Liver X Receptor regulates Th17 and RORγt+ Treg cells by distinct mechanisms

Abstract

The gastrointestinal microenvironment, dominated by dietary compounds and the commensal bacteria, is a major driver of intestinal CD4+ T helper (Th) cell differentiation. Dietary compounds can be sensed by nuclear receptors (NRs) that consequently exerts pleiotropic effects including immune modulation. However, how NRs regulate distinct intestinal Th subsets remain poorly understood. Here, we found that under homeostatic condition Liver X receptor (LXR), a sensor of cholesterol metabolites, controls ROR{gamma}t+ Treg and Th17 cells in the intestine draining mesenteric lymph node (MLN). Mechanistically, while lack of LXR signaling in CD11c+ myeloid cells led to an increase in ROR{gamma}t+ Treg, modulation of MLN Th17 was independent of LXR signaling in either immune or epithelial cells. Of note, LXR modulated only the Th17 cells, but not ROR{gamma}t+ Treg in the MLN and horizontal transfer of microbiota between LXR-/- and WT mice was sufficient to partially increase the MLN Th17 in WT mice. While LXR deficiency increased the abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae bacterial families compared to the WT littermates, microbiota ablation including ablation of SFB was not sufficient to dampen LXR-mediated expansion of MLN Th17. Altogether, our results suggest that LXR modulates ROR{gamma}t+ Treg and Th17 cells in the MLN through distinct mechanisms.