IL-22 deficiency in donor T cells attenuates murine acute graft-versus-host disease mortality while sparing the graft-versus-leukemia effect

Leukemia. 2013 Jul;27(7):1527-37. doi: 10.1038/leu.2013.39. Epub 2013 Feb 12.

Abstract

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) remains a major complication following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), limiting the success of this therapy. Many proinflammatory cytokines secreted following the conditioning regimen have been linked to aGVHD initiation. Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is a cytokine related to IL-10 for its structure and is secreted by T helper type 17 (TH17) cells and innate immune cells. Given the paradoxical role of IL-22 in inflammation with both protective or proinflammatory functions, we investigated whether IL-22 could have a role in aGVHD pathophysiology in a mouse allo-HCT model. In this study, we show that IL-22 deficiency in donor T cells can decrease the severity of aGVHD, while limiting systemic and local inflammation in aGVHD target organs. In addition, we found that Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg cells) were increased in recipient mice that received IL-22-deficient T cells, suggesting that Treg were involved in the reduced severity of GVHD. Finally, we found that the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect mediated by donor T cells was preserved in the absence of IL-22. Overall, these data suggest that targeting of IL-22 may represent a valid approach towards decreasing aGVHD severity after allo-HCT while preserving the GVL effect.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Adoptive Transfer
  • Animals
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • Female
  • Forkhead Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Graft vs Host Disease* / genetics
  • Graft vs Host Disease* / immunology
  • Graft vs Host Disease* / mortality
  • Graft vs Leukemia Effect / immunology*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / methods
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / mortality*
  • Inflammation Mediators / immunology
  • Inflammation Mediators / metabolism
  • Interleukin-22
  • Interleukins / genetics
  • Interleukins / immunology*
  • Interleukins / metabolism
  • Lymphoid Tissue / cytology
  • Lymphoid Tissue / immunology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / metabolism

Substances

  • Forkhead Transcription Factors
  • Foxp3 protein, mouse
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • Interleukins