Name: development of stem cell-derived antigen-specific regulatory t cells against autoimmunity
Uploaded: 2016-11-08T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Development of Stem Cell-derived Antigen-specific Regulatory T Cells Against Autoimmunity at JoVE.com

This project was funded, in part, under grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01AI121180, R21AI109239 and K18CA151798), the American Diabetes Association (1-16-IBS-281), and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (Tobacco Settlement Funds) to J.S.

All animal experiments are approved by the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Animal Care Committee (IACUC protocol #45470) and are conducted in compliance with the guidelines of the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.
1. Stem Cell Culture
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	<li>Incubate a 10 cm dish with 10 ml of 0.1% gelatin for at least 30 min at 37 &#176;C (incubator) in order to coat the plate.</li>
	<li>Remove gelatin from the dish and plate 3 x 106 ...

<ol>
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In this protocol, a critical step is the in vitro differentiation of TCR/FoxP3 gene-transduced iPSCs. In vitro Notch signaling induces development towards the T cell lineage. To differentiate iPSCs into CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs, we used the OP9-DL1/DL4/I-Ab cells, which highly express MHC II (I-Ab) molecules. Most of the iPSCs differentiate into CD4+ cells. However, after the surface TCR expression, many differentiated pre-T cells lose the ability to differ...

Autoimmune arthritis is a systemic disease characterized by hyperplasia of synovial tissue and progressive destruction of articular cartilage, bone, and ligaments1. The defective generation or function of Tregs in autoimmune arthritis contributes to chronic inflammation and tissue injury because Tregs play a crucial role in preventing the development of auto-reactive immune cells. 
Manipulation of Tregs is an ideal strategy for the development of therapies to suppress inflammation in an Ag-dependent manner. For Treg-based immunotherapy, the specificity of the transferred Tregs is important for the treatment of ongoing autoimmunity2. To exhibit the suppressive activity, Tregs need to migrate and be retained at the afflicted region, which can be directed by the specificity of the TCR for the Ag at that location3. Although polyclonal Tregs may contain a small population containing this Ag specificity from their TCRs, the numbers of these Ag-specific Tregs are usually low. Consequently, cell-based therapies using polyclonal Tregs against autoimmune disorders require adoptive transfers of a large number of Tregs4,5. Because pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have the ability to develop into any type of cell, Ag-specific PSC-Tregs may prove to be good candidates for Treg-based immunotherapy. Previous studies have shown the successful development of PSC-derived T cells, including Tregs6-8. 
Here, we describe a protocol to develop Ag-specific iPSC-Tregs. We further describe a cell-based therapy of autoimmune arthritis in a murine model using such Tregs. This method is based upon genetically modifying murine iPSCs with Ag-specific TCRs and the transcriptional factor FoxP3. The engineered iPSCs then differentiate into Ag-specific Tregs on the OP9 stromal cells expressing Notch ligands DL1, DL4, and MHC-II (I-Ab) molecules in the presence of cytokines mFlt3L and mIL-7. These Ag-specific iPSC-Tregs can produce suppressive cytokines, such as TGF-&#946; and IL-10, when stimulated with the Ag, and adoptive transfer of such Tregs has the ability to suppress AIA development in a murine model. The described protocol can be used to develop stem cell-derived Ag-specific Tregs for potential therapeutic interventions.

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	<tbody>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">C57BL/6j mice</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Jackson Laboratory</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">664</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">B6.129S7 Rag1tm1Mom/J</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Jackson Laboratory</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">2216</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Anti-CD3 (2C11) antibody</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">BD Pharmingen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">553058</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Anti-CD28 (37.51) antibody</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">BD Pharmingen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">553295</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Anti-CD4 (GK1.5) antibody</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">100417</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Anti-CD8 (53&#8211;6.7) antibody</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">100714</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Anti-CD25 (3C7) antibody</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">101912</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Anti-TCR-&#946; (H57597) antibody</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">109220</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Anti-IL10</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">505010</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Anti-TGF&#946;</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">141402</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">DMEM</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">ABCD1234</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">&#945;-MEM</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">A10490-01</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">FBS</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Hyclone</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">SH3007.01</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">Brefeldin A</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">B7651</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">Polybrene</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">107689</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Genejammer</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Integrated science</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">204130</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">ACK Lysis buffer</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Lonza</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">10-548E</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">mFlt-3L</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">peprotech</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">250-31L</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">mIL-7</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">peprotech</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">217-17</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">Gelatin</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">G9391</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P6148-500G</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Caution: Allergenic, Carcenogenic, Toxic</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Permeabilization buffer</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Biolegend</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">421002</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">mBSA</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">A7906</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">Ova albumin</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Avantor</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">0440-01</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">CFA</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Difco</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">2017014</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Tailveiner restrainer</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Braintree scientific</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">RTV 150-STD</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

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.

