Glucocorticoid receptor in T cells mediates protection from autoimmunity in pregnancy.

Pregnancy is one of the strongest inducers of immunological tolerance. Disease activity of many autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) is temporarily suppressed by pregnancy, but little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we investigated the endocrine regulation of conventional and regulatory T cells (Tregs) during reproduction. In vitro, we found the pregnancy hormone progesterone to robustly increase Treg frequencies via promiscuous binding to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in T cells. In vivo, T-cell-specific GR deletion in pregnant animals undergoing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of MS, resulted in a reduced Treg increase and a selective loss of pregnancy-induced protection, whereas reproductive success was unaffected. Our data imply that steroid hormones can shift the immunological balance in favor of Tregs via differential engagement of the GR in T cells. This newly defined mechanism confers protection from autoimmunity during pregnancy and represents a potential target for future therapy.

Multiple sclerosis associated genetic variants of CD226 impair regulatory T cell function.

Recent association studies have linked numerous genetic variants with an increased risk for multiple sclerosis, although their functional relevance remains largely unknown. Here we investigated phenotypical and functional consequences of a genetic variant in the CD226 gene that, among other autoimmune diseases, predisposes to multiple sclerosis. Phenotypically, effector and regulatory CD4(+) memory T cells of healthy individuals carrying the predisposing CD226 genetic variant showed, in comparison to carriers of the protective variant, reduced surface expression of CD226 and an impaired induction of CD226 after stimulation. This haplotype-dependent reduction in CD226 expression on memory T cells was abrogated in patients with multiple sclerosis, as CD226 expression was comparable to healthy risk haplotype carriers irrespective of genetic variant. Functionally, FOXP3-positive regulatory T cells from healthy carriers of the genetic protective variant showed superior suppressive capacity, which was again abrogated in multiple sclerosis patients. Mimicking the phenotype of human CD226 genetic risk variant carriers, regulatory T cells derived from Cd226-deficient mice showed similarly reduced inhibitory activity, eventually resulting in an exacerbated disease course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the animal model of multiple sclerosis. Therefore, by combining human and mouse analyses we show that CD226 exhibits an important role in the activation of regulatory T cells, with its genetically imposed dysregulation impairing regulatory T cell function.