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Selective expansion of regulatory T cells using an orthogonal IL-2/IL-2 receptor system facilitates transplantation tolerance
Toshihito Hirai, Teresa L. Ramos, Po-Yu Lin, Federico Simonetta, Leon L. Su, Lora K. Picton, Jeanette Baker, Jian-Xin Lin, Peng Li, Kinya Seo, Juliane K. Lohmeyer, Sara Bolivar-Wagers, Melissa Mavers, Warren J. Leonard, Bruce R. Blazar, K. Christopher Garcia, Robert S. Negrin
Toshihito Hirai, Teresa L. Ramos, Po-Yu Lin, Federico Simonetta, Leon L. Su, Lora K. Picton, Jeanette Baker, Jian-Xin Lin, Peng Li, Kinya Seo, Juliane K. Lohmeyer, Sara Bolivar-Wagers, Melissa Mavers, Warren J. Leonard, Bruce R. Blazar, K. Christopher Garcia, Robert S. Negrin
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Research Article

Selective expansion of regulatory T cells using an orthogonal IL-2/IL-2 receptor system facilitates transplantation tolerance

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Abstract

Adoptive transfer of Tregs has been shown to improve alloengraftment in animal models. However, it is technically challenging to expand Tregs ex vivo for the purpose of infusing large numbers of cells in the clinic. We demonstrate an innovative approach to engineering an orthogonal IL-2/IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) pair, the parts of which selectively interact with each other, transmitting native IL-2 signals, but do not interact with the natural IL-2 or IL-2R counterparts, thereby enabling selective stimulation of target cells in vivo. Here, we introduced this orthogonal IL-2R into Tregs. Upon adoptive transfer in a murine mixed hematopoietic chimerism model, orthogonal IL-2 injection significantly promoted orthogonal IL-2R+Foxp3GFP+CD4+ cell proliferation without increasing other T cell subsets and facilitated donor hematopoietic cell engraftment followed by acceptance of heart allografts. Our data indicate that selective target cell stimulation enabled by the engineered orthogonal cytokine receptor improves Treg potential for the induction of organ transplantation tolerance.

Authors

Toshihito Hirai, Teresa L. Ramos, Po-Yu Lin, Federico Simonetta, Leon L. Su, Lora K. Picton, Jeanette Baker, Jian-Xin Lin, Peng Li, Kinya Seo, Juliane K. Lohmeyer, Sara Bolivar-Wagers, Melissa Mavers, Warren J. Leonard, Bruce R. Blazar, K. Christopher Garcia, Robert S. Negrin

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Figure 5

Ortho IL-2 stimulation increases transferred oTreg population and improves donor cell engraftment.

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Ortho IL-2 stimulation increases transferred oTreg population and improv...
After 3.3 Gy TBI, CD45.2+H2d+ WT BALB/c mice received Luc+CD45.1+H2b+ C57BL/6 BMCs (15 × 106) plus CD45.2+H2d+Foxp3GFP+ Tregs (1 × 106) that were transduced with oIL-2Rβ (oTreg: transduction efficiency was ~30%) or those expanded without viral vector (UT Tregs). All mice were treated with anti-CD40L (0.3 mg i.p. on d0), followed by i.p. administration of PBS, WT IL-2 MSA, or ortho IL-2 MSA (both IL-2, 25,000 IU/d) for 14 days. Flow cytometry analysis for PBMCs obtained from the tail vein was performed on d14. (A) Representative pseudocolor plots gated by CD45.2+H2kd+CD4+ T cells. (B) Box plots showing the percentages of Foxp3GFP+CD4+ (top) and CD8+CD45.2+ cells (bottom). (C) Box and whiskers with minimum to maximum showing percentages of H2Κb+CD45.1+ donor cells in PBMCs on d14. Horizontal dotted line indicates 1% of donor cells. +++P < 0.001, comparing the mean rank of each column to the mean rank of PBS control without Tregs (gray triangle) by Dunn’s Kruskal-Wallis multiple comparisons. (D) Representative bioluminescent images for mice that received oTregs showing distribution of engrafted BMCs. Box plots showing total photon flux on d4 (E), d10, and d28 (F). Pooled data from 2 independent experiments including 5 mice per group per each experiment. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001, between indicated 2 groups calculated by Dunn’s Kruskal-Wallis multiple comparisons among the 3 treatment groups or by Mann-Whitney U test between 2 groups.

Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

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