Abstract
Background:
The pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) involves complex genetic susceptibility that impacts pathways regulating host immunity and the target of autoimmune attack, insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells. Interactions between risk variants and environmental factors result in significant heterogeneity in clinical presentation among those who develop T1D. Although genetic risk is dominated by the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II and insulin (INS) gene loci, nearly 150 additional risk variants are significantly associated with the disease, including polymorphisms in immune checkpoint molecules, such as SIRPG.
Scope of Review:
In this review, we summarize the literature related to the T1D-associated risk variants in SIRPG, which include a protein-coding variant (rs6043409, G>A; A263V) and an intronic polymorphism (rs2281808, C>T), and their potential impacts on the immunoregulatory signal regulatory protein (SIRP) family:CD47 signaling axis. We discuss how dysregulated expression or function of SIRPs and CD47 in antigen-presenting cells (APCs), T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and pancreatic β-cells could potentially promote T1D development.
Major Conclusions:
We propose a hypothesis, supported by emerging genetic and functional immune studies, which states a loss of proper SIRP:CD47 signaling may result in increased lymphocyte activation and cytotoxicity and enhanced β-cell destruction. Thus, we present several novel therapeutic strategies for modulation of SIRPs and CD47 to intervene in T1D.
Introduction
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis involves marked failures in immunoregulation and an adaptive immune response targeting β-cell autoantigens expressed in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that T1D is a highly polygenic disease (–). The majority of T1D risk is conferred by the highly polymorphic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II region and the insulin locus; however, there are nearly 150 additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with T1D risk (, , ). A subset of these SNPs impact CD4+ and CD8+ T cell function, including risk variants tagged to co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules CD226, CTLA4, and SIRPG (, ).
Among these variants, those associated with SIRPG (signal regulatory protein gamma), which encodes the receptor-like transmembrane protein SIRPγ, have been proposed to modulate T cell and natural killer (NK) cell activation (–). SIRPG contains two SNPs associated with risk for T1D (, –): rs2281808 [C>T, intronic, minor allele frequency (MAF): 0.27, odds ratio (OR): 1.11] and rs6043409 (G>A, Ala263Val, MAF: 0.20, OR 1.13). These SNPs are in tight linkage disequilibrium (LD) (R2 = 0.94; D’ = 0.98) (, , –) and tend to be inherited as a haplotype that carries either risk (C/G, 65.2%) or protection (T/A, 33.5%) from T1D in European cohorts (). In addition to T1D, rs2281808 and rs6043409 are associated with other T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and ulcerative colitis (UC) (–, , –).
While much of the impact of SIRPG risk variants have yet to be empirically determined, bioinformatic analysis of the locus provides some insight into how variants may impact expression and processing. SIRPG is predicted to exhibit three different isoforms with isoform 1 being the most predominant and encoding the longest form of the protein. Alternative splicing results in the production of shorter isoforms 2 and 3 (modeled in Figure 1A) (, , ) which lack a majority of the transmembrane domain and thus, might allow for secretion of the SIRPγ protein rather than expression on the cell surface. The intronic T1D risk allele (C; rs2281808) may be associated with a decreased SIRPG intron-excision ratio in whole blood and spleen [Data Source: GTEx Analysis Release V8 (dbGaP Accession phs000424.v8.p2)] (). Hence, we speculate that the risk allele could potentially increase the predominance of isoforms 2 and 3 due to interrupted splicing of the full-length isoform lowering overall SIRPγ expression on the cell surface (Figures 1C, D) (, ).
