TY - JOUR
T1 - Butyrate and propionate inhibit antigen-specific CD8+ T cell activation by suppressing IL-12 production by antigen-presenting cells
AU - Nastasi, Claudia
AU - Fredholm, Simon
AU - Willerslev-Olsen, Andreas
AU - Hansen, Morten
AU - Bonefeld, Charlotte Menné
AU - Geisler, Carsten
AU - Andersen, Mads Hald
AU - Ødum, Niels
AU - Woetmann, Anders
PY - 2017/12
Y1 - 2017/12
N2 - Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetate, butyrate and propionate, are products of microbial macronutrients fermentation that distribute systemically and are believed to modulate host immune responses. Recent data have indicated that certain SCFAs, such as butyrate and propionate, directly modulate human dendritic cell (DC) function. Given the role of DCs in initiating and shaping the adaptive immune response, we now explore how SCFAs affect the activation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells stimulated with autologous, MART1 peptide-pulsed DC. We show that butyrate reduces the frequency of peptide-specific CD8+ T cells and, together with propionate, inhibit the activity of those cells. On the contrary, acetate does not affect them. Importantly, butyrate and propionate inhibit the production of IL-12 and IL-23 in the DCs and exogenous IL-12 fully restores the activation of the MART-1-specific CD8+ T cells, whereas IL-23 has no effect. In conclusion, these results point to a pivotal role of butyrate and propionate in modulating CD8+ T cell activation via the inhibition of IL-12 secretion from DCs. These findings reveal a novel mechanism whereby bacterial fermentation products may modulate CD8+ T cell function with possible implications in anti-cancer immunotherapy.
AB - Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetate, butyrate and propionate, are products of microbial macronutrients fermentation that distribute systemically and are believed to modulate host immune responses. Recent data have indicated that certain SCFAs, such as butyrate and propionate, directly modulate human dendritic cell (DC) function. Given the role of DCs in initiating and shaping the adaptive immune response, we now explore how SCFAs affect the activation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells stimulated with autologous, MART1 peptide-pulsed DC. We show that butyrate reduces the frequency of peptide-specific CD8+ T cells and, together with propionate, inhibit the activity of those cells. On the contrary, acetate does not affect them. Importantly, butyrate and propionate inhibit the production of IL-12 and IL-23 in the DCs and exogenous IL-12 fully restores the activation of the MART-1-specific CD8+ T cells, whereas IL-23 has no effect. In conclusion, these results point to a pivotal role of butyrate and propionate in modulating CD8+ T cell activation via the inhibition of IL-12 secretion from DCs. These findings reveal a novel mechanism whereby bacterial fermentation products may modulate CD8+ T cell function with possible implications in anti-cancer immunotherapy.
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-15099-w
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-15099-w
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29109552
AN - SCOPUS:85032935008
VL - 7
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 14516
ER -