Functionally Mature CD1c+ Dendritic Cells Preferentially Accumulate in the Inflammatory Arthritis Synovium

Abstract

Objective: To examine the role of synovial CD1c⁺DCs in patients with Inflammatory Arthritis (IA) with a specific focus on the transcriptional and maturation signatures that govern their function.

Methods: RNA sequencing was performed on healthy control (HC) peripheral blood (PB), IA PB, and IA synovial fluid (SF) CD1c⁺DCs. Multiparametric flow-cytometry and SPICE analysis were used to examine site [SF and Synovial Tissue (ST) CD1c+DCs] and disease specific characteristics of CD1c⁺DCs, while functional assays such as antigen processing, activation, and MMP production were also performed.

Results: Increased frequency of CD1c⁺DCs (p<0.01) with a concomitant increase in CD80, CCR7 (p<0.01), and CXCR3 (p<0.05) expression was identified in IA PB compared to HC PB. Enrichment of CD1c⁺DCs was identified in IA synovial tissue (ST) (p<0.01) and IA SF (p<0.0001) compared to IA PB, while RNAseq revealed distinct transcriptional variation between PB and SF CD1c⁺DCs. Flow cytometry revealed increased expression of CD83, CD80, PD-L1, and BTLA (all p<0.05) in IA SF CD1c⁺DCs compared to PB, while SPICE identified synovial cells with unique co-expression patterns, expressing multiple DC maturation markers simultaneously. Functionally, synovial CD1c⁺DCs are hyper-responsive to TLR7/8 ligation (p<0.05), have decreased antigen processing capacity (p=0.07), and display dysregulated production of MMPs. Finally, examination of both synovial CD1c⁺DCs and synovial CD141⁺DCs revealed distinct maturation and transcriptomic profiles.

Conclusion: Synovial CD1c⁺DCs accumulate in the inflamed IA synovium in a variety of distinct poly-maturational states, distinguishing them transcriptionally and functionally from CD1c⁺DCs in the periphery and synovial CD141⁺DCs.

Keywords: dendritic cells; maturation; psoriatic arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis; synovium.