Hepatocytes Delete Regulatory T Cells by Enclysis, a CD4+ T Cell Engulfment Process

Scott P. Davies; Gary M. Reynolds; Alex L. Wilkinson; Xiaoyan Li; Rebecca Rose; Maanav Leekha; Yuxin S. Liu; Ratnam Gandhi; Emma Buckroyd; Joe Grove; Nicholas M. Barnes; Robin C. May; Stefan G. Hubscher; David H. Adams; Yuehua Huang; Omar Qureshi; Zania Stamataki

Hepatocytes Delete Regulatory T Cells by Enclysis, a CD4+ T Cell Engulfment Process

2019

Summary: CD4+ T cells play critical roles in directing immunity, both as T helper and as regulatory T (Treg) cells. Here, we demonstrate that hepatocytes can modulate T cell populations through engulfment of live CD4+ lymphocytes. We term this phenomenon enclysis to reflect the specific enclosure of CD4+ T cells in hepatocytes. Enclysis is selective for CD4+ but not CD8+ cells, independent of antigen-specific activation, and occurs in human hepatocytes in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) facilitates T cell early adhesion and internalization, whereas hepatocytes form membrane lamellipodia or blebs to mediate engulfment. T cell internalization is unaffected by wortmannin and Rho kinase inhibition. Hepatocytes engulf Treg cells more efficiently than non-Treg cells, but Treg cell-containing vesicles preferentially acidify overnight. Thus, enclysis is a biological process with potential effects on immunomodulation and opens a new field for research to fully understand CD4+ T cell dynamics in liver inflammation. : Enclysis describes the enclosure of live CD4+ T cells in intracellular vesicles. Davies et al. show that hepatocytes engulf regulatory T (Treg) cells and preferentially delete them. Enclysis is distinct from entosis, efferocytosis, and suicidal emperipolesis and may be targeted to control T cell populations in the liver during inflammation. Keywords: T cells, hepatocytes, enclysis, entosis, efferocytosis, endocytosis, emperipolesis, cell-in-cell structures, liver, β-catenin

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