Blockade of Programmed Death-1 Ligands on Dendritic Cells Enhances T Cell Activation and Cytokine Production

Programmed death-1 ligand (PD-L)1 and PD-L2 are ligands for programmed death-1 (PD-1), a member of the CD28/CTLA4 family expressed on activated lymphoid cells. PD-1 contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif and mice deficient in PD-1 develop autoimmune disorders suggesting a defect in peripheral tolerance. Human PD-L1 and PD-L2 are expressed on immature dendritic cells (iDC) and mature dendritic cells (mDC), IFN-gamma-treated monocytes, and follicular dendritic cells. Using mAbs, we show that blockade of PD-L2 on dendritic cells results in enhanced T cell proliferation and cytokine production, including that of IFN-gamma and IL-10, while blockade of PD-L1 results in similar, more modest,…