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Arginase 1 is an innate lymphoid-cell-intrinsic metabolic checkpoint controlling type 2 inflammation

Nature Immunology volume 17, pages 656–665 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) regulate tissue inflammation and repair after activation by cell-extrinsic factors such as host-derived cytokines. However, the cell-intrinsic metabolic pathways that control ILC2 function are undefined. Here we demonstrate that expression of the enzyme arginase-1 (Arg1) during acute or chronic lung inflammation is a conserved trait of mouse and human ILC2s. Deletion of mouse ILC-intrinsic Arg1 abrogated type 2 lung inflammation by restraining ILC2 proliferation and dampening cytokine production. Mechanistically, inhibition of Arg1 enzymatic activity disrupted multiple components of ILC2 metabolic programming by altering arginine catabolism, impairing polyamine biosynthesis and reducing aerobic glycolysis. These data identify Arg1 as a key regulator of ILC2 bioenergetics that controls proliferative capacity and proinflammatory functions promoting type 2 inflammation.

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Figure 1: Constitutive Arg1 expression is a conserved trait of precursor and mature ILC2s across diverse tissue sites.
Figure 2: ILC2s are a main source of Arg1 in the lung during type 2 inflammation.
Figure 3: Human ILC2s express Arg1 during chronic lung disease.
Figure 4: Absence of ILC-intrinsic Arg1 restrains ILC2 responses and dampens airway inflammation.
Figure 5: Development of airway inflammation is dependent on ILC-intrinsic, not myeloid-cell-intrinsic, expression of Arg1.
Figure 6: Cell-intrinsic Arg1 controls optimal ILC2 proliferation.
Figure 7: Inhibition of cell-intrinsic Arg1 disrupts the balance of amino acid metabolites and impairs polyamine synthesis in ILC2s.
Figure 8: Arg1 controls the maximal glycolytic capacity of activated ILC2s.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the D. Artis and G.F. Sonnenberg laboratories for critical reading of this manuscript. We thank R.M. Locksley (University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA) for generously providing the Arg1YFP mice and B. Vallance (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) for providing Citrobacter rodentium. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (grants AI061570, AI087990, AI074878, AI083480, AI095466, AI095608, AI102942 and AI097333 to D.A.; T32-AI007532 to L.A.M.; CA181125 and AI091965 to E.L.P.; HL087115, HL081619, HL096845, HL115354 and HL114626 to J.D.C.; HL116656 to E.C.; and HL090021 and K23-HL121406 to J.M.D.), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (D.A. and E.L.P.), the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (D.A. and M.R.H.), the Edmond J. Safra Foundation/Cancer Research Institute (L.C.O.), the National Science Foundation (grant DGE-1143954 to M.D.B.), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (grant AMFDP 70640 to E.C.), the Thoracic Surgery Foundation (E.C.) and the German Research Foundation (DFG SFB 873–project 11 to H.-R.R.). We thank the Mucosal Immunology Studies Team (MIST) of the NIH NIAID for shared expertise and resources.

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Author notes

  1. Steven A Saenz, Elia D Tait Wojno, Lisa C Osborne & Matthew R Hepworth

    Present address: Present addresses: Biogen, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (S.A.S.); Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, New York, USA (E.D.T.W.); Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, New York, USA (E.D.T.W.); Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (L.C.O.); Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK (M.R.H.).,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York, USA

    Laurel A Monticelli, Anne-Laure Flamar, Steven A Saenz, Elia D Tait Wojno, Naomi A Yudanin, Lisa C Osborne, Matthew R Hepworth, Sara V Tran & David Artis

  2. Department of Immunometabolism, Max Plank Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany

    Michael D Buck & Erika L Pearce

  3. Division of Cellular Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Hans-Reimer Rodewald

  4. Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Cancer Metabolism Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA

    Hardik Shah & Justin R Cross

  5. Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Center for Translational Lung Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Joshua M Diamond, Edward Cantu & Jason D Christie

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Contributions

L.A.M. carried out mouse experiments with technical assistance from A.-L.F., N.A.Y., L.C.O., M.R.H. and S.V.T. M.D.B. and E.L.P. carried out Seahorse metabolic assays. H.S. and J.R.C. carried out liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry experiments. J.M.D., E.C. and J.D.C. provided human tissue samples. L.A.M., S.A.S. and E.D.T.W. carried out experiments involving human tissue samples. H.-R.R. provided Il7rCre/+ mice. L.A.M. and D.A. conceived of the study, designed experiments, analyzed data and wrote the manuscript.

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Integrated supplementary information

Supplementary Figure 1 Distribution of human ILCs during chronic lung disease.

Quantification of flow cytometric analysis of lung tissue from patients with COPD or IPF identifying (a) frequencies of total Lin−CD127+ ILCs (Lin gating includes CD3, CD5, CD56, CD19, FcεR1, CD14, CD16). Cells are pregated on live CD45+ cells. (b) Frequency of ILC subsets defined by IL-33R (ST2L) and CRTH2 expression, pregated on Lin−CD127+ cells. (c) Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of intracellular Arg1 expression in each cell subset. Data shown are from one experiment. Data are the mean ± SEM, n = 8 COPD and n = 8 IPF tissue samples.

Supplementary Figure 2 Fate-mapping analysis of IL-7Rα expression in immune cell subsets during lung inflammation.

