This article may be too technical for most readers to understand.(September 2017) |
Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4, (CTLA-4) also known as CD152 (cluster of differentiation 152), is a protein receptor that functions as an immune checkpoint and downregulates immune responses. CTLA-4 is constitutively expressed in regulatory T cells but only upregulated in conventional T cells after activation – a phenomenon which is particularly notable in cancers. [5] It acts as an "off" switch when bound to CD80 or CD86 on the surface of antigen-presenting cells. It is encoded by the gene CTLA4 in humans.
The CTLA-4 protein is encoded by the Ctla-4 gene in mice. [6] [7]
CTLA-4 was first identified in 1991 as a second receptor for the T cell costimulation ligand B7. [8] In November 1995, the labs of Tak Wah Mak and Arlene Sharpe independently published their findings on the discovery of the function of CTLA-4 as a negative regulator of T-cell activation, by knocking out the gene in mice. [9] [10] Previous studies from several labs had used methods which could not definitively define the function of CTLA-4, and were contradictory. [11]
CTLA-4 is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily that is expressed by activated T cells and transmits an inhibitory signal to T cells. CTLA-4 is homologous to the T-cell co-stimulatory protein, CD28, and both molecules bind to CD80 and CD86, also called B7-1 and B7-2 respectively, on antigen-presenting cells. CTLA-4 binds CD80 and CD86 with greater affinity and avidity than CD28 thus enabling it to outcompete CD28 for its ligands. CTLA-4 transmits an inhibitory signal to T cells, [12] [13] [14] [9] whereas CD28 transmits a stimulatory signal. [15] [16] CTLA-4 is also found in regulatory T cells (Tregs) and contributes to their inhibitory function. T cell activation through the T cell receptor and CD28 leads to increased expression of CTLA-4.
The mechanism by which CTLA-4 acts in T cells remains somewhat controversial. Biochemical evidence suggested that CTLA-4 recruits a phosphatase to the T cell receptor (TCR), thus attenuating the signal. [17] This work remains unconfirmed in the literature since its first publication. More recent work has suggested that CTLA-4 may function in vivo by capturing and removing CD80 and CD86 from the membranes of antigen-presenting cells, thus making these unavailable for triggering of CD28. [18]
In addition to that, it has been found that dendritic cell (DC) - Treg interaction causes sequestration of Fascin-1, an actin-bundling protein essential for immunological synapse formation and skews Fascin-1–dependent actin polarization in antigen presenting DCs toward the Treg cell adhesion zone. Although it is reversible upon T regulatory cell disengagement, this sequestration of essential cytoskeletal components causes a lethargic state of DCs, leading to reduced T cell priming. This suggests Treg-mediated immune suppression is a multi-step process. In addition to CTLA-4 CD80/CD86 interaction, fascin-dependent polarization of the cytoskeleton towards DC-Treg immune synapse may play a pivotal role. [19]
CTLA-4 may also function via modulation of cell motility and/or signaling through PI3 kinase. [20] Early multiphoton microscopy studies observing T-cell motility in intact lymph nodes appeared to give evidence for the so-called ‘reverse-stop signaling model’. [21] In this model CTLA-4 reverses the TCR-induced ‘stop signal’ needed for firm contact between T cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs). [22] However, those studies compared CTLA-4 positive cells, which are predominantly regulatory cells and are at least partially activated, with CTLA-4 negative naive T cells. The disparity of these cells in multiple regards may explain some of these results. Other groups who have analyzed the effect of antibodies to CTLA-4 in vivo have concluded little or no effect upon motility in the context of anergic T-cells. [23] Antibodies to CTLA-4 may exert additional effects when used in vivo, by binding and thereby depleting regulatory T cells. [24]
The protein contains an extracellular V domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic tail. Alternate splice variants, encoding different isoforms, have been characterized. The membrane-bound isoform functions as a homodimer interconnected by a disulfide bond, while the soluble isoform functions as a monomer. The intracellular domain is similar to that of CD28, in that it has no intrinsic catalytic activity and contains one YVKM motif able to bind PI3K, PP2A and SHP-2 and one proline-rich motif able to bind SH3 containing proteins. The first role of CTLA-4 in inhibiting T cell responses seem to be directly via SHP-2 and PP2A dephosphorylation of TCR-proximal signalling proteins such as CD3 and LAT. CTLA-4 can also affect signalling indirectly via competing with CD28 for CD80/86 binding. CTLA-4 can also bind PI3K, although the importance and results of this interaction are uncertain.
