CD134 Plus CD137 Dual Costimulation Induces Eomesodermin in CD4 T Cells to Program Cytotoxic Th1 Differentiation
Date of Completion
January 2012
Keywords
Health Sciences, Immunology
Degree
Ph.D.
Abstract
Cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells are emerging as a therapeutically useful T cell lineage that can effectively target tumors, but until now the pathways that govern their differentiation have been poorly understood. We demonstrate that CD134 (OX40) costimulation programs naive self- and virus-reactive CD4 T cells to undergo in vivo differentiation into cytotoxic Th1 effectors. CD137 (4-1BB) costimulation maximized clonal expansion and IL-2 was necessary for cytotoxic Th1 differentiation. Importantly, the T-box transcription factor Eomesodermin (Eomes) was critical for inducing the cytotoxic marker granzyme B. CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation also imprinted a cytotoxic phenotype on bystanding CD4 T cells. Thus, the present study identifies for the first time a specific costimulatory pathway and an intracellular mechanism relying on Eomes that induces both antigen-specific and bystander cytotoxic CD4 Th1 cells. This mechanism might be therapeutically useful since CD134 plus CD137 dual costimulation induced CD4 T cell-dependent tumoricidal function in a mouse melanoma model. ^
Recommended Citation
Qui, Harry Z, "CD134 Plus CD137 Dual Costimulation Induces Eomesodermin in CD4 T Cells to Program Cytotoxic Th1 Differentiation" (2012). Doctoral Dissertations. AAI3520424.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/dissertations/AAI3520424