Stable lines and clones of long-term proliferating normal, genetically unmodified murine common lymphoid progenitors.

Common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) differentiate to T and B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and innate lymphoid cells. Here, we describe culture conditions that, for the first time, allow the establishment of lymphoid-restricted, but uncommitted, long-term proliferating CLP cell lines and clones from a small pool of these cells from normal mouse bone marrow, without any genetic manipulation. Cells from more than half of the cultured CLP clones could be induced to differentiate to T, B, natural killer, dendritic, and myeloid cells in vitro. Cultured, transplanted CLPs transiently populate the host and differentiate to all lymphoid subsets, and to myeloid cells in vivo. This simple method to obtain robust numbers of cultured noncommitted CLPs will allow studies of cell-intrinsic and environmentally controlled lymphoid differentiation programs. If this method can be applied to human CLPs, it will provide new opportunities for cell therapy of patients in need of myeloid-lymphoid reconstitution

Longitudinal intravital imaging of the femoral bone marrow reveals plasticity within marrow vasculature.

The bone marrow is a central organ of the immune system, which hosts complex interactions of bone and immune compartments critical for hematopoiesis, immunological memory, and bone regeneration. Although these processes take place over months, most existing imaging techniques allow us to follow snapshots of only a few hours, at subcellular resolution. Here, we develop a microendoscopic multi-photon imaging approach called LIMB (longitudinal intravital imaging of the bone marrow) to analyze cellular dynamics within the deep marrow. The approach consists of a biocompatible plate surgically fixated to the mouse femur containing a gradient refractive index lens. This microendoscope allows highly resolved imaging, repeatedly at the same regions within marrow tissue, over months. LIMB reveals extensive vascular plasticity during bone healing and steady-state homeostasis. To our knowledge, this vascular plasticity is unique among mammalian tissues, and we expect this insight will decisively change our understanding of essential phenomena occurring within the bone marrow

Selective targeting of pro-inflammatory Th1 cells by microRNA-148a-specific antagomirs in vivo.

In T lymphocytes, expression of miR-148a is induced by T-bet and Twist1, and is specific for pro-inflammatory Th1 cells. In these cells, miR-148a inhibits the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim and promotes their survival. Here we use sequence-specific cholesterol-modified oligonucleotides against miR-148a (antagomir-148a) for the selective elimination of pro-inflammatory Th1 cells in vivo. In the murine model of transfer colitis, antagomir-148a treatment reduced the number of pro-inflammatory Th1 cells in the colon of colitic mice by 50% and inhibited miR-148a expression by 71% in the remaining Th1 cells. Expression of Bim protein in colonic Th1 cells was increased. Antagomir-148a-mediated reduction of Th1 cells resulted in a significant amelioration of colitis. The effect of antagomir-148a was selective for chronic inflammation. Antigen-specific memory Th cells that were generated by an acute immune reaction to nitrophenylacetyl-coupled chicken gamma globulin (NP-CGG) were not affected by treatment with antagomir-148a, both during the effector and the memory phase. In addition, antibody titers to NP-CGG were not altered. Thus, antagomir-148a might qualify as an effective drug to selectively deplete pro-inflammatory Th1 cells of chronic inflammation without affecting the protective immunological memory

IL-7 and immobilized Kit-ligand stimulate serum- and stromal cell-free cultures of precursor B-cell lines and clones.

Long-term proliferating, DH JH -rearranged mouse precursor B-cell lines have previously been established in serum- and IL-7-containing media from fetal liver, but not from bone marrow. Serum and stromal cells expose these pre-B cells to undefined factors, hampering accurate analyses of ligand-dependent signaling, which controls pre-B cell proliferation, survival, residence and migration. Here, we describe a novel serum-free, stromal cell-free culture system, which allows us to establish and maintain pre-B cells not only from fetal liver, but also from bone marrow with practically identical efficiencies in proliferation, cloning and differentiation. Surprisingly, recombinant kit-ligand, also called stem cell factor, produced as a kit-ligand-Fc fusion protein, suffices to replace stromal cells and serum, provided that it is presented to cultured pre-B cells in an optimal density in plate-bound, insolubilized, potentially crosslinking form. Additional recombinant CXCL12 and fibronectin have a minor influence on the establishment and maintenance of pre-B cell lines and clones from fetal liver, but are necessary to establish such cell lines from bone marrow

Stable lines and clones of long-term proliferating normal, genetically unmodified murine common lymphoid progenitors.

Common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) differentiate to T and B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and innate lymphoid cells. Here, we describe culture conditions that, for the first time, allow the establishment of lymphoid-restricted, but uncommitted, long-term proliferating CLP cell lines and clones from a small pool of these cells from normal mouse bone marrow, without any genetic manipulation. Cells from more than half of the cultured CLP clones could be induced to differentiate to T, B, natural killer, dendritic, and myeloid cells in vitro. Cultured, transplanted CLPs transiently populate the host and differentiate to all lymphoid subsets, and to myeloid cells in vivo. This simple method to obtain robust numbers of cultured noncommitted CLPs will allow studies of cell-intrinsic and environmentally controlled lymphoid differentiation programs. If this method can be applied to human CLPs, it will provide new opportunities for cell therapy of patients in need of myeloid-lymphoid reconstitution

The miR-221/222 cluster regulates hematopoietic stem cell quiescence and multipotency by suppressing both Fos/AP-1/IEG pathway activation and stress-like differentiation to granulocytes.