Figure 1
The exonic risk allele (G; rs6043409; alanine (Ala;A) codon) alters the structure of the extracellular D3 domain of SIRPγ, the function of which is currently unknown (Figure 1B) (
Although SIRPγ is the only member of the SIRP family with known T1D risk loci, other proteins found in this family, such as SIRPα and SIRPβ1, may also be involved in T1D pathogenesis. For example, the rs2281808 and rs6043409 risk variants are expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) for both SIRPG and SIRPB1, whereby SIRPγ expression is reduced and SIRPβ1 expression is reciprocally increased (
CD47 is ubiquitously expressed and is well known for providing a “don’t eat me” signal via binding to SIRPα on macrophages, which prevents macrophage-mediated phagocytosis and destruction of CD47-expressing target cells (
Figure 2

Hypothetical model for how decreased SIRPs CD47 signaling may lead to a pro-inflammatory phenotype in leukocytes: (A) In antigen-presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells (DCs) and monocytes/macrophages, signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) and CD47 are co-expressed, whereby SIRPα can bind CD47 expressed on other cell types (e.g., leukocytes, epithelial cells, endothelial cells) in trans or possibly via in cis interactions, thus activating the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs) on its cytoplasmic tail (
Structural Features and Signaling Pathways of SIRPs:CD47
SIRP Family
SIRPα, SIRPβ1, and SIRPγ, which comprise the SIRP family, are type 1 transmembrane glycoproteins with three immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) extracellular regions, a single transmembrane domain, and varying cytoplasmic domains (Figure 2) (
SIRPα is expressed on a wide variety of cell types including many leukocyte subsets (e.g., monocytes, macrophages, DCs, NK cells), epithelial/endothelial cells, and other complex tissues (e.g., brain, pancreas) (
Figure 3

Working model of the role of CD47:SIRPs signaling in health and during type 1 diabetes pathogenesis: (A) CD47 and signal regulatory protein (SIRP) are expressed by immune cells during a healthy state. CD47 controls calcium (Ca2+) signaling in β-cells, through an unknown pathway, that promotes both cell adhesion and insulin production as well (
Implications of SIRPα:CD47 Signaling in APCs in T1D
The systematic failure to regulate self-antigen reactivity along with a pro-inflammatory cytokine signature has been shown to contribute to T cell-mediated destruction of β-cells in T1D (
Once an immune response has been resolved and APC activation is no longer required, CD47 expression is upregulated to inhibit inflammasome activation (
Similarly, during viral infections, CD47 expression increases on both immune cells and infected tissues due to an indirect effect of TNFα-NFκB1-signaling (
Implications of SIRPs:CD47 Signaling in T Cells and NK Cells in T1D
While autoreactive T cells are widely accepted as a key pathogenic feature of insulitis in organ donors with T1D (
The ligation of CD47 is hypothesized to inhibit T and NK cell activation via inhibition of unknown elements downstream of the zeta chain of T cell receptor (TCR)-associated protein kinase 70 (ZAP70) activation and subsequent phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) from the mitogen-associated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade (Figure 2B) (
In contrast, however, one study found evidence that CD47 may instead promote the activation of T cells. Specifically, human Jurkat and primary human T cells or human CD47-transfected murine 3.L2 T cells stimulated by anti-CD3 and anti-CD47 activating antibodies, showed increased proliferation and IL-2 production as compared to those stimulated with anti-CD3 alone (71). Additionally, CD47 activation enhanced TCR zeta chain and ZAP70 phosphorylation (71). The cytoplasmic tail of CD47 was not necessary for these effects; rather, the membrane domain was required (71). The differing observations in this study (71) are thought to be due to activating antibodies eliciting a response from CD47 that contrasts from the quality or quantity of stimulation with TSP-1 in subsequent studies (
Human tumor expression of CD47 has been shown to correlate with the expression of various co-inhibitory markers, such as program cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), on tumor-infiltrating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (72, 73). In mice, CD47 blockade contributed toward increased activation and cytotoxic potential of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells (72, 73). Similarly, Seiffert et al. demonstrated that antibody-mediated blockade of either SIRPα or CD47 during DC priming of human CD8+ T cells reduced their anti-tumor cytotoxic activity in vitro (74). Disruption of SIRPα:CD47 signaling also increased NK cell activation and cytotoxicity while CD47 overexpression inhibited cytotoxic killing of tumor or MHC-deficient target cells in vitro; importantly, this latter observation was dependent upon SIRPα expression on NK cells (
It has also been observed that CD47 signaling can control thymocyte selection, memory T cell differentiation, and CD4+ T helper (Th) cell skewing (
