PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.

Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is expressed on T cells upon T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) is expressed in most tumor environments, and its binding to PD-1 on T cells drives them to apoptosis or into a regulatory phenotype. The fact that PD-L1 itself is also express...

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Main Authors: Giorgia Fanelli, Marco Romano, Estefania Nova-Lamperti, Mariana Werner Sunderland, Alessandra Nerviani, Cristiano Scottà, Michele Bombardieri, Sergio A Quezada, Steven H Sacks, Randolph J Noelle, Costantino Pitzalis, Robert I Lechler, Giovanna Lombardi, Pablo D Becker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-04-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001199&type=printable
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author Giorgia Fanelli
Marco Romano
Estefania Nova-Lamperti
Mariana Werner Sunderland
Alessandra Nerviani
Cristiano Scottà
Michele Bombardieri
Sergio A Quezada
Steven H Sacks
Randolph J Noelle
Costantino Pitzalis
Robert I Lechler
Giovanna Lombardi
Pablo D Becker
author_facet Giorgia Fanelli
Marco Romano
Estefania Nova-Lamperti
Mariana Werner Sunderland
Alessandra Nerviani
Cristiano Scottà
Michele Bombardieri
Sergio A Quezada
Steven H Sacks
Randolph J Noelle
Costantino Pitzalis
Robert I Lechler
Giovanna Lombardi
Pablo D Becker
author_sort Giorgia Fanelli
collection DOAJ
description Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is expressed on T cells upon T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) is expressed in most tumor environments, and its binding to PD-1 on T cells drives them to apoptosis or into a regulatory phenotype. The fact that PD-L1 itself is also expressed on T cells upon activation has been largely neglected. Here, we demonstrate that PD-L1 ligation on human CD25-depleted CD4+ T cells, combined with CD3/TCR stimulation, induces their conversion into highly suppressive T cells. Furthermore, this effect was most prominent in memory (CD45RA-CD45RO+) T cells. PD-L1 engagement on T cells resulted in reduced ERK phosphorylation and decreased AKT/mTOR/S6 signaling. Importantly, T cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients exhibited high basal levels of phosphorylated ERK and following PD-L1 cross-linking both ERK signaling and the AKT/mTOR/S6 pathway failed to be down modulated, making them refractory to the acquisition of a regulatory phenotype. Altogether, our results suggest that PD-L1 signaling on memory T cells could play an important role in resolving inflammatory responses; maintaining a tolerogenic environment and its failure could contribute to ongoing autoimmunity.
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spelling doaj-art-3fbd2067f1594e26aba21fe040a731292025-08-20T02:23:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852021-04-01194e300119910.1371/journal.pbio.3001199PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.Giorgia FanelliMarco RomanoEstefania Nova-LampertiMariana Werner SunderlandAlessandra NervianiCristiano ScottàMichele BombardieriSergio A QuezadaSteven H SacksRandolph J NoelleCostantino PitzalisRobert I LechlerGiovanna LombardiPablo D BeckerProgrammed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is expressed on T cells upon T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) is expressed in most tumor environments, and its binding to PD-1 on T cells drives them to apoptosis or into a regulatory phenotype. The fact that PD-L1 itself is also expressed on T cells upon activation has been largely neglected. Here, we demonstrate that PD-L1 ligation on human CD25-depleted CD4+ T cells, combined with CD3/TCR stimulation, induces their conversion into highly suppressive T cells. Furthermore, this effect was most prominent in memory (CD45RA-CD45RO+) T cells. PD-L1 engagement on T cells resulted in reduced ERK phosphorylation and decreased AKT/mTOR/S6 signaling. Importantly, T cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients exhibited high basal levels of phosphorylated ERK and following PD-L1 cross-linking both ERK signaling and the AKT/mTOR/S6 pathway failed to be down modulated, making them refractory to the acquisition of a regulatory phenotype. Altogether, our results suggest that PD-L1 signaling on memory T cells could play an important role in resolving inflammatory responses; maintaining a tolerogenic environment and its failure could contribute to ongoing autoimmunity.https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001199&type=printable
spellingShingle Giorgia Fanelli
Marco Romano
Estefania Nova-Lamperti
Mariana Werner Sunderland
Alessandra Nerviani
Cristiano Scottà
Michele Bombardieri
Sergio A Quezada
Steven H Sacks
Randolph J Noelle
Costantino Pitzalis
Robert I Lechler
Giovanna Lombardi
Pablo D Becker
PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.
PLoS Biology
title PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.
title_full PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.
title_fullStr PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.
title_full_unstemmed PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.
title_short PD-L1 signaling on human memory CD4+ T cells induces a regulatory phenotype.
title_sort pd l1 signaling on human memory cd4 t cells induces a regulatory phenotype
url https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001199&type=printable
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