@phdthesis{CruzdeCasas2024,
  author    = {Cruz de Casas, Paulina},
  title     = {Sphingolipids as modulators of T cell function},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-35969},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-359698},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {The immune system is responsible for the preservation of homeostasis whenever a given organism is exposed to distinct kinds of perturbations. Given the complexity of certain organisms like mammals, and the diverse types of challenges that they encounter (e.g. infection or disease), the immune system evolved to harbor a great variety of distinct immune cell populations with specialized functions. For instance, the family of T cells is sub-divided into conventional (Tconv) and unconventional T cells (UTCs). Tconv form part of the adaptive arm of the immune system and are comprised of αβ CD4+ or CD8+ cells that differentiate from na{\"i}ve to effector and memory populations upon activation and are essential during infection and cancer. Furthermore, UTCs, which include γδ T cells, NKT and MAIT, are involved in innate and adaptive immune responses, due to their dual mode of activation, through cytokines (innate-like) or TCR (adaptive), and function. Despite our understanding of the basic functions of T cells in several contexts, a great number of open questions related to their basic biology remain. For instance, the mechanism behind the differentiation of na{\"i}ve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells into effector and memory populations is not fully understood. Moreover, the exact function and relevance of distinct UTC subpopulations in a physiological context have not been fully clarified. Here, we investigated the factors mediating na{\"i}ve CD8+ T cell differentiation into effector and memory cells. By using flow cytometry, mass spectrometry, enzymatic assays, and transgenic mouse models, we found that the membrane bound enzyme sphingomyelin-phosphodiesterase acid-like 3b (Smpdl3b) is crucial for the maintenance of memory CD8+ T cells. Our data show that the absence of Smpdl3b leads to diminished CD8+ T cell memory, and a loss of stem-like memory populations due to an aggravated contraction. Our scRNA-seq data suggest that Smpdl3b could be involved in clathrinmediated endocytosis through modulation of Huntingtin interacting protein 1 (Hip1) levels, likely regulating TCR-independent signaling events. Furthermore, in this study we explored the role of UTCs in lymph node-specific immune responses. By using transgenic mouse models for photolabeling, lymph node transplantation models, infection models and flow cytometry, we demonstrate that S1P regulates the migration of tissue-derived UTC from tissues to draining lymph nodes, resulting in heterogeneous immune responses mounted by lymph nodes draining different tissues. Moreover, our unbiased scRNAseq and single lineage-deficient mouse models analysis revealed that all UTC lineages (γδ T cells, NKT and MAIT) are organized in functional units, based on transcriptional homogeneity, shared microanatomical location and migratory behavior, and numerical and functional redundancy. Taken together, our studies describe additional cell intrinsic (Smpdl3b) and extrinsic (S1Pmediated migration) functions of sphingolipid metabolism modulating T cell biology. We propose the S1P/S1PR1/5 signaling axis as the potential survival pathway for Smpdl3b+ memory CD8+ T cells and UTCs, mainly in lymph nodes. Possibly, Smpdl3b regulates S1P/S1PR signaling by balancing ligandreceptor endocytosis, while UTCs migrate to lymph nodes during homeostasis to be exposed to specific levels of S1P that assure their maintenance. Our results are clinically relevant, since several drugs modulating the S1P/S1PR signaling axis or the levels of Smpdl3b are currently used to treat human diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and B cell-mediated diseases. We hope that our discoveries will inspire future studies focusing on sphingolipid metabolism in immune cell biology.},
  subject      = {T-Lymphozyt},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{PenaMosca2024,
  author    = {Pe{\~n}a Mosca, Mar{\´i}a Josefina},
  title     = {Local regulation of T-cell immunity in the intestinal mucosa},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-35266},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-352665},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {After priming in Peyer's patches (PPs) and mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN) T- cells infiltrate the intestine through lymphatic draining and homing through the bloodstream. However, we found that in mouse models of acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a subset of alloreactive T-cells directly migrates from PPs to the adjacent intestinal lamina propria (LP), bypassing the normal lymphatic drainage and vascular trafficking routes. Notably, this direct migration occurred in irradiated and unirradiated GvHD models, indicating that irradiation is not a prerequisite for this observed behavior. Next, we established a method termed serial intravascular staining (SIVS) in mouse models to systematically investigate the trafficking and migration of donor T- cells in the early stages of acute GvHD initiation. We found that the direct migration of T-cells from PPs to LP resulted in faster recruitment of cells after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). These directly migrating T-cells were found to be in an activated and proliferative state, exhibiting a TH1/TH17-like phenotype and producing cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α. Furthermore, we observed that the directly migrating alloreactive T-cells expressed specific integrins (α4+, αE+) and chemokine receptors (CxCR3+, CCR5+, and CCR9+). Surprisingly, blocking these integrins and chemokine-coupled receptors did not hinder the direct migration of T- cells from PPs to LP, suggesting the involvement of alternative mechanisms. Previous experiments ruled out the involvement of S1PR1 and topographical features of macrophages, leading us to hypothesize that mediators of cytoskeleton reorganization, such as Coro1a, Dock2, or Cdc42, may play a role in this unique migration process. Additionally, we observed that directly migrating T-cells created a local inflammatory microenvironment, which attracts circulating T-cells. Histological analysis confirmed that alloreactive PPs-derived T-cells and bloodborne T-cells colocalized. We employed two experimental approaches, including either photoconversion of T-cells in PPs or direct transfer of activated T-cells into the vasculature, to demonstrate this colocalization. We hypothesize that cytokines released by migrating T-cells, such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, may play a role in recruiting T-cells from the vasculature, as inhibiting chemokine-coupled receptors did not impair recruitment.},
  subject      = {T-Lymphozyt},
  language  = {en}
}