aminoglycoside antibiotic killing extracellular bacteria but not intracellular ones. This classical method has been used previously in microbiology to study the efficiency of bacterial infections. We hereby explain the protocol of the complete process, from the isolation of the primary cells to the quantification of transinfection.

Here a protocol is presented to measure bacterial capture by CD4+ T cells which occurs during antigen presentation via transinfection from pre-infected dendritic cells (DC). We show how to perform the necessary steps: isolation of primary cells, infection of DC, DC/T cell conjugate formation, and measurement of bacterial T cell transfection.

Recently, we have shown, contrary to what is described, that CD4+ T cells, the paradigm of adaptive immune cells, capture bacteria from infected dendritic ...

Phenotypic and Functional Analysis of Activated Regulatory T Cells Isolated from Chronic Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus-infected Mice

Regulatory T (Treg) cells, which express Foxp3 as a transcription factor, are subsets of CD4+ T cells. Treg cells play crucial roles in immune tolerance and homeostasis maintenance by regulating the immune response. The primary role of Treg cells is to suppress the proliferation of effector T (Teff) cells and the production of cytokines such as IFN-&#947;, TNF-&#945;, and IL-2. It has been demonstrated that Treg cells&#39; ability to inhibit the function of Teff cells is enhanced during persistent pathogen infection and cancer development. To clarify the function of Treg cells under resting or inflamed conditions, a variety of in vitro suppression assays using mouse or human Treg cells have been devised. The main aim of this study is to develop a method to compare the differences in phenotype and suppressive function between resting and activated Treg cells. To isolate activated Treg cells, mice were infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) clone 13 (CL13), a chronic strain of LCMV. Treg cells isolated from the spleen of LCMV CL13-infected mice exhibited both the activated phenotype and enhanced suppressive activity compared with resting Treg cells isolated from na&#239;ve mice. Here, we describe the basic protocol for ex vivo phenotype analysis to distinguish activated Treg cells from resting Treg cells. Furthermore, we describe a protocol for the measurement of the suppressive activity of fully activated Treg cells.

Here, we describe a protocol to analyze the phenotype of regulatory T (Treg) cells isolated from na&#239;ve and chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-infected mice. In addition, we provide a process to evaluate the suppressive activity of the Treg cells.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells, which express Foxp3 as a transcription factor, are subsets of CD4+ T cells. Treg cells play crucial roles in immune tolerance ...

Development of Stem Cell-derived Antigen-specific Regulatory T Cells Against Autoimmunity

Autoimmune diseases arise due to the loss of immunological self-tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important mediators of immunologic self-tolerance. Tregs represent about 5 - 10% of the mature CD4+ T cell subpopulation in mice and humans, with about 1 - 2% of those Tregs circulating in the peripheral blood. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be differentiated into functional Tregs, which have a potential to be used for cell-based therapies of autoimmune diseases. Here, we present a method to develop antigen (Ag)-specific Tregs from iPSCs (i.e., iPSC-Tregs). The method is based on incorporating the transcription factor FoxP3 and an Ag-specific T cell receptor (TCR) into iPSCs and then differentiating on OP9 stromal cells expressing Notch ligands delta-like (DL) 1 and DL4. Following in vitro differentiation, the iPSC-Tregs express CD4, CD8, CD3, CD25, FoxP3, and Ag-specific TCR and are able to respond to Ag stimulation. This method has been successfully applied to cell-based therapy of autoimmune arthritis in a murine model. Adoptive transfer of these Ag-specific iPSC-Tregs into Ag-induced arthritis (AIA)-bearing mice has the ability to reduce joint inflammation and swelling and to prevent bone loss.

We present here a method to develop functional antigen (Ag)-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for immunotherapy of autoimmune arthritis in a murine model.

Autoimmune diseases arise due to the loss of immunological self-tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important mediators of immunologic ...

In Vitro Differentiation of Human CD4+FOXP3+ Induced Regulatory T Cells (iTregs) from Na&#239;ve CD4+ T Cells Using a TGF-&#946;-containing Protocol

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are an integral part of peripheral tolerance, suppressing immune reactions against self-structures and thus preventing autoimmune diseases. Clinical approaches to adoptively transfer Tregs, or to deplete Tregs in cancer, are underway with promising first outcomes. 
Because the number of naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs) is very limited, studying certain Treg features using in vitro induced Tregs (iTregs) can be advantageous. To date, the best although not absolutely specific protein marker to delineate Tregs is the transcription factor FOXP3. Despite the importance of Tregs including non-redundant roles of peripherally induced Tregs, the protocols to generate iTregs are currently controversial, particularly for human cells. This protocol therefore describes the in vitro differentiation of human CD4+FOXP3+ iTregs from human na&#239;ve T cells using a range of Treg-inducing factors (TGF-&#946; plus IL-2 only, or their combination with retinoic acid, rapamycin or butyrate) in parallel. It also describes the phenotyping of these cells by flow cytometry and qRT-PCR. 
These protocols result in reproducible expression of FOXP3 and other Treg signature genes and enable the study of general FOXP3-regulatory mechanisms as well as protocol-specific effects to delineate the impact of certain factors. iTregs can be utilized to study various phenotypic aspects as well as molecular mechanisms of Treg induction. Detailed molecular studies are facilitated by relatively large cell numbers that can be obtained. 
A limitation for the application of iTregs is the relative instability of FOXP3 expression in these cells compared to nTregs. iTregs generated by these protocols can also be used for functional assays such as studying their suppressive function, in which iTregs induced by TGF-&#946; plus retinoic acid and rapamycin display superior suppressive activity. However, the suppressive capacity of iTregs can differ from nTregs and the use of appropriate controls is crucial.

This protocol describes the reproducible generation and phenotyping of human induced regulatory T cells (iTregs) from na&#239;ve CD4+ T cells in vitro. Different protocols for FOXP3 induction allow for the study of specific iTreg phenotypes obtained with respective protocols.