| First Author | Baba T | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | PLoS One | Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | e41154 |
| PubMed ID | 22815949 | Mgi Jnum | J:189603 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5446549 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0041154 |
| Citation | Baba T, et al. (2012) Novel process of intrathymic tumor-immune tolerance through CCR2-mediated recruitment of Sirpalpha+ dendritic cells: a murine model. PLoS One 7(7):e41154 |
| abstractText | Immune surveillance system can detect more efficiently secretory tumor-specific antigens, which are superior as a target for cancer immunotherapy. On the contrary, immune tolerance can be induced in the thymus when a tumor antigen is massively secreted into circulation. Thus, the secretion of tumor-specific antigen may have contradictory roles in tumor immunity in a context-dependent manner. However, it remains elusive on the precise cellular mechanism of intrathymic immune tolerance against tumor antigens. We previously demonstrated that a minor thymic conventional dendritic cell (cDC) subset, CD8alpha(-)Sirpalpha(+) cDCs, but not the major subset, CD8alpha(+)Sirpalpha(-) cDCs can selectively capture blood-borne antigens and crucially contribute to the self-tolerance. In the present study, we further demonstrated that Sirpalpha(+) cDCs can capture a blood-borne antigen leaking inside the interlobular vascular-rich regions (IVRs). Blood-borne antigen selectively captured by Sirpalpha(+) cDCs can induce antigen-specific Treg generation or negative selection, depending on the immunogenicity of the presented antigen. Furthermore, CCR2 expression by thymic Sirpalpha(+) cDCs and abundant expression of its ligands, particularly, CCL2 by tumor-bearing mice prompted us to examine the function of thymic Sirpalpha(+) cDCs in tumor-bearing mice. Interestingly, tumor-bearing mice deposited CCL2 inside IVRs in the thymus. Moreover, tumor formation induced the accumulation of Sirpalpha(+) cDCs in IVRs under the control of CCR2-CCL2 axis and enhanced their capacity to take up antigens, resulting in the shift from Treg differentiation to negative selection. Finally, intrathymic negative selection similarly ensued in CCR2-competent mice once the tumor-specific antigen was secreted into bloodstream. Thus, we demonstrated that thymic Sirpalpha(+) cDCs crucially contribute to this novel process of intrathymic tumor immune tolerance. |
