Journal Article

Hypoxia-inducible factors enhance the effector responses of CD8+ T cells to persistent antigen

Goldrath, Ananda W, Yang, Edward, Stradner, Martin H, Nguyen, Jessica V, Phan, Anthony T, Doedens, Andrew L, Fujimoto, Jessica K, Johnson, Randall S

2013

Overview

The transcription factor HIF is induced in response to hypoxic stress, TCR activation and cytokines. Goldrath and colleagues show that HIF signaling enhances CTL effector responses and can render cells refractory to immune exhaustion. Cytolytic activity by CD8 + cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) is a powerful strategy for the elimination of intracellular pathogens and tumor cells. The destructive capacity of CTLs is progressively dampened during chronic infection, yet the environmental cues and molecular pathways that influence immunological 'exhaustion' remain unclear. Here we found that CTL immunity was regulated by the central transcriptional response to hypoxia, which is controlled in part by hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) and the von Hippel–Lindau tumor suppressor VHL. Loss of VHL, the main negative regulator of HIFs, led to lethal CTL-mediated immunopathology during chronic infection, and VHL-deficient CTLs displayed enhanced control of persistent viral infection and neoplastic growth. We found that HIFs and oxygen influenced the expression of pivotal transcription, effector and costimulatory-inhibitory molecules of CTLs, which was relevant to strategies that promote the clearance of viruses and tumors.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group US,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 631/250 / 631/250/2152 / 631/250/254 / 631/250/580 / Animals / Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - deficiency / Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics / Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - immunology / Biomedicine / Cell Hypoxia - immunology / Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects / Humans / Hypoxia / Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit - deficiency / Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit - genetics / Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit - immunology / Immunology / Infectious Diseases / Lymphocytes / Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis - immunology / Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis - pathology / Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis - virology / Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus - immunology / Melanoma, Experimental - immunology / Melanoma, Experimental - mortality / Melanoma, Experimental - pathology / Melanoma, Experimental - virology / Mice / Mice, Knockout / Oxygen - pharmacology / Pathogens / Signal Transduction - drug effects / Skin Neoplasms - immunology / Skin Neoplasms - mortality / Skin Neoplasms - pathology / Skin Neoplasms - virology / Survival Analysis / T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology / T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - pathology / Transcription, Genetic - drug effects / Tumors / Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein - genetics / Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein - immunology