Throughout life, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), residing in bone marrow (BM), continuously regenerate erythroid/megakaryocytic, myeloid, and lymphoid cell lineages. This steady-state hematopoiesis from HSC and multipotent progenitors (MPPs) in BM can be perturbed by stress. The molecular controls of how stress can impact hematopoietic output remain poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression have been found to control various functions in hematopoiesis. We find that the miR-221/222 cluster, which is expressed in HSC and in MPPs differentiating from them, perturbs steady-state hematopoiesis in ways comparable to stress. We compare pool sizes and single-cell transcriptomes of HSC and MPPs in unperturbed or stress-perturbed, miR-221/222-proficient or miR-221/222-deficient states. MiR-221/222 deficiency in hematopoietic cells was induced in C57BL/6J mice by conditional vav-cre-mediated deletion of the floxed miR-221/222 gene cluster. Social stress as well as miR-221/222 deficiency, alone or in combination, reduced HSC pools 3-fold and increased MPPs 1.5-fold. It also enhanced granulopoisis in the spleen. Furthermore, combined stress and miR-221/222 deficiency increased the erythroid/myeloid/granulocytic precursor pools in BM. Differential expression analyses of single-cell RNAseq transcriptomes of unperturbed and stressed, proficient HSC and MPPs detected more than 80 genes, selectively up-regulated in stressed cells, among them immediate early genes (IEGs). The same differential single-cell transcriptome analyses of unperturbed, miR-221/222-proficient with deficient HSC and MPPs identified Fos, Jun, JunB, Klf6, Nr4a1, Ier2, Zfp36-all IEGs-as well as CD74 and Ly6a as potential miRNA targets. Three of them, Klf6, Nr4a1, and Zfp36, have previously been found to influence myelogranulopoiesis. Together with increased levels of Jun, Fos forms increased amounts of the heterodimeric activator protein-1 (AP-1), which is known to control the expression of the selectively up-regulated expression of the IEGs. The comparisons of single-cell mRNA-deep sequencing analyses of socially stressed with miR-221/222-deficient HSC identify 5 of the 7 Fos/AP-1-controlled IEGs, Ier2, Jun, Junb, Klf6, and Zfp36, as common activators of HSC from quiescence. Combined with stress, miR-221/222 deficiency enhanced the Fos/AP-1/IEG pathway, extended it to MPPs, and increased the number of granulocyte precursors in BM, inducing selective up-regulation of genes encoding heat shock proteins Hspa5 and Hspa8, tubulin-cytoskeleton-organizing proteins Tuba1b, Tubb 4b and 5, and chromatin remodeling proteins H3f3b, H2afx, H2afz, and Hmgb2. Up-regulated in HSC, MPP1, and/or MPP2, they appear as potential regulators of stress-induced, miR-221/222-dependent increased granulocyte differentiation. Finally, stress by serial transplantations of miR-221/222-deficient HSC selectively exhausted their lymphoid differentiation capacities, while retaining their ability to home to BM and to differentiate to granulocytes. Thus, miR-221/222 maintains HSC quiescence and multipotency by suppressing Fos/AP-1/IEG-mediated activation and by suppressing enhanced stress-like differentiation to granulocytes. Since miR-221/222 is also expressed in human HSC, controlled induction of miR-221/222 in HSC should improve BM transplantations

Polypyrimidine tract binding protein 1 regulates the activation of mouse CD8 T cells

Funder: the BBSRC Core Capability Grant to the Babraham InstituteFunder: Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust studentshipAbstract: The RNA‐binding protein polypyrimidine tract binding protein 1 (PTBP1) has been found to have roles in CD4 T‐cell activation, but its function in CD8 T cells remains untested. We show it is dispensable for the development of naïve mouse CD8 T cells, but is necessary for the optimal expansion and production of effector molecules by antigen‐specific CD8 T cells in vivo. PTBP1 has an essential role in regulating the early events following activation of the naïve CD8 T cell leading to IL‐2 and TNF production. It is also required to protect activated CD8 T cells from apoptosis. PTBP1 controls alternative splicing of over 400 genes in naïve CD8 T cells in addition to regulating the abundance of ∼200 mRNAs. PTBP1 is required for the nuclear accumulation of c‐Fos, NFATc2, and NFATc3, but not NFATc1. This selective effect on NFAT proteins correlates with PTBP1‐promoted expression of the shorter Aβ1 isoform and exon 13 skipped Aβ2 isoform of the catalytic A‐subunit of calcineurin phosphatase. These findings reveal a crucial role for PTBP1 in regulating CD8 T‐cell activation

The timing of differentiation and potency of CD8 effector function is set by RNA binding proteins

CD8+ T cell differentiation into effector cells is initiated early after antigen encounter by signals from the T cell antigen receptor and costimulatory molecules. The molecular mechanisms that establish the timing and rate of differentiation however are not defined. Here we show that the RNA binding proteins (RBP) ZFP36 and ZFP36L1 limit the rate of differentiation of activated naïve CD8+ T cells and the potency of the resulting cytotoxic lymphocytes. The RBP function in an early and short temporal window to enforce dependency on costimulation via CD28 for full T cell activation and effector differentiation by directly binding mRNA of NF-κB, Irf8 and Notch1 transcription factors and cytokines, including Il2. Their absence in T cells, or the adoptive transfer of small numbers of CD8+ T cells lacking the RBP, promotes resilience to influenza A virus infection without immunopathology. These findings highlight ZFP36 and ZFP36L1 as nodes for the integration of the early T cell activation signals controlling the speed and quality of the CD8+ T cell response