Myeloid-derived suppressor cells expand after transplantation and their augmentation increases graft survival

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) expand in an inflammatory microenvironment such as cancer and autoimmunity. To study if transplantation induces MDSCs and these cells regulate allograft survival, C57BL/6 donor hearts were transplanted into BALB/c recipients and endogenous MDSCs were characterized. The effects of adoptive transfer of transplant (tx), tumor (tm), and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (g-csf)-expanded MDSCs or depletion of MDSC were assessed. MDSCs expanded after transplantation (1.7-4.6-fold) in the absence of immunosuppression, homed to allografts, and suppressed proliferation of CD4 T cells in vitro. Tx-MDSCs differed phenotypically from tm-MDSCs and g-csf-MDSCs. Among various surface markers, Rae-1 expression was notably low and TGF-β receptor II was high in tx-MDSCs when compared to tm-MDSCs and g-csf-MDSCs. Adoptive transfer of these three MDSCs led to differential graft survival: control (6 days), tx-MDSCs (7.5 days), tm-MDSCs (9.5 days), and g-csf-MDSCs (19.5 days). In combination with anti-CD154 mAb, MDSCs synergistically extended graft survival from 40 days (anti-CD154 alone) to 86 days with tm-MDSCs and 132 days with g-csf-MDSCs. Early MDSC depletion (day 0 or 20), however, abrogated graft survival, but late depletion (day 25) did not. In conclusion, MDSCs expanded following transplantation, migrated to cardiac allografts, prolonged graft survival, and were synergistic with anti-CD154 mAb.