Interferon subverts an AHR–JUN axis to promote CXCL13+ T cells in lupus

Abstract Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is prototypical autoimmune disease driven by pathological T cell–B cell interactions1, 2. Expansion of T follicular helper (TFH) and T peripheral helper (TPH) cells, two T cell populations that provide help to B cells, is a prominent feature of SLE3, 4. Human TFH and TPH cells characteristically produce high levels of the B cell chemoattractant CXCL13 (refs. 5, 6), yet regulation of T cell CXCL13 production and the relationship between CXCL13+ T cells and other T cell states remains unclear. Here, we identify an imbalance in CD4+ T cell phenotypes in patients with SLE, with expansion of PD-1+/ICOS+ CXCL13+ T cells and reduction of CD96hi IL-22+ T cells. Using CRISPR screens, we identify the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) as a potent negative regulator of CXCL13 production by human CD4+ T cells. Transcriptomic, epigenetic and functional studies demonstrate that AHR coordinates with AP-1 family member JUN to prevent CXCL13+ TPH/TFH cell differentiation and promote an IL-22+ phenotype. Type I interferon, a pathogenic driver of SLE7, opposes AHR and JUN to promote T cell production of CXCL13. These results place CXCL13+ TPH/TFH cells on a polarization axis opposite from T helper 22 (TH22) cells and reveal AHR, JUN and interferon as key regulators of these divergent T cell states.