As shown here, on day 28, Ag-specific Tregs substantially expressed CD3 and Ag-specific TCR, two T cell markers. The CD3+TCRV&#946;5+ population expressed CD4. Most of the CD3+TCRV&#946;5+CD4+ cells also expressed CD25, CD127, and CTLA-4, which are typically expressed at elevated levels in naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs) and in T cells expressing FoxP3 ectopically. FoxP3 expression in iPSC-derived cells persisted even af...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Development of Stem Cell-derived Antigen-specific Regulatory T Cells Against Autoimmunity at JoVE.com

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

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 ...

The overall goal of this experiment is to develop a new method for generating stem cell-derived inflamed joint associated regulatory T cells for immunotherapy against autoimmune arthritis. This method can help answer key question in the autoimmunity field about potential immunotherpeutics for autoimmune arthritis. The main advantage of this technique is that the stem cell-derived regulatory T cells are nyped and of a single type.Begin by diluting the feeder cells of interest to a minimum density of one times 10 the the fourth cells per square centimeter in OP9 medium, and plating one times 10 to the sixth feeder cells per 10 centimeter dish. When the cells become 80 to 90%confluent, remove the medium from the cultures and seed 0.5 to one times 10 to the fifth, retrovirally transduced inducible pluripotent stem cells or IPSCs in OP9 medium in each dish. Five days later, aspirate the medium and wash the cells with 10 milliliters of PBS.Then, detach the cells with four milliliters of Trypsin per dish, at 37 degrees Celsius. After 10 minutes, stop the reactions with eight milliliters of IPSC medium and pull the cells for centrifugation. Resuspend the pellet in 10 milliliters of fresh IPSC medium and replate the cells onto new 10 centimeter dishes.Allow the feeder cells to adhere to the plate for 30 minutes in the cell culture incubator. Then, collect the floating IPSCs and filter the transduced cells through a 70 micron strainer for counting. Seed five times 10 to the fifth IPSCs onto a fresh 80 to 90%confluent plate of feeder cells in OP9 medium supplemented with Murine-Flt3-Ligand and return the cultures to the incubator.After three days, use a 10 milliliter pipette to wash the dish with the culture medium. Then, add five milliliters of fresh OP9 medium to the dish and gently wash off any semi-adherent IPSCs with careful, forceful pipetting that does not disrupt the feeder cell layer. Repeat the wash with 10 milliliters of PBS to harvest the last of the semi-adherent cells, pulling the washes from each dish into one conical tube per culture.After spinning down the cells, resuspend the pellets in 10 milliliters of OP9 medium supplemented with Murine-Flt3-Ligand and IL-7 and filter the cells through a 70 micron strainer. Seed one IPSC culture per well into a six-well culture plate containing 80 to 90%confluent feeder cell monolayers and return the co-cultures to the incubator. Every two days, replace half of the medium with fresh OP9 medium supplemented with Murine-Flt3-Ligand and IL-7, and every four to six days, reseed the differentiating IPSCs onto new plates with a fresh layer of feeder cells as necessary.Begin by detaching the cell cultures of interest with Trypsin and resuspending each cell type in 10 milliliters of fresh medium. Plate each cell culture in a new 10 centimeter dish and allow the feeder cells to adhere in the cell culture incubator. After 30 minutes, collect the floating IPSCs and pass the cultures through individual 70 micron cell strainers to remove the cell clusters for counting.Resuspend each culture at a 1.5 times 10 to the seventh cells per milliliter concentration in cold PBS, filtering again as necessary. Then, place four to six-week-old female C57BL/6 mice one at a time in a small animal restrainer and adoptively transfer 200 microliters of one type of cell per mouse into the tail vein of each animal. Use a dial gauge caliper to measure the swelling of both knees to establish the baseline measurement.10 days after the cell transfer, use a one milliliter syringe to inject the mice with 100 micrograms of methylated BSA emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant at the base of the tail of each experimental animal. 17 days after the cell transfer, induce arthritis by intra-articular injection of 20 micrograms of methylated BSA in 10 microliters of PBS into the left knee joint and 20 micrograms of methylated BSA and 100 micrograms of whole Ovalbumin in 10 microliters of PBS into the right knee joint of each anesthetized adoptively transferred animal. Seven days after inducing the arthritis, measure the knees again for calculation of the percent increase in the knee diameter, and surgically excise the patellas.Fix the joints in formalin. Then, after decalcification in EDTA, embed the knees in paraffin and obtain four micron sections for histochemical staining and analysis. On day 28, the antigen-specific T regulatory cells express substantial levels of CD3 and antigen-specific T cell receptors.Most of these cells also express CD25, CD127, and CTLA-4, all of which are typically expressed at elevated levels in naturally occurring T regulatory cells. Indeed, FoxP3 persists in IPSC-derived T regulatory cells, even after long term in vitro stimulation with the Notch ligand, as detected by intracellular staining. In addition, these antigen-specific IPSC T regulatory cells produce suppressive cytokines when stimulated with antigen pulsed splenocytes in vitro, indicating a potential suppressive phenotype for these cells.FoxP3 positive cells are observed in OVA treated knees with no FoxP3 positive cells apparent in knees that receive control vector transduced IPSCs. Further, many more CD4 positive, FoxP3 positive, TCR3 Beta 5 positive cells are visualized in the knees of mice that receive IPSCs transduced with the TCR-FoxP3 vector, than with the FoxP3 vector alone, suggesting that antigen-specific IPSC-Treg cells migrate to the antigen-induced arthritis knee after their adoptive transfer into recipient animals. IPSC-derived cell adoptive transfer also affects a substantial decrease in the inflammatory knee swelling when OVA is present, but has no effect on control methylated BSA injected knees.The positive effects of the swelling reduction are further borne out by high resolution Micro-CT imaging of the reduced bone loss observed in cell transfer treated knees compared to control MBSA-only injected animals. Once mustered, these in-depth procedure can become completed in six weeks if it is performed properly. While attempting this technique, it is important to remember to induce the imbued differentiation of the TCR-FoxP3 antigen transduced IPSCs.Following this procedure, different compounds of suppressive cytokines can also be deliberated to answer additional questions about the survival and quality of the antigen-specific IPSCs T reg cells. After it's development, this technique paved the way for researchers in the field of cell-based therapy to explore the role antigen-specific regulatory T cells in autoimmune disease. Don't forget that working with direct autobody bactors can be extremely hazardous and that precaution, such as working in a basic two-facility, should always be taken while performing a procedure.Thanks for watching and good luck with your experiment.