Variants in this gene have been associated with Type 1 diabetes, Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, celiac disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, thyroid-associated orbitopathy, primary biliary cirrhosis and other autoimmune diseases.
Polymorphisms of the CTLA-4 gene are associated with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, [25] autoimmune thyroid disease and multiple sclerosis, though this association is often weak. In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the splice variant sCTLA-4 is found to be aberrantly produced and found in the serum of patients with active SLE.
Germline haploinsufficiency of CTLA-4 leads to CTLA-4 deficiency or CHAI disease (CTLA4 haploinsufficiency with autoimmune infiltration), a rare genetic disorder of the immune system. This may cause a dysregulation of the immune system and may result in lymphoproliferation, autoimmunity, hypogammaglobulinemia, recurrent infections, and may slightly increase one’s risk of lymphoma. CTLA-4 mutations have first been described by a collaboration between the groups of Dr. Gulbu Uzel, Dr. Steven Holland, and Dr. Michael Lenardo from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Dr. Thomas Fleisher from the NIH Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health, and their collaborators in 2014. [26] In the same year a collaboration between the groups of Dr. Bodo Grimbacher, Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi, Dr. Lucy Walker and Dr. David Sansom and their collaborators described a similar phenotype. [27]
CTLA-4 mutations are inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. This means a person only needs one abnormal gene from one parent. The one normal copy is not enough to compensate for the one abnormal copy. Dominant inheritance means most families with CTLA-4 mutations have affected relatives in each generation on the side of the family with the mutation.
Symptomatic patients with CTLA-4 mutations are characterized by an immune dysregulation syndrome including extensive T cell infiltration in a number of organs, including the gut, lungs, bone marrow, central nervous system [28] [29] and kidneys. Most patients have diarrhea or enteropathy. Lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly are also common, as is autoimmunity. The organs affected by autoimmunity vary but include thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, thyroiditis, type I diabetes, psoriasis, and arthritis. Respiratory infections are also common. Importantly, the clinical presentations and disease courses are variable with some individuals severely affected, whereas others show little manifestation of disease. This “variable expressivity,” even within the same family, can be striking and may be explained by differences in lifestyle, exposure to pathogens, treatment efficacy, or other genetic modifiers. [26] [27] [30] [31] This condition is described to have incomplete penetrance of disease. Penetrance is said to be incomplete when some individuals fail to express the trait and seem completely asymptomatic, even though they carry the allele. The penetrance is estimated to be about 60%.
The clinical symptoms are caused by abnormalities of the immune system. Most patients develop reduced levels of at least one immunoglobulin isotype, and have low CTLA-4 protein expression in T regulatory cells, hyperactivation of effector T cells, low switched memory B cells, and progressive loss of circulating B cells. [26] [27] [31]
Once a diagnosis is made, the treatment is based on an individual’s clinical condition and may include standard management for autoimmunity and immunoglobulin deficiencies. A study reported in 2016 treated a Korean CHAI disease patient with abatacept, which is a fusion protein of CTLA-4 and an antibody, and was able to control immune activity and improve patient symptoms. Regular administration of abatacept improved the patient’s severe anemia and diarrhea (3L/day) and brought 3-year-long hospitalization to an end. [31]
The comparatively higher binding affinity of CTLA-4 than that of CD28 has made CTLA-4 a potential therapy for autoimmune diseases. Fusion proteins of CTLA-4 and antibodies (CTLA4-Ig) have been used in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis. [32] The fusion protein CTLA4-Ig is commercially available as Orencia (abatacept). A second generation form of CTLA4-Ig known as belatacept was recently approved by the FDA based on favorable results from the randomized Phase III BENEFIT (Belatacept Evaluation of Nephroprotection and Efficacy as First Line Immunosuppression Trial) study. It was approved for renal transplantation in patients that are sensitized to Epstein–Barr virus (EBV).
