title: Antigen-presenting effects of effector memory Vγ9Vδ2 T cells in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects the limbs, but the pathogenic mechanism remains unclear. γδ T cells, a T-cell subpopulation, are characterized by multiple biological functions and associated with a variety of diseases. This study investigated the antigen-presenting effects of γδ T cells and their relationship with rheumatoid arthritis development. We found that Vγ9Vδ2 T cells (the predominant subtype of γδ T cells in peripheral blood) were activated by isopentenyl pyrophosphate to continuously proliferate and differentiate into effector memory cells. The effector memory Vγ9Vδ2 T cells exhibited phenotypic characteristics of specific antigen-presenting cells, including high HLA-DR and CD80/86 expression. These Vγ9Vδ2 T cells could present soluble antigens and synthetic peptides to CD4(+) T cells. Vγ9Vδ2 T cells with different phenotypes showed different cytokine secretion patterns. Effector memory Vγ9Vδ2 T cells simultaneously secreted not only interferon (IFN)-γ but also IL-17. The peripheral blood and joint synovial fluid from RA patients contained numerous heterogeneous γδ T cells that were predominantly effector memory Vγ9Vδ2 T cells with the ability to secrete inflammatory factors. We also found that γδ T cells had a similar antigen-presenting capability to B cells. These results suggest that during the development of rheumatoid arthritis, γδ T cells can aggravate immune dysfunction and produce abnormal immune damage by secreting cytokines and inducing inflammatory cells to participate in synergistic inflammatory responses. Furthermore, γδ T cells can behave similarly to B cells to present viral peptides and autoantigen peptides to CD4(+) T cells, thus sustaining CD4(+) T-cell activation.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China.
authors.forename: Chaoying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Qiuyu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qiwen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Jiying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dongyi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xuehua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bingya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Dongqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D045782:Hemiterpenes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000378:metabolism; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D045782:Hemiterpenes; D020381:Interleukin-17; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; C521523:T-cell receptor Vdelta2, human; C521522:T-cell receptor Vgamma9, human; C004809:isopentenyl pyrophosphate; D007371:Interferon-gamma