CD8+ T cell granzyme B activates keratinocyte endogenous IL-18

IL-18 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine of the IL-1 family involved in Th1/Th2 polarization. IL-18 is produced and stored as an inactive precursor (proIL-18) in several cells including keratinocytes, and thus appropriate processing is required to release its active form. In a previous study using recombinant protein, we demonstrated that granzyme B (GrB) cleaves proIL-18 into its active forms in a similar fashion as caspase-1 and human mast cell chymase. GrB released from cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and NK cells has roles in apoptosis and cytotoxic activity. In certain inflammatory skin diseases with epidermal cell death, the epidermal keratinocytes are targets of CTL and NK cells. However, IL-18 activation during the direct interaction of CTL/NK with keratinocytes has not been described so far. We investigated the interaction between CTL and keratinocytes, and IL-18 processing by CTL-derived GrB using cultured CD8+ T cells and keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. GrB(+)/caspase-1(-) CD8+ T cells cultivated from healthy human PBMC were co-cultured with interferon(IFN)-γ-treated HaCaT cells. The expression of GrB and caspase-1 in HaCaT cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and PCR. The IL-18 concentration in the culture supernatant was measured by specific ELISA. The interaction between HaCaT cells and CTL co-culture increased the number of cytoplasmic GrB-positive HaCaT cells with limited endogenous GrB mRNA expression. The concentration of mature IL-18 levels increased in the co-culture supernatant. GrB from CTLs acts double roles to keratinocytes: a IL-18 converting enzyme and pro-apoptotic factor in the skin inflammatory diseases.