Article abstract


Nature Immunology 10, 1185 - 1192 (2009)
Published online: 27 September 2009 | doi:10.1038/ni.1790

Interactions between PD-1 and PD-L1 promote tolerance by blocking the TCR–induced stop signal

Brian T Fife1,2, Kristen E Pauken2, Todd N Eagar1,3, Takashi Obu2, Jenny Wu1, Qizhi Tang1,4, Miyuki Azuma5, Matthew F Krummel6 & Jeffrey A Bluestone1


Programmed death 1 (PD-1) is an inhibitory molecule expressed on activated T cells; however, the biological context in which PD-1 controls T cell tolerance remains unclear. Using two-photon laser-scanning microscopy, we show here that unlike naive or activated islet antigen–specific T cells, tolerized islet antigen–specific T cells moved freely and did not swarm around antigen-bearing dendritic cells (DCs) in pancreatic lymph nodes. Inhibition of T cell antigen receptor (TCR)-driven stop signals depended on continued interactions between PD-1 and its ligand, PD-L1, as antibody blockade of PD-1 or PD-L1 resulted in lower T cell motility, enhanced T cell–DC contacts and caused autoimmune diabetes. Blockade of the immunomodulatory receptor CTLA-4 did not alter T cell motility or abrogate tolerance. Thus, PD-1–PD-L1 interactions maintain peripheral tolerance by mechanisms fundamentally distinct from those of CTLA-4.

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  1. UCSF Diabetes Center, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
  2. Department of Medicine, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
  3. Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas, USA.
  4. Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
  5. Department of Molecular Immunology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
  6. Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.

Correspondence to: Brian T Fife1,2 e-mail: bfife@umn.edu



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