Selective suicide of cross-presenting CD8+ dendritic cells by cytochrome c injection shows functional heterogeneity within this subset.
Cross-presentation as a fundamental pathway of activating CD8(+) T cells has been well established. So far the application of this concept in vivo is limited, and the mechanisms that specialize CD8(+) dendritic cells (DCs) for this task are not fully understood. Here we take advantage of the specific cytosolic export feature of cross-presenting DCs together with the property of cytosolic cytochrome c (cyt c) in initiating Apaf-1-dependent apoptosis selectively in cross-presenting DCs. A single i.v. injection of cyt c in B6 mice produced a 2- to 3-fold reduction in splenic CD8(+) DCs but not in Apaf-1-deficient mice. Functional studies both in vivo and in vitro showed that cyt c profoundly abrogated OVA-specific CD8(+) T cell proliferation through its apoptosis-inducing effect on cross-presenting DCs. More importantly, in vivo injection of cyt c abolished the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to exogenous antigen and reduced subsequent immunity to tumor challenge. In addition, only a proportion of CD8(+) DCs that express abundant IL-12 and Toll-like receptor 3 were efficient cross-presenters. Our data support the hypothesis that cross-presentation in vivo requires cytosolic diversion of endocytosed proteins, conferring cross-presentation specialization to a proportion of CD8(+) DCs. We propose that DCs incapable of such transfer, even within the CD8(+) DC subset, are unable to cross-present. Our model opens an avenue to specifically target cross-presenting DCs in vivo for manipulating cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses toward infections, tumors, and transplants.
Lin
Ming Lee
ML
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville VIC 3050, Australia.
Zhan
Yifan
Y
Proietto
Anna I
AI
Prato
Sandro
S
Wu
Li
L
Heath
William R
WR
Villadangos
Jose A
JA
Lew
Andrew M
AM
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000276:immunology*; D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1 / Q000276:immunology; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D045142:Cross-Priming / Q000276:immunology*; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
D053477:Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D045304:Cytochromes c