Conversely, there is increasing interest in the possible therapeutic benefits of blocking CTLA-4 (using antagonistic antibodies against CTLA such as ipilimumab—FDA approved for melanoma in 2011—as a means of inhibiting immune system tolerance to tumours and thereby providing a potentially useful immunotherapy strategy for patients with cancer). [5] This therapy was the first approved immune checkpoint blockade therapy. [33] Another is tremelimumab. [5]
The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo "for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation". [34]
CTLA-4 has been shown to interact with:
In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an "autoimmune disease". Prominent examples include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, Henoch–Schönlein purpura, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Addison's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and multiple sclerosis. Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with steroids.
The T helper cells (Th cells), also known as CD4+ cells or CD4-positive cells, are a type of T cell that play an important role in the adaptive immune system. They aid the activity of other immune cells by releasing cytokines. They are considered essential in B cell antibody class switching, breaking cross-tolerance in dendritic cells, in the activation and growth of cytotoxic T cells, and in maximizing bactericidal activity of phagocytes such as macrophages and neutrophils. CD4+ cells are mature Th cells that express the surface protein CD4. Genetic variation in regulatory elements expressed by CD4+ cells determines susceptibility to a broad class of autoimmune diseases.
The regulatory T cells (Tregs or Treg cells), formerly known as suppressor T cells, are a subpopulation of T cells that modulate the immune system, maintain tolerance to self-antigens, and prevent autoimmune disease. Treg cells are immunosuppressive and generally suppress or downregulate induction and proliferation of effector T cells. Treg cells express the biomarkers CD4, FOXP3, and CD25 and are thought to be derived from the same lineage as naïve CD4+ cells. Because effector T cells also express CD4 and CD25, Treg cells are very difficult to effectively discern from effector CD4+, making them difficult to study. Research has found that the cytokine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is essential for Treg cells to differentiate from naïve CD4+ cells and is important in maintaining Treg cell homeostasis.
FOXP3, also known as scurfin, is a protein involved in immune system responses. A member of the FOX protein family, FOXP3 appears to function as a master regulator of the regulatory pathway in the development and function of regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells generally turn the immune response down. In cancer, an excess of regulatory T cell activity can prevent the immune system from destroying cancer cells. In autoimmune disease, a deficiency of regulatory T cell activity can allow other autoimmune cells to attack the body's own tissues.
Co-stimulation is a secondary signal which immune cells rely on to activate an immune response in the presence of an antigen-presenting cell. In the case of T cells, two stimuli are required to fully activate their immune response. During the activation of lymphocytes, co-stimulation is often crucial to the development of an effective immune response. Co-stimulation is required in addition to the antigen-specific signal from their antigen receptors.
CD28 is one of the proteins expressed on T cells that provide co-stimulatory signals required for T cell activation and survival. T cell stimulation through CD28 in addition to the T-cell receptor (TCR) can provide a potent signal for the production of various interleukins.
Immune tolerance, also known as immunological tolerance or immunotolerance, refers to the immune system's state of unresponsiveness to substances or tissues that would otherwise trigger an immune response. It arises from prior exposure to a specific antigen and contrasts the immune system's conventional role in eliminating foreign antigens. Depending on the site of induction, tolerance is categorized as either central tolerance, occurring in the thymus and bone marrow, or peripheral tolerance, taking place in other tissues and lymph nodes. Although the mechanisms establishing central and peripheral tolerance differ, their outcomes are analogous, ensuring immune system modulation.
