title: Impact of Enriched Environment on Murine T Cell Differentiation and Gene Expression Profile.
abstract: T cells are known to be plastic and to change their phenotype according to the cellular and biochemical milieu they are embedded in. In this study, we transposed this concept at a macroscopic level assessing whether changes in the environmental housing conditions of C57/BL6 mice would influence the phenotype and function of T cells. Our study shows that exposure to 2 weeks in an enriched environment (EE) does not impact the T cell repertoirein vivoand causes no changes in the early TCR-driven activation events of these cells. Surprisingly, however, T cells from enriched mice showed a unique T helper effector cell phenotype upon differentiationin vitro. This was featured by a significant reduction in their ability to produce IFN-γ and by an increased release of IL-10 and IL-17. Microarray analysis of these cells also revealed a unique gene fingerprint with key signaling pathways involved in autoimmunity being modulated. Together, our results provide first evidence for a specific effect of EE on T cell differentiation and its associated changes in gene expression profile. In addition, our study sheds new light on the possible mechanisms by which changes in environmental factors can significantly influence the immune response of the host and favor the resolution of the inflammatory response.
authors.affiliation: William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Lorenza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rattazzi
authors.affiliation: William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Giuseppa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brod
authors.affiliation: William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Koval
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Faculty of Natural Science, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine , London , UK.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.affiliation: William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Fulvio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: D'Acquisto
keywords: CD4 T cells; cytokines; enriched environment; microarray; resolution of inflammation