Rapamycin immunomodulation utilizes time-dependent alterations of lymph node architecture, leukocyte trafficking, and gut microbiome

Transplant recipients require lifelong, multimodal immunosuppression to prevent rejection by reducing alloreactive immunity. Rapamycin is known to modulate adaptive and innate immunity, but its full mechanism remains incompletely understood. We investigated the understudied effects of rapamycin on lymph node (LN) architecture, leukocyte trafficking, and gut microbiome and metabolism after 3 (early), 7 (intermediate), and 30 (late) days of rapamycin treatment. Rapamycin significantly reduced CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and Tregs in peripheral LNs, mesenteric LNs, and spleen. Rapamycin induced early proinflammation transition to protolerogenic status by modulating the LN laminin α4/α5 expression ratios (La4/La5) through LN stromal cells, laminin α5 expression, and adjustment of Treg numbers and distribution. Additionally, rapamycin shifted the Bacteroides/Firmicutes ratio and increased amino acid bioavailability in the gut lumen. These effects were evident by 7 days and became most pronounced by 30 days in naive mice, with changes as early as 3 days in allogeneic splenocyte-stimulated mice. These findings reveal what we believe to be a novel mechanism of rapamycin action through time-dependent modulation of LN architecture and gut microbiome, which orchestrates changes in immune cell trafficking, providing a framework for understanding and optimizing immunosuppressive therapies.