Nitric oxide modulates TGF-β–directive signals to suppress Foxp3+ regulatory T cell differentiation and potentiate Th1 development

SW Lee, H Choi, SY Eun, S Fukuyama… - The Journal of …, 2011 - journals.aai.org
SW Lee, H Choi, SY Eun, S Fukuyama, M Croft
The Journal of Immunology, 2011journals.aai.org
TGF-β can induce Foxp3+ inducible regulatory T cells (Treg) and also synergize with IL-6
and IL-4 to induce Th17 and Th9 cells. We now report that NO modulates TGF-β activity
away from Treg but toward the Th1 lineage. NO potentiated Th1 differentiation in the
presence of TGF-β in both IL-12–independent and–dependent fashions by augmenting IFN-
γ–activated STAT-1 and T-bet. Differentiation into Treg, Th1, and Th17 lineages could be
modulated by NO competing with other cofactors, such as IL-6 and retinoic acid. NO …
Abstract
TGF-β can induce Foxp3+ inducible regulatory T cells (Treg) and also synergize with IL-6 and IL-4 to induce Th17 and Th9 cells. We now report that NO modulates TGF-β activity away from Treg but toward the Th1 lineage. NO potentiated Th1 differentiation in the presence of TGF-β in both IL-12–independent and–dependent fashions by augmenting IFN-γ–activated STAT-1 and T-bet. Differentiation into Treg, Th1, and Th17 lineages could be modulated by NO competing with other cofactors, such as IL-6 and retinoic acid. NO antagonized IL-6 to block TGF-β–directed Th17 differentiation, and together with IL-6, NO suppressed Treg development induced by TGF-β and retinoic acid. Furthermore, we show that physiologically produced NO from TNF and inducible NO synthase-producing dendritic cells can contribute to Th1 development predominating over Treg development through a synergistic activity induced when these cells cocluster with conventional dendritic cells presenting Ag to naive Th cells. This illustrates that NO is another cofactor allowing TGF-β to participate in development of multiple Th lineages and suggests a new mechanism by which NO, which is associated with protection against intracellular pathogens, might maintain effective Th1 immunity.
journals.aai.org