RELT negatively regulates the early phase of the T-cell response in mice

RELT (tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 19-like, TNFRSF19L) is a TNFR superfamily member that is primarily expressed in immune cells and lymphoid tissues, but whose immunological function is not well-defined. Here, we show that RELT is expressed by naive T cells and DCs, and their activation or maturation decreases RELT expression. Using RELT knockout (RELT^-/- ) mice, we demonstrate that RELT deficiency selectively promotes the homeostatic proliferation of CD4⁺ T cells but not CD8⁺ T cells, and enhances anti-tumor CD8⁺ T-cell responses. We also demonstrate, using an adoptive transfer model in which RELT is knocked-out in either the transferred transgenic CD8⁺ T cells or the recipient melanoma-bearing mice, that RELT on multiple immune cells limits the hyper-response of tumor-specific CD8⁺ T cells. Hyper-responsiveness of RELT-deficient T cells was induced by promoting their proliferation. Taken together, our findings suggest that RELT acts as a negative regulator that controls the early phase of T-cell activation probably by promoting T-cell apoptosis.