development-stem-cell-derived-antigen-specific-regulatory-t-cells

Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

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.

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.

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

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 ...

Killer Artificial Antigen Presenting Cells (KaAPC) for Efficient In Vitro Depletion of Human Antigen-specific T Cells

Current treatment of T cell mediated autoimmune diseases relies mostly on strategies of global immunosuppression, which, in the long term, is accompanied by adverse side effects such as a reduced ability to control infections or malignancies. Therefore, new approaches need to be developed that target only the disease mediating cells and leave the remaining immune system intact. Over the past decade a variety of cell based immunotherapy strategies to modulate T cell mediated immune responses have been developed. Most of these approaches rely on tolerance-inducing antigen presenting cells (APC). However, in addition to being technically difficult and cumbersome, such cell-based approaches are highly sensitive to cytotoxic T cell responses, which limits their therapeutic capacity. Here we present a protocol for the generation of non-cellular killer artificial antigen presenting cells (KaAPC), which allows for the depletion of pathologic T cells while leaving the remaining immune system untouched and functional. KaAPC is an alternative solution to cellular immunotherapy which has potential for treating autoimmune diseases and allograft rejections by regulating undesirable T cell responses in an antigen specific fashion.

Killer Artificial Antigen Presenting Cells KaAPC for Efficient In Vitro Depletion of Human Antigen-specific T Cells

Guidelines are presented for the generation of killer artificial antigen presenting cells, KaAPC, an efficient tool for in vitro depletion of human antigen-specific T cells and an alternative solution to cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases in an antigen-specific fashion without compromising the remaining immune system.

Current treatment of T cell mediated autoimmune diseases relies mostly on strategies of global immunosuppression, which, in the long term, is accompanied ...

