ADAM10-mediated ICOSL Shedding on B cells is Necessary for Proper T cell ICOS Regulation and TFH Responses

The proper regulation of inducible costimulator (ICOS) and its ligand (ICOSL) have been shown to be essential for maintaining proper immune homeostasis. Loss of either protein results in defective humoral immunity, and overexpression of ICOS results in aberrant antibody production resembling lupus. How ICOSL is regulated in response to ICOS interaction is still unclear. We demonstrate that ADAM10 is the primary physiological sheddase of ICOSL in both mouse and human. Using an in vivo system in which ADAM10 is deleted only on B cells (ADAM10 B−/− ), elevated levels of ICOSL were seen. This increase is also seen when ADAM10 is deleted from human B cell lines. Identification of the primary sheddase has allowed the characterization of a novel mechanism of ICOS regulation. In wildtype (WT) mice, interaction of ICOSL/ICOS results in ADAM10 induced shedding of ICOSL on B cells and moderate ICOS internalization on T cells. When this shedding is blocked, excessive ICOS internalization occurs. This results in severe defects in T follicular helper (T FH ) development and T H 2 polarization, seen in a house dust mite exposure model. In addition, enhanced T H 1 and T H 17 immune responses are seen in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Blockade of ICOSL rescues T cell ICOS surface expression and at least partially rescues both T FH numbers and the abnormal antibody production previously reported in these mice. Overall, we propose a novel regulation of the ICOS/ICOSL axis, with ADAM10 playing a direct role in regulating ICOSL as well as indirectly regulating ICOS, thus controlling ICOS/ICOSL-dependent responses.