Analysis of T cell Repertoire and Transcriptome Identifies Mechanisms of Regulatory T cell (Treg) Suppression of GvHD

CD4+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells have demonstrated efficacy in graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prevention and treatment. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that Treg are able to protect from GvHD without interfering with the graft-versus-tumor (GvT) effect of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), although the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. To elucidate Treg suppressive function during in vivo suppression of acute GvHD, we performed paired T cell receptor (TCRa, TCRb genes) repertoire sequencing and RNA sequencing analysis on conventional T cells (Tcon) and Treg before and after transplantation in an MHC major-mismatch mouse model of HCT. We show that both Treg and Tcon underwent clonal restriction and that Treg did not interfere with the activation of alloreactive Tcon clones and the breadth of their TCR repertoire, however, markedly suppressed their expansion. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that Treg predominantly affected the transcriptome of CD4 Tcon and to a lesser extent of CD8 Tcon, modulating the transcription of genes encoding pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules as well as enzymes involved in metabolic processes, inducing a switch from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation. Finally, Treg did not interfere with the induction of gene sets involved in the GvT effect. Our results shed light into the mechanisms of acute GvHD suppression by Treg and will support the clinical translation of this immunoregulatory approach.