Il7rcre/+ Rosa26floxSTOP-eYFP and C57BL/6J WT mice were treated with 30 μg papain or PBS intranasally (i.n.) for 5 days and analyzed on day 6. Representative flow cytometric histograms of eYFP expression from lung immune cell subsets, Il7rcre/+ Rosa26floxSTOP-eYFP red line; WT, gray shaded. Numbers indicate the percentage of total cells that are marked by a history of IL-7Rα expression for ILC2s (Lin−CD45+CD90+CD25+IL-33R+), CD4+ T cells (CD3+CD4+), B cells (CD19+CD3−), NK cells (NK1.1+CD3−) and eosinophils (CD11b+Siglec F+CD11c−). All data are representative of two independent experiments with similar results. N = 3-4 mice per group.

Supplementary Figure 3 Analysis of Arg1 expression in immune cell subsets during lung inflammation.

Arg1YFP and C57BL/6J WT mice were treated with 30 μg papain or PBS i.n. for 5 days and analyzed on day 6. Representative flow cytometric histograms of Arg1-YFP expression from lung immune cell subsets, Arg1YFP, blue line; WT, gray shaded. Numbers indicate the percentage of total cells that express Arg1 for ILC2s (Lin−CD45+CD90+CD25+IL-33R+), CD4+ T cells (CD3+CD4+), B cells (CD19+CD3−), NK cells (NK1.1+CD3−) and eosinophils (CD11b+Siglec F+CD11c−). All data are representative of two independent experiments with similar results. N = 3-4 mice per group.

Supplementary Figure 4 Loss of ILC-intrinsic Arg1 impairs ILC2 responses during chronic lung inflammation.

(a-d) Arg1fl/fl and Arg1ΔILC mice were infected with 500 L3 Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb) larvae subcutaneously and assessed one month post infection. (a) Representative flow cytometric plots and (b) total frequencies of ILC2s (Lin−CD45+CD90+CD25+) in the lungs of naïve and Nb-infected mice. (c) mRNA expression of (c) Arg1 in lung tissue, determined by RT-PCR and expressed relative to levels in naive Arg1fl/fl mice. (d-g) Arg1fl/fl and Arg1ΔILC mice were instilled with 3 units of elastase or PBS intratracheally and assessed one month post treatment. (d) Representative flow cytometric plots and (e) total frequencies of ILC2s (Lin− CD45+ CD90+ CD25+) in the lungs of PBS and elastase-treated mice. (f) mRNA expression of Arg1 in lung tissue, determined by RT-PCR and expressed relative to levels in PBS-treated Arg1fl/fl mice. (g) Representative histological sections of whole left lung lobes stained with H&E. Scale bar, 100 μm. Data are representative of two independent experiments with similar results. N = 2 mice (PBS and naïve) and n = 4 mice (Nb and elastase). Data shown are the mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, as determined by unpaired Student’s t test.

Supplementary Figure 5 ILC3 development and anti-bacterial immunity are independent of ILC-intrinsic Arg1.

(a) Representative flow cytometric plots and (b) frequencies of total ILCs (Lin−CD45+CD90+CD25+) in the gut-associated mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN) of naïve Arg1fl/fl and Arg1ΔILC mice. (c) Representative flow cytometric plots and (d) total frequencies of GATA3hi ILC2 versus RORγt+ ILC3 populations, parent gate is total ILCs as in (a,b). (e) RORc(γt)gfp/gfp, Rag2-/-Il2rg-/-, Rag1-/-, Arg1fl/fl and Arg1ΔILC mice were infected with 1 × 1010 CFU of Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium) in 200 µL via oral gavage. Mice were monitored for morbidity and mortality over the course of 28 days. Data are representative of two independent experiments with similar results. N = 2-5 mice per group. Data shown are the mean ± SEM. NS, not significant.

Supplementary Figure 6 ILC-intrinsic Arg1 does not influence cell survival.

(a-c) Arg1fl/fl, Arg1+/+ Il7rCre/+ and Arg1ΔILC were treated with 30 μg papain or PBS i.n. for 5 days and assessed on day 6 for survival of lung ILC2s by Annexin V and 7AAD staining. (a) Representative flow cytometric plot showing validation of gating strategy to identify dead cells by 7AAD and Annexin V co-staining. (b) Representative flow cytometric plots and (c) quantification of Annexin V+ 7AAD+ ILC2 frequencies. ILC2s gated as Lin−CD45+CD90+CD25+. (d) C57BL/6J WT mice were treated with 100 ng of rmIL-33 intranasally every 3 days for 2 weeks. Sort-purified lung ILC2s (Lin−CD45+CD90+CD127+CD25+IL-33R+) were labeled with cell trace violet and cultured for 48 h with rmIL-2, rmIL-7, rmIL-33 and DMSO or Nω-hydroxy-nor-Arginine (nor-NOHA). Cells were assessed for dilution of the cell trace dye using flow cytometry. Data are representative of two experiments (a-c) or three experiments (d) with similar results. N = 3-4 mice per group.

Supplementary Figure 7 ILC-intrinsic arginase metabolism.

(a) Pathway diagram of arginine metabolism in activated ILC2s. Green indicates positive metabolism, black indicates no significant metabolism, grey indicates metabolite not detected or not examined. Blue indicates enzymes arginase (Arg1), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and L-Arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT). (b) Experimental schematic for liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. C57BL/6J WT mice were treated with 100 ng rmIL-33 i.n. every 3 days for 2-3 weeks and sort-purified lung ILC2s (Lin−CD45+CD90+CD127+CD25+IL-33R+) were cultured with rmIL-2, rmIL-7 and rmIL-33 in DMSO or 500μM nor-NOHA for 24 h. Methanol-fixed cells were subjected to liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis.

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Monticelli, L., Buck, M., Flamar, AL. et al. Arginase 1 is an innate lymphoid-cell-intrinsic metabolic checkpoint controlling type 2 inflammation. Nat Immunol 17, 656–665 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.3421

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