Immune Netw.  2015 Aug;15(4):199-205. 10.4110/in.2015.15.4.199.

Anti-proliferative Activity of T-bet

Affiliations
  • 1College of Pharmacy and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Korea. eshwang@ewha.ac.kr

Abstract

T-bet is a critical transcription factor that regulates differentiation of Th1 cells from CD4+ precursor cells. Since T-bet directly binds to the promoter of the IFN-gamma gene and activates its transcription, T-bet deficiency impairs IFN-gamma production in Th1 cells. Interestingly, T-bet-deficient Th cells also display substantially augmented the production of IL-2, a T cell growth factor. Exogenous expression of T-bet in T-bet deficient Th cells rescued the IFN-gamma production and suppressed IL-2 expression. IFN-gamma and IL-2 reciprocally regulate Th cell proliferation following TCR stimulation. Therefore, we examined the effect of T-bet on Th cell proliferation and found that T-bet deficiency significantly enhanced Th cell proliferation under non-skewing, Th1-skewing, and Th2-skewing conditions. By using IFN-gamma-null mice to eliminate the anti-proliferative effect of IFN-gamma, T-bet deficiency still enhanced Th cell proliferation under both Th1- and Th2-skewing conditions. Since the anti-proliferative activity of T-bet may be influenced by IL-2 suppression in Th cells, we examined whether T-bet modulates IL-2-independent cell proliferation in a non-T cell population. We demonstrated that T-bet expression induced by ecdysone treatment in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells increased IFN-gamma promoter activity in a dose dependent manner, and sustained T-bet expression considerably decreased cell proliferation in HEK cells. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying anti-proliferative activity of T-bet remain to be elucidated, T-bet may directly suppress cell proliferation in an IFN-gamma- or an IL-2-independent manner.

Keyword

T-bet; Proliferation; IFN-gamma; IL-2; Ecdysone; Th cells

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cell Proliferation
Ecdysone
Humans
Interleukin-2
Kidney
Mice
Th1 Cells
Transcription Factors
Ecdysone
Interleukin-2
Transcription Factors

Figure

  • Figure 1 Effect of T-bet on Th cell proliferation. CD4+ Th cells were isolated from WT and T-bet KO mice in the absence (-, A) or presence (+, B) of exogenous rhIL-2 and stimulated with different amounts of anti-CD3 under non-skewing (NS) conditions for 3 days. Cells were seubsequently incubated with 3H-thymidine and subjected to liquid scintillation counting using Micro Beta and TopCount equipment (Perkin Elmer). Y-axes represent count per minute (CPM). Three independent experiments were performed using 6 mice for each experiment. Data are expressed as the average ±SD of 6 mice. *p<0.05, **p<0.005.

  • Figure 2 Effect of T-bet on Th1 and Th2 cell proliferation. CD4+ Th cells isolated from WT and T-bet KO mice were activated using anti-CD3 and differentiated into Th1 and Th2 cells in the presence (+) or absence (-) of exogenous rhIL-2. Developing Th1 and Th2 cells were incubated with 3H-thymidine to determine cell proliferation rate. Y-axes represent count per minute (CPM). A total of 6 mice per group were analyzed and data are presented as the average ±SD of 3 experiments. *p<0.05, **p<0.005, ***p<0.0005.

  • Figure 3 IFN-γ independence of T-bet's anti-proliferation activity. CD4+ Th cells were isolated from IFN-γ KO mice and IFN-γ/T-bet double KO mice and stimulated with anti-CD3 in the either presence (+) or absence (-) of exogenous rhIL-2. Cells were cultured for an additional 2 to 3 days under Th1-skewing (A) or Th2-skewing (B) conditions. Cell proliferation rates of developing Th cells from either T-bet WT or T-bet KO mice established IFN-γ-deficient background were determined using a thymidine incorporation assay. A total of 5 mice per group were used for analysis and data are expressed as the average ±SD. **p<0.005, ***p<0.0005.

  • Figure 4 IL-2 suppression and IFN-γ induction by T-bet in Th cells. Spleens and lymph node tissues were collected from WT and DTg/KO mice and CD4+ Th cells were isolated. Isolated Th cells were stimulated with anti-CD3 (2 µg/mL) in the either presence (+) or absence (-) of doxycycline (0.5 µg/mL) for 3 days. (A) Cell pellets were harvested and subjected to protein analysis by immunoblotting with Ab against T-bet or actin. (B) Cell supernatants were harvested for IL-2 and IFN-γ analysis by ELISA. Five independent experiments were performed and data are expressed as the average ±SD for 5 mice per group. *p<0.05; ***p<0.0005.

  • Figure 5 Ecdysone-inducible expression of functional T-bet in non-T cells. EcR-HEK cells were transiently transfected with T-bet expression vector and subsequently treated with PonA for 24 hours. (A) Whole cell protein extracts were resolved by SDS-PAGE and subjected to immunoblotting with Ab against Flag, T-bet (4B10), or actin. (B) EcR-HEK cells were transiently transfected with T-bet expression vector together with pIFN-γ-luciferase reporter gene and pCMVβ as an internal control. After treatment with different concentrations of PonA, cells were harvested for determination of luciferase activity. At least three independent reporter assays were performed and data are given as the average ±SD. ***p<0.0005.

  • Figure 6 Suppression of cell proliferation by T-bet. Stable T-bet expressing cell clones were established in EcR-HEK cells and maintained in DMEM containing G418 and Zeocin. (A) Stable cells were treated with PonA for 24 h. Protein extracts were prepared from each stable cell clone and analyzed by immunoblotting with the T-bet (4B10) Ab. (B) Stable cell clones were cultured with or without PonA at the indicated concentrations. Cells were counted by Trypan blue exclusion assay every 2 days in triplicate. Data are expressed as the average±SD from 3 separate experiments. ns, not significant; *p<0.05; **p<0.005; ***p<0.0005.


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