Generating De Novo Antigen-specific Human T Cell Receptors by Retroviral Transduction of Centric Hemichain

T cell receptors (TCRs) are used clinically to direct the specificity of T cells to target tumors as a promising modality of immunotherapy. Therefore, cloning TCRs specific for various tumor-associated antigens has been the goal of many studies. To elicit an effective T cell response, the TCR must recognize the target antigen with optimal affinity. However, cloning such TCRs has been a challenge and many available TCRs possess sub-optimal affinity for the cognate antigen. In this protocol, we describe a method of cloning de novo high affinity antigen-specific TCRs using existing TCRs by exploiting hemichain centricity. It is known that for some TCRs, each TCR&#945; or TCR&#946; hemichain do not contribute equally to antigen recognition, and the dominant hemichain is referred to as the centric hemichain. We have shown that by pairing the centric hemichain with counter-chains differing from the original counter-chain, we are able to maintain the antigen specificity, while modulating its interaction strength for the cognate antigen. Thus, the therapeutic potential of a given TCR can be improved by optimizing the pairing between the centric and counter hemichains.

Generating De Novo Antigen-specific Human T Cell Receptors by Retroviral Transduction of Centric Hemichain

Herein we describe a novel method to generate antigen-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) by pairing the TCR&#945; or TCR&#946; of an existing TCR, possessing the antigen-specificity of interest, with complementary hemichain of the peripheral T cell receptor repertoire. The de novo generated TCRs retain antigen-specificity with varying affinity.

T cell receptors (TCRs) are used clinically to direct the specificity of T cells to target tumors as a promising modality of immunotherapy. Therefore, ...

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.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are an integral part of peripheral tolerance, suppressing immune reactions against self-structures and thus preventing ...

Quantification of Proliferating Human Antigen-specific CD4+ T Cells using Carboxyfluorescein Succinimidyl Ester

Described is a simple, in vitro, dye dilution-based method for measuring antigen-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The development of stable, non-toxic, fluorescent dyes such as carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) allows for rare, antigen-specific T cells to be distinguished from bystanders by diminution in fluorescent staining, as detected by flow cytometry. This method has the following advantages over alternative approaches: (i) it is very sensitive to low-frequency T cells, (ii) no knowledge of the antigen or epitope is required, (iii) the phenotype of the responding cells can be analyzed, and (iv) viable, responding cells can be sorted and used for further analysis, such as T cell cloning.

Quantification of Proliferating Human Antigen-specific CD4+ T Cells using Carboxyfluorescein Succinimidyl Ester

Presented here is a protocol for measuring proliferating CD4+ T cells in response to antigenic proteins or peptides using dye dilution. This assay is particularly sensitive to rare antigen-specific T cells and can be modified to facilitate cloning of antigen-specific cells.

Described is a simple, in vitro, dye dilution-based method for measuring antigen-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation in human peripheral blood mononuclear ...

High-Efficiency Generation of Antigen-Specific Primary Mouse Cytotoxic T Cells for Functional Testing in an Autoimmune Diabetes Model

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is characterized by islet-specific autoimmunity leading to beta cell destruction and absolute loss of insulin production. In the spontaneous non-obese diabetes (NOD) mouse model, insulin is the primary target, and genetic manipulation of these animals to remove a single key insulin epitope prevents disease. Thus, selective elimination of professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) bearing this pathogenic epitope is an approach to inhibit the unwanted insulin-specific autoimmune responses, and likely has greater translational potential.
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) can redirect T cells to selectively target disease-causing antigens. This technique is fundamental to recent attempts to use cellular engineering for adoptive cell therapy to treat multiple cancers. In this protocol, we describe an optimized T-cell retrovirus (RV) transduction and in vitro expansion protocol that generates high numbers of functional antigen-specific CD8 CAR-T cells starting from a low number of naive cells. Previously multiple CAR-T cell protocols have been described, but typically with relatively low transduction efficiency and cell viability following transduction. In contrast, our protocol provides up to 90% transduction efficiency, and the cells generated can survive more than two weeks in vivo and significantly delay disease onset following a single infusion. We provide a detailed description of the cell maintenance and transduction protocol, so that the critical steps can be easily followed. The whole procedure from primary cell isolation to CAR expression can be performed within 14 days. The general method may be applied to any mouse disease model in which the target is known. Similarly, the specific application (targeting a pathogenic peptide/MHC class II complex) is applicable to any other autoimmune disease model for which a key complex has been identified.

This article describes a protocol for the generation of antigen-specific CD8 T cells, and their expansion in vitro, with the aim of yielding high numbers of functional T cells for use in vitro and in vivo.

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is characterized by islet-specific autoimmunity leading to beta cell destruction and absolute loss of insulin production. In the ...

