IL-6-mediated endothelial injury impairs anti-viral humoral immunity
Endothelial function and integrity are compromised after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) but how this affects immune responses broadly remains unknown. Using a preclinical model of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation after BMT, we found compromised antiviral humoral responses induced by IL-6 signaling. IL-6 signaling in T cells maintained Th1 cells resulting in sustained IFN? secretion which promoted endothelial cell (EC) injury, loss of the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) responsible for immunoglobulin G (IgG) recycling, and rapid IgG loss. In contrast, recipient IgG producing cells are rapidly eliminated after BMT. T cell-specific deletion of IL-6R led to persistence of recipient-derived CMV-specific IgG and inhibited CMV reactivation. Deletion of IFN? in donor T cells also eliminated EC injury and FcRn loss. In a phase III clinical trial, blockade of IL-6R with tocilizumab promoted CMV-specific IgG persistence and significantly attenuated early HCMV reactivation. In sum, IL-6 invokes IFN?-dependent EC injury and consequent IgG loss leading to CMV reactivation. Hence, cytokine inhibition represents a logical strategy to prevent endothelial injury thereby preserving humoral immunity after immunotherapy. Overall design: Non-infected B6D2F1 recipients were transplanted with WT TCD BM (5x106) ± T cells (2x106) from WT or IFNg ko donors, thus there are 3 groups: TCD BM, WT BM+T and IFNg KO BM+T. Endothelial cells were isolated from liver on day +7, pooled from 3 mice per group, FACS sort to CD31+ and processed for single cell RNAseq.