Increased CD47 expression has been observed on naïve and central memory as compared to effector memory CD4+ T cells (Figure 2C) (
Interestingly, NOD mice carry a polymorphism in the Sirpα gene that induces an 18 amino acid variation in the IgV-like domain of the SIRPα protein, as compared to the non-obese diabetes resistant (NOR) strain (
SIRPG does not have an orthologous counterpart in the mouse, limiting studies of this gene in vivo. In an in vitro co-culture model of human T cells and TNF-α activated human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayers under shear flow conditions, anti-CD47 and anti-SIRPγ antibodies prevented T cell transmigration across HUVECs (
Implications of SIRPα:CD47 Signaling in Pancreatic β-Cells in T1D
Previous literature examining the impact of SIRP:CD47 signaling has primarily focused on host immunity in the context of cancer development; hence, little is currently known about how this pathway relates to pancreatic β-cell development and survival in the context of T1D pathogenesis. CD47 forms clusters in lipid rafts on the surface of healthy cells, facilitating SIRPα ligation to inhibit phagocytosis by macrophages; in contrast, apoptotic cells exhibit a diffuse surface distribution of CD47 reducing the “don’t eat me” signal (82). Hence, in pancreatic β-cells, CD47 is hypothesized to promote survival via propagation of the “don’t eat me” signal in addition to regulating calcium (Ca2+) signaling associated with protection afforded by autophagy (Figure 3) (
Additionally, SIRPα is hypothesized to upregulate insulin secretion and/or production (Figure 3) (
Potential for SIRP:CD47-Modulating Therapeutics in T1D
Strategies focused on restoring or monitoring SIRPα, SIRPγ, and/or CD47 expression in subjects at-risk or with recent T1D onset may aid in the prediction, prevention or reversal of T1D. The SIRPG T1D-risk alleles and other T1D-risk loci have been associated with serological markers of disease progression. For example, a study conducted by The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) consortium found that among individuals with the high-risk HLA-DR3/4 genotype, the minor (protective) allele for rs2281808 reduced the risk of islet autoantibody (AAb) seroconversion as compared to the major (risk) allele (93). These analyses suggest that SIRPG SNP genotypes may associate with high-risk HLA diplotypes, thus reinforcing the importance of examining the roles of both HLA and non-HLA risk SNPs in modulating events driving tissue-specific reactivity in the pathogenesis of T1D (93).
In individuals with a family history of T1D or islet AAb seropositivity, SIRPG SNP genotyping could potentially allow for the identification of individuals who may benefit from SIRP:CD47 modulating therapies in precision medicine applications. Indeed, small molecule drugs or biologics that promote SIRPG expression or SIRPγ:CD47 signaling could serve as novel candidate therapies. Those that target CD47 (e.g., CD47 activating antibodies or SIRPγ:CD47 bi-specific antibodies) would likely be preferable for two key reasons: 1) SIRPγ:CD47 signaling occurs unilaterally downstream of CD47, and 2) the T1D-risk associated SNPs tagged to SIRPG are predicted to promote reduced SIRPγ expression and/or interaction with CD47 (
Figure 4

Potential clinical therapeutics targeting SIRPs and CD47 for type 1 diabetes prevention or suspension. Immunotherapies could be utilized to increase the expression of SIRPγ and/or CD47 on primary T cells for adoptive cell therapies or CD47 on stem cell-derived β-cells or islets before transplant to attenuate the magnitude of recurrent autoimmunity. Red Text Box: Expected Decrease; Green Text Box: Expected Increase.
We hypothesize that SIRPγ expression on immune cells may be correlated with specific stages of T1D development in a manner governed by genetic risk variants in SIRPG, and thus, could be used as a biomarker of disease progression in conjunction with C-peptide and AAbs (
Discussion/Conclusion
As reviewed herein, prior research has suggested that SIRPs and CD47 could be involved in immunoregulation and cross-talk between immune cells as well as able to protect cells from targeted cellular destruction. However, it remains unclear how SIRP:CD47 signaling affects T cell activation in the periphery. We hypothesize that SIRP:CD47 represents a co-inhibitory pathway involved in immunoregulation. Because autoreactive T cells that bypass negative selection in the thymus are thought to express lower TCR affinities, SIRP:CD47 signaling may have an important effect on both central and peripheral tolerance during autoimmune disease pathogenesis. Therefore, we propose that novel immunotherapies that upregulate the expression of SIRPγ on T cells or increase CD47 signaling in persons with recent-onset or pre-T1D could ultimately serve as a powerful therapeutic approach to inhibit autoimmune destruction. However, additional research, including genotype/phenotype population studies, novel gene and SNP editing approaches, and longitudinal natural history studies are required to determine if the SIRP:CD47 signaling pathway could serve as an informative predictive biomarker of this disease or viable target for immune modulation.