Stem Cell-Derived Viral Ag-Specific T Lymphocytes Suppress HBV Replication in Mice

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health issue. With over 350 million people affected worldwide, HBV infection remains the leading cause of liver cancer. This is a major concern, especially in developing countries. Failure of the immune system to mount an effective response against HBV leads to chronic infection. Although HBV vaccine is present and novel antiviral medicines are being created, eradication of virus-reservoir cells remains a major health topic. Described here is a method for the generation of viral antigen (Ag) -specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) (i.e., iPSC-CTLs), which have the ability to suppress HBV replication. HBV replication is efficiently induced in mice through hydrodynamic injection of an HBV expression plasmid, pAAV/HBV1.2, into the liver. Then, HBV surface Ag-specific mouse iPSC-CTLs are adoptively transferred, which greatly suppresses HBV replication in the liver and blood as well as prevents HBV surface Ag expression in hepatocytes. This method demonstrates HBV replication in mice after hydrodynamic injection and that stem cell-derived viral Ag-specific CTLs can suppress HBV replication. This protocol provides a useful method for HBV immunotherapy.

Presented here is a protocol for the effective suppression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in mice by utilizing adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of stem cell-derived viral antigen (Ag)-specific T lymphocytes. This procedure may be adapted for potential ACT-based immunotherapy of HBV infection.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health issue. With over 350 million people affected worldwide, HBV infection remains the leading cause of ...

In Vivo Augmentation of Gut-Homing Regulatory T Cell Induction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammatory chronic disease in the gastrointestinal tract (GUT). In the United States, there are approximately 1.4 million IBD patients. It is generally accepted that a dysregulated immune response to gut bacteria initiates the disease and disrupts the mucosal epithelial barrier. We recently show that gut-homing regulatory T (Treg) cells are a promising therapy for IBD. Accordingly, this article presents a protocol for in vivo augmentation of gut-homing Treg cell induction. In this protocol, dendritic cells are engineered to produce locally high concentrations of two molecules de novo, active vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or 1,25[OH]2D) and active vitamin A (retinoic acid or RA). We chose 1,25(OH)2D and RA based on previous findings showing that 1,25(OH)2D can induce the expression of regulatory molecules (e.g., forkhead box P3 and interleukin-10) and that RA can stimulate the expression of gut-homing receptors in T cells. To generate such engineered dendritic cells, we use a lentiviral vector to transduce dendritic cells to overexpress two genes. One gene is the cytochrome P450 family 27 subfamily B member 1 that encodes 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1&#945;-hydroxylase, which physiologically catalyzes the synthesis of 1,25(OH)2D. The other gene is the aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A2 that encodes retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2, which physiologically catalyzes the synthesis of RA. This protocol can be used for future investigation of gut-homing Treg cells in vivo.

Here we present a protocol for in vivo augmentation of gut-homing regulatory T cell induction. In this protocol, dendritic cells are engineered to locally produce high concentrations of the active vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or 1,25[OH]2D) and the active vitamin A (retinoic acid or RA) de novo.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammatory chronic disease in the gastrointestinal tract (GUT). In the United States, there are approximately 1.4 ...

Neisseria meningitidis Infection of Induced Pluripotent Stem-Cell Derived Brain Endothelial Cells

Meningococcal meningitis is a life-threatening infection that occurs when Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus, Nm) can gain access to the central nervous system (CNS) by penetrating highly specialized brain endothelial cells (BECs). As Nm is a human-specific pathogen, the lack of robust in vivo model systems makes study of the host-pathogen interactions between Nm and BECs challenging and establishes a need for a human based model that mimics native BECs. BECs possess tighter barrier properties when compared to peripheral endothelial cells characterized by complex tight junctions and elevated trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER). However, many in vitro models, such as primary BECs and immortalized BECs, either lack or rapidly lose their barrier properties after removal from the native neural microenvironment. Recent advances in human stem-cell technologies have developed methods for deriving brain-like endothelial cells from induced pluripotent stem-cells (iPSCs) that better phenocopy BECs when compared to other in vitro human models. The use of iPSC-derived BECs (iPSC-BECs) to model Nm-BEC interaction has the benefit of using human cells that possess BEC barrier properties, and can be used to examine barrier destruction, innate immune activation, and bacterial interaction. Here we demonstrate how to derive iPSC-BECs from iPSCs in addition to bacterial preparation, infection, and sample collection for analysis.

Neisseria meningitidis Infection of Induced Pluripotent Stem-Cell Derived Brain Endothelial Cells

The protocol described here highlights the major steps in the differentiating induced pluripotent stem-cell derived brain-like endothelial cells, the preparation of Neisseria meningitidis for infection, and sample collection for other molecular analyses.

Meningococcal meningitis is a life-threatening infection that occurs when Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus, Nm) can gain access to the central ...