Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Brief Communication
IL-2/IL-2Ab Complexes Induce Regulatory T Cell Expansion and Protect against Proteinuric CKD
Polhill, Tania*; Zhang, Geoff Yu*; Hu, Min*; Sawyer, Andrew*; Zhou, Jimmy Jianheng*; Saito, Mitsuru*; Webster, Kylie E.†; Wang, Ya‡; Wang, Yiping‡; Grey, Shane T.§; Sprent, Jonathan†; Harris, David C.H.‡; Alexander, Stephen I.*; Wang, Yuan Min*
*Centre for Kidney Research, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, Sydney, Australia;
†Immunology and Inflammation Division and
§Gene Therapy & Autoimmunity Group, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Westmead, Sydney, Australia; and
‡Centre for Transplantation and Renal Research, University of Sydney at Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead, Sydney, Australia
Correspondence: Dr. Stephen I. Alexander, Centre for Kidney Research, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead NSW 2145, Sydney, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Received November 29, 2011
Accepted May 2, 2012
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) help protect against autoimmune renal injury. The use of agonist antibodies and antibody/cytokine combinations to expand Tregs in vivo may have therapeutic potential for renal disease. Here, we investigated the effects of administering IL-2/IL-2Ab complexes in mice with adriamycin nephropathy, a model of proteinuric kidney disease that resembles human focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Injecting IL-2/IL-2Ab complexes before or, to a lesser extent, after induction of disease promoted expansion of Tregs. Furthermore, administration of this complex was renoprotective, evidenced by improved renal function, maintenance of body weight, less histologic injury, and reduced inflammation. IL-2/IL-2Ab reduced serum IL-6 and renal expression of IL-6 and IL-17 but enhanced expression of IL-10 and Foxp3 in the spleen. In vitro, the addition of IL-2/IL-2Ab complexes induced rapid STAT-5 phosphorylation in CD4 T cells. In summary, these data suggest that inducing the expansion of Tregs by administering IL-2/IL-2Ab complexes is a possible strategy to treat renal disease.