Funding
Efforts related to the content reviewed herein are supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health NIAID (P01 AI042288 to TMB), NIDDK Human Islet Research Network (HIRN; UG3 DK122638 to TMB), the University of Florida (UF) Experimental Pathology Innovation Grant (EPIG; 2908EPIG to RCS), HIRN Emerging Leaders in T1D (Human Islet Research Enhancement Center (HIREC) U24 DK104162 to RCS), and The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Grant# 2018PG-T1D071 and Grant# 2004-03813 to TMB). Research related to this Review was also supported by the Network for Pancreatic Organ donors with Diabetes (nPOD; RRID : SCR_014541), a collaborative type 1 diabetes research project sponsored by JDRF (nPOD:5-SRA-2018-557-Q-R, 25-2013-268, 25-2012-380, and 25-2007-874 to MAA) and The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Grant# 2018PG-T1D053).
Publisher’s Note
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Statements
Author contributions
RCS: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing-Original Draft, Visualization. MEB: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing-Original Draft, Visualization. MRS: Investigation, Writing-Review and Editing. ALP: Investigation, Writing-Review and Editing. TMB: Writing-Review and Editing, Supervision, Project Administration, Funding Acquisition. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank members of the TB lab and the University of Florida Diabetes Institute for helpful discussions. Figures were created with BioRender.com.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Abbreviations
T1D, Type 1 Diabetes; HLA, Human Leukocyte Antigen; INS, Insulin; SIRP, Signal Regulatory Protein; APCs, Antigen-Presenting Cells; SNPs, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms; NK, Natural Killer; MAF, Minor Allele Frequency; OR, Odds Ratio; LD, Linkage Disequilibrium; RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis; SLE, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; UC, Ulcerative Colitis; IAP, Integrin-Associated Protein; eQTL, Expression Quantitative Trait Loci; Ig, Immunoglobulin; ITIMs, Immunoreceptor Tyrosine-based Inhibition Motifs; SHP 1/2, SH2-domain-containing Protein Phosphatase 1/2; DC, Dendritic Cells; DAP12, DNAX-Activation Protein 12; ITAMs, Immunoreceptor Tyrosine-based Activation Motifs; VEGFR-2, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2; TSP-1, Thrombospondin-1; Gi, Inhibitory G Protein; BNIP3, BCL2 Interacting Protein 3; RBCs, Red Blood Cells; NOD, Non-Obese Diabetic; HUVEC, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell; PD-1, Program Cell Death Protein 1; CTLA-4, Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Protein 4; IFN-γ, Interferon Gamma; Th, T helper; HEL, Hen Egg Lysozyme; MHEC, Murine Heart Endothelial Cell; NOR, Nonobese T1D-resistant; FOXP3+, Forkhead box P3; TCR, T Cell Receptor; DN, Double Negative; ZAP70, Zeta-chain-Associated Protein; ERK, Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinases; MAPK, Mitogen-Associated Protein Kinase; H2S, Hydrogen Sulfide; EGR-1, Early Growth Response gene-1; PTPN2, Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Non-receptor 2; TNFAIP3, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Alpha-Induced Protein 3; Ca2+, Calcium; AP-1, Activator Protein 1; UPR, Unfolded Protein Response; IGF-1, Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1; TEDDY, The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young.
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Summary
Keywords
CD47, SIRPG, SIRPA, SIRPB1, type 1 diabetes, signal regulatory protein
Citation
Sharp RC, Brown ME, Shapiro MR, Posgai AL and Brusko TM (2021) The Immunoregulatory Role of the Signal Regulatory Protein Family and CD47 Signaling Pathway in Type 1 Diabetes. Front. Immunol. 12:739048. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.739048
Received
09 July 2021
Accepted
31 August 2021
Published
16 September 2021
Volume
12 - 2021
Edited by
Roland Michael Tisch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
Reviewed by
Carolin Daniel, Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HZ), Germany; Jon D. Piganelli, University of Pittsburgh, United States
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Copyright
© 2021 Sharp, Brown, Shapiro, Posgai and Brusko.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Todd M. Brusko, tbrusko@ufl.edu; orcid.org/0000-0003-2878-9296
†These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship
This article was submitted to Immunological Tolerance and Regulation, a section of the journal Frontiers in Immunology
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