Targeting 2B4 Coinhibitory Signals During Sepsis-Induced Immune Dysregulation

Emory University, Atlanta GA

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Abstract

Systemic immune dysregulation leading to immune suppression is increasingly being recognized as a major contributor to sepsis-induced mortality. However, the mechanisms underlying this immune suppression are incompletely understood. Landmark studies in models of chronic viral infection have revealed that coinhibitory molecules each play distinct and non-redundant roles in inducing T cell exhaustion, suggesting that the constellation of distinct coinhibitory molecules expressed on the surface of T cells during the execution of an immune response correlate to different stages and degrees of T cell function and/or exhaustion. Thus, we sought to determine whether other novel coinhibitory molecules participate in the immunosuppressive phase that may increase the risk of mortality during sepsis. 284 (CD244, SLAMf4) is a 3SkD type I transmembrane protein and member of the CD2 subset of the immunoglobulin superfamily that is best known for its role on NK cells but has more recently been appreciated as a coinhibitory receptor on subsets of CD4+ and CDS+ T cells. In order to determine the role of 284 during sepsis, we induced cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in wild-type 86 animals or those that were genetically deficient in 284. Strikingly, while wild-type animals exhibited S2% mortality following CLP, only 13% of 284_,_ animals died. Thus, the absence of 284 rendered animals 6 times less likely to die during sepsis. Preliminary data also suggests that 284 modifies immune dysregulation during sepsis, and analysis of human T cells during acute septic injury revealed an increase in the expression of 284 on both CD4+ and CDS+ T cells, in particular on memory T cell subsets. Thus, in this proposal we aim to determine how 284 contributes to sepsis-induced mortality, the cell type(s) by which it mediates its effects, and when during sepsis 284 contributes to sepsis-induced mortality. This proposal is innovative in that our preliminary data reveal that 284 is highly expressed in humans and mice on memory CD4+and CDS+ T cells. However, standard laboratory mice contain only a very small percentage of memory T cells (2-5%), owing to their SPF housing conditions. Thus, in this grant, we also propose a novel approach to study sepsis pathogenesis: to utilize mice that have been previously infected with several acutely cleared pathogens in order to generate memory mice; that is, mice that contain memory T cells at a frequency similar to that observed in adult humans (30-50%). We will dissect the role of 284 expressed on memory CD4+ and CDS+ T cells in sepsis-induced immune dysregulation and mortality, and determine the impact of 284 induced during sepsis on antigen-specific memory T cell responses to both a bacterial and a latent viral second hit. Interrogation of the mechanisms by which inhibition of 284-mediated coinhibitory signals protects mice from death during sepsis is critical for the potential future translation of immunomodulatory strategies to target this pathway to prevent death in septic patients. B.