Metabolic reprogramming of naïve regulatory T cells by IL-7 and IL-15 promotes their persistence and performance upon

Jessica Filoni1, Arianna Ferrari1, Tatiana Jofra1

  • 1San Raffaele Diabetes Research Institute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele Milan, Milan, Italy.

Communications Biology
|January 21, 2025
PubMed

Tregs for adoptive therapy are traditionally expanded ex vivo using high doses of IL-2. However, the final Treg product has limited survival once infused in patients, potentially affecting therapeutic effectiveness. Here, we tested a novel expansion protocol in which highly purified naïve Tregs were expanded with a combination of IL-7 and IL-15, in the absence of IL-2. The final Treg product was enriched with cells displaying an immature CD45RA+CD62L+CD95+ phenotype, reminiscent of conventional memory stem T cells. The combination of IL-7 and IL-15 confers Tregs a glycolytic metabolism and improved metabolic fitness, characterized by an increased capacity to adapt metabolism according to glucose and oxygen availability. Tregs expanded with IL-7 and IL-15 showed longer persistence and an improved capacity to control xeno-GvHD in NSG mice. This work suggests that metabolic reprogramming induced by IL-7 and IL-15 provides better Treg performance for adoptive therapy.

Related Concept Videos

T Cell Types and Functions01:24

T Cell Types and Functions

When T cells with CD4 markers are activated, they give rise to two types of effector cells: helper T cells and regulatory T cells. Meanwhile, T cells with CD8 markers differentiate into effector cytotoxic T cells. The differentiation of CD4 T cells into helper T cell subsets, such as Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells, is dependent on the antigen type, antigen-presenting cell, and regulatory cytokines.
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
945
Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming01:29

Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming

Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012...
2.2K
Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming01:14

Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming

Nuclear reprogramming is the process of switching gene expression of one cell type to that of another cell type, usually from a differentiated cell state to an undifferentiated cell state. Differentiation occurs during processes such as development and morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, and malignancy. Cells can also be artificially induced to reprogram their gene expression by techniques such as nuclear transfer, induced pluripotency, and cell fusion. Such techniques have many applications in...
1.9K
Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming01:24

Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming

Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for...
1.8K