The Impact of Cell-Intrinsic STAT6 Protein on Donor T Cell-Mediated Graft-Versus-Tumor Effect

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is mainly performed to restore an anti-tumor immune response, called the graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect, against leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma. This GVT reactivity is driven by donor T cells, and it can also cause lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We previously demonstrated that the colonization of mice with helminths preserves the GVT response while suppressing GVHD. As the T helper-2 (Th2) pathway is critical to helminthic immune regulation, we asked whether the genetic induction of Th2 signaling in donor T cells can restore helminthic immune regulation after BMT. Our studies utilized transgenic donor T lymphocytes that overexpress a constitutively active form of the Th2-associated transcription factor STAT6. Constitutively active STAT6 sustained the GVT response without causing severe acute GVHD, where transgenic T cells generated robust quantities of cytotoxic proteins important in GVT response, such as granzymes A and B, interferon-gamma and Fas ligand, in addition to generating high quantities of Th2/regulatory cytokines. Bioinformatic analysis based on chromosome immune precipitation experiments indicated that STAT6 stimulates the expression of granzymes directly. Thus, in preserving the GVT response without causing GVHD mortality, our results indicate the therapeutic potential of restoring helminthic immune modulation by targeting STAT6 and STAT6-dependent T cell maturation.