The Molecular Biology Laboratory in the Center for Transplantation Sciences (CTS) at Massachusetts General Hospital provides new insights into the role of major histocompatibility class II molecules (MHCII) in the regulation of immune responses.
Although first described half a century ago, the mechanism by which MHCII molecules regulate the function of T and B lymphocytes remains unclear. Our previous research has established that transfer of donor MHCII genes prior to grafting promoted transplantation tolerance to vascularized transplants. MHCII gene transfer down-regulated both the acute and chronic arms of graft rejection. These results were initially obtained by our laboratory in a preclinical large animal model of renal transplantation (miniature swine) and were confirmed in a murine model of cardiac grafts. Additional experiments demonstrated that the regulatory function of MHCII proteins was initiated by MHCII-derived peptides, but accomplished by a subset of lymphocytes, the regulatory T cells, or Tregs. These results promoted conceptual advances in basic immunology (MHCII genes regulate T cell responses via MHCII peptide synthesis) and fostered the development of translational studies (use of MHCII peptides as therapeutic inducers of immune tolerance).
The new concept stems from our hypothesis that immune regulation by MHCII relies on a twist in antigen presentation, by which MHCII molecules present their own peptides to activate cognate Tregs. Results from current studies performed in murine models support the hypothesis and call for further studies to characterize the nature of MHCII peptides involved in thymic Treg differentiation. Our translational studies include establishing optimal and safe MHCII gene therapy protocols to induce transplantation tolerance to kidney allografts in primates and defining the amino acid sequences of regulatory MHCII peptides.
These projects are carried out in collaboration with several principal investigators from the Mass General Department of Surgery, including Joren C. Madsen, MD, James F. Markmann, MD and Gilles Benichou, PhD. Additionally, we work with Philippe LeBoulch, MD, and the Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapy (IMETI) of the CEA in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris, France on our primate studies.