Leishmania Parasites Drive PD-L1 Expression in Mice and Human Neutrophils With Suppressor Capacity

• Published in: Frontiers in immunology Vol. 12; p. 598943
• Main Authors: da Fonseca-Martins, Alessandra M., de Souza Lima-Gomes, Phillipe, Antunes, Maísa Mota, de Moura, Renan Garcia, Covre, Luciana P., Calôba, Carolina, Rocha, Vivian Grizente, Pereira, Renata M., Menezes, Gustavo Batista, Gomes, Daniel Claudio Oliveira, Saraiva, Elvira M., de Matos Guedes, Herbert L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 15.06.2021
• Subjects: human cutaneous leishmaniasis; Immunology; Leishmania; murine leishmaniasis; neutrophils; PD-L1; skin
• ISSN: 1664-3224; 1664-3224
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.598943

Neutrophils play an important role in the outcome of leishmaniasis, contributing either to exacerbating or controlling the progression of infection, a dual effect whose underlying mechanisms are not clear. We recently reported that CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, and dendritic cells of Leishmania amazonensis- infected mice present high expression of PD-1 and PD-L1, respectively. Given that the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction may promote cellular dysfunction, and that neutrophils could interact with T cells during infection, we investigated here the levels of PD-L1 in neutrophils exposed to Leishmania parasites. We found that both, promastigotes and amastigotes of L. amazonensis induced the expression of PD-L1 in the human and murine neutrophils that internalized these parasites in vitro . PD-L1-expressing neutrophils were also observed in the ear lesions and the draining lymph nodes of L. amazonensis -infected mice, assessed through cell cytometry and intravital microscopy. Moreover, expression of PD-L1 progressively increased in neutrophils from ear lesions as the disease evolved to the chronic phase. Co-culture of infected neutrophils with in vitro activated CD8 + T cells inhibits IFN-γ production by a mechanism dependent on PD-1 and PD-L1. Importantly, we demonstrated that in vitro infection of human neutrophils by L braziliensis induced PD-L1 + expression and also PD-L1 + neutrophils were detected in the lesions of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Leishmania parasite increases the expression of PD-L1 in neutrophils with suppressor capacity, which could favor the parasite survival through impairing the immune response.