Tolerogenic Phenotype of IFN-γ–Induced IDO+ Dendritic Cells Is Maintained via an Autocrine IDO–Kynurenine/AhR–IDO Loop

Abstract Previous studies demonstrated that IL-12–driven antitumor activity is short-circuited by a rapid switch in dendritic cell (DC) function from immunogenic to tolerogenic activity. This process was dependent on IFN-γ and the tolerogenic phenotype was conferred by IDO. Extended monitoring of IDO+ DC in the tumor-draining lymph nodes of IL-12 plus GM-CSF–treated tumor-bearing mice revealed that whereas IFN-γ induction was transient, IDO expression in DC was maintained long-term. An in vitro system modeling the IFN-γ–mediated change in DC function was developed to dissect the molecular basis of persistent IDO expression in post–IL-12 DC. Stimulation of DC with IFN-γ and CD40L resulted in rapid induction of IDO1 and IDO2 transcription and recapitulated the in vivo switch from immunogenic to tolerogenic activity. Long-term maintenance of IDO expression was found to be independent of exogenous and autocrine IFN-γ, or the secondary cytokines TGF-β, TNF-α, and IL-6. In contrast, both IDO enzymatic activity and IFN-γ–induced AhR expression were required for continued IDO transcription in vitro and in vivo. Addition of the tryptophan catabolite kynurenine to DC cultures in which IDO activity was blocked restored long-term IDO expression in wild-type DC but not in AhR-deficient DC, establishing the central role of the kynurenine–AhR pathway in maintaining IDO expression in tolerogenic DC. These findings shed further light on the cellular and molecular biology of the post–IL-12 regulatory rebound and provide insight into how feedback inhibitory mechanisms dominate in the long-term.