Glycosaminoglycans bind human IL-27 and regulate its activity

IL-27 is a cytokine of the IL-12 family, composed of EBI3 and IL-27p28. IL-27 regulates immune responses and also other physiological processes including hematopoiesis, angiogenesis, and bone formation. Its receptor, composed of IL-27Rα and gp130, activates the STAT pathway. Here, we show that different glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) modulate human IL-27 activity in vitro. We find that soluble heparin and heparan sulfate efficiently inhibit human IL-27 activity as shown by decreased STAT signaling and downstream biological effects. In contrast, membrane-bound heparan sulfate seems to positively regulate IL-27 activity. Our biochemical studies demonstrate that soluble GAGs directly bind to human IL-27, consistent with in silico analyses, and prevent its binding to IL-27Rα. Although murine IL-27 also bound to GAGs in vitro, its activity was less efficiently inhibited by soluble GAGs. Lastly, we show that two heparin-derivatives, low molecular weight heparin and fondaparinux, that like unfractionated heparin are used in clinics, had weaker or no effect on human IL-27 activity. Together, our data identify GAGs as new players in the regulation of human IL-27 activity that might act under physiological conditions and may also have a clinical impact in heparin-treated patients.