The Cluster of differentiation 80 is a B7, type I membrane protein in the immunoglobulin superfamily, with an extracellular immunoglobulin constant-like domain and a variable-like domain required for receptor binding. It is closely related to CD86, another B7 protein (B7-2), and often works in tandem. Both CD80 and CD86 interact with costimulatory receptors CD28, CTLA-4 (CD152) and the p75 neurotrophin receptor.
Cluster of Differentiation 86 is a protein constitutively expressed on dendritic cells, Langerhans cells, macrophages, B-cells, and on other antigen-presenting cells. Along with CD80, CD86 provides costimulatory signals necessary for T cell activation and survival. Depending on the ligand bound, CD86 can signal for self-regulation and cell-cell association, or for attenuation of regulation and cell-cell disassociation.
Ipilimumab, sold under the brand name Yervoy, is a monoclonal antibody medication that works to activate the immune system by targeting CTLA-4, a protein receptor that downregulates the immune system.
Abatacept, sold under the brand name Orencia, is a medication used to treat autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, by interfering with the immune activity of T cells. It is a modified antibody.
In immunology, peripheral tolerance is the second branch of immunological tolerance, after central tolerance. It takes place in the immune periphery. Its main purpose is to ensure that self-reactive T and B cells which escaped central tolerance do not cause autoimmune disease. Peripheral tolerance can also serve a purpose in preventing an immune response to harmless food antigens and allergens.
Cancer immunology (immuno-oncology) is an interdisciplinary branch of biology and a sub-discipline of immunology that is concerned with understanding the role of the immune system in the progression and development of cancer; the most well known application is cancer immunotherapy, which utilises the immune system as a treatment for cancer. Cancer immunosurveillance and immunoediting are based on protection against development of tumors in animal systems and (ii) identification of targets for immune recognition of human cancer.
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) also known as cluster of differentiation 274 (CD274) or B7 homolog 1 (B7-H1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CD274 gene.
Interleukin 35 (IL-35) is a recently discovered anti-inflammatory cytokine from the IL-12 family. Member of IL-12 family - IL-35 is produced by wide range of regulatory lymphocytes and plays a role in immune suppression. IL-35 can block the development of Th1 and Th17 cells by limiting early T cell proliferation.
Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22) is a cytoplasmatic protein encoded by gene PTPN22 and a member of PEST family of protein tyrosine phosphatases. This protein is also called "PEST-domain Enriched Phosphatase" ("PEP") or "Lymphoid phosphatase" ("LYP"). The name LYP is used strictly for the human protein encoded by PTPN22, but the name PEP is used only for its mouse homolog. However, both proteins have similar biological functions and show 70% identity in amino acid sequence. PTPN22 functions as a negative regulator of T cell receptor (TCR) signaling, which maintains homeostasis of T cell compartment.
ICOS ligand is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ICOSLG gene located at chromosome 21. ICOSLG has also been designated as CD275.
Immune checkpoints are regulators of the immune system. These pathways are crucial for self-tolerance, which prevents the immune system from attacking cells indiscriminately. However, some cancers can protect themselves from attack by stimulating immune checkpoint targets.
LRBA deficiency is a rare genetic disorder of the immune system. This disorder is caused by a mutation in the gene LRBA. LRBA stands for “lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-responsive and beige-like anchor protein”. This condition is characterized by autoimmunity, lymphoproliferation, and immune deficiency. It was first described by Gabriela Lopez-Herrera from University College London in 2012. Investigators in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Lenardo at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institutes of Health and Dr. Michael Jordan at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center later described this condition and therapy in 2015.
Tolerogenic dendritic cells are heterogenous pool of dendritic cells with immuno-suppressive properties, priming immune system into tolerogenic state against various antigens. These tolerogenic effects are mostly mediated through regulation of T cells such as inducing T cell anergy, T cell apoptosis and induction of Tregs. Tol-DCs also affect local micro-environment toward tolerogenic state by producing anti-inflammatory cytokines.
This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.