Tolerance induction in double specific T-cell receptor transgenic mice varies with antigen

Peripheral clonal deletion of superantigen-reactive T cells is enhanced by cortisone

The T cell receptor (TcR) V beta-specific expansion, deletion and induction of nonresponsiveness among murine T cells responding to superantigens in the periphery has been well characterized. Here we demonstrate that clonal deletion of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) B-reactive V beta 8.2+ cells can be significantly increased when mice are injected with hydrocortisone (HC) following superantigen stimulation in vivo. The induced sensitivity to HC persists for at least 30 days after SEB injection, making it unlikely that proliferating cells were uniquely responsible for the enhanced deletion. Superantigen-induced HC sensitivity was a general phenomenon and could also be observed among V beta 11+ cells after the injection of SEA. Experiments conducted on thymectomized mice indicated that HC-sensitive, SEB-responsive cells could not be accounted for by rapidly produced, immature lymphocytes recently exported from the thymus. Further, V beta 8.1+ peripheral lymphocytes from TcR transgenic mice expressing the Mls-1a superantigen were sensitive to HC. These results imply that the majority of cells remaining after superantigen-induced clonal expansion and deletion in vivo have indeed reacted with the superantigen. Implications for differential superantigen recognition by T cells expressing the same TcR V beta domain, perhaps due to a significant V alpha contribution to the interaction in vivo, are discussed.

Thymic depletion and peripheral activation of class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted T cells by soluble peptide in T-cell receptor transgenic mice

Injection of mice transgenic for a class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted T-cell receptor with a soluble peptide antigen from influenza virus nucleoprotein results in clonal depletion of double-positive immature thymocytes in the thymus and activation of mature T cells in the periphery, accompanied by a transient up-regulation of the T-cell receptor and CD3 and CD8 coreceptor molecules.

CD8 is needed for positive selection but differentially required for negative selection of T cells during thymic ontogeny

During thymic development, immature thymocytes expressing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-restricted T cell receptors (TcR) differentiate into CD8+ T cells with cytolytic functions. To evaluate the role of CD8 in positive and negative selection during thymic ontogeny, mice rendered CD8-null by gene targeting were bred with three lines of transgenic mice expressing unique MHC class I-restricted TcR. In all three instances CD8 was required for positive selection of MHC class I-restricted transgenic T cells. The efficiency of positive selection decreased in accordance with a reduced level of CD8 expression on thymocytes. Surprisingly, there was a differential requirement for CD8 expression in negative selection of MHC class I-restricted thymocytes, depending on the antigen specificity of TcR. These observations show that CD8 is essential for positive selection but is differentially required for negative selection of MHC class I-restricted T cells. Thus thymic selection, at least for negative selection, can occur in the absence of the CD8 accessory molecule.

Vaccination or tolerance to prevent diabetes

Experiments with transgenic mice expressing the glycoprotein (GP) of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) under the control of the rat insulin promoter (RIP) have demonstrated that potentially self-reactive T cells that normally ignore self peptides may nevertheless be induced by self peptides or "cross-reactive" foreign (e.g. viral) peptides that arise in the host in an immunogenic form; once activated these potentially self-reactive T cells may cause autoaggressive diseases (e.g. diabetes). The possibility of vaccinating against such T cell-mediated immunopathological diseases was evaluated in the RIP-GP transgenic mouse line Bln. Any attempt to vaccinate with the self antigen itself (e.g. recombinant vaccinia virus expressing LCMV-GP) failed to protect mice from disease. However, immunization with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing LCMV-nucleoprotein (vacc-NP) as a non-GP LCMV vaccine was able to modulate the immune response and prevented autoaggressive disease in a MHC-dependent fashion. In contrast, tolerance induction neonatally or, more generally applicable, by lethal irradiation and reconstitution with neo-self antigen-expressing bone marrow cells always resulted in prevention of virally induced diabetes in this model situation.

Negative selection of precursor thymocytes before their differentiation into CD4+CD8+ cells

Thymic selection of the developing T cell repertoire is thought to occur at the CD4+CD8+ stage of differentiation and to be determined by the specificity of the T cell receptors (TCRs) that CD4+CD8+ thymocytes express. However, TCR signals can inhibit the differentiation of precursor thymocytes into CD4+CD8+ cells, which suggests that selection might occur earlier than thought. Indeed, in a negatively selecting male thymus, CD4-CD8lo precursor thymocytes that express a transgenic TCR to male antigen are developmentally arrested as a consequence of antigen encounter and fail to become CD4+CD8+. Thus, negative selection can occur before the CD4+CD8+ stage of differentiation.

Apoptosis and T-cell repertoire selection in the thymus

Thymic tolerance depends on induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death) in immature thymocytes by antigen/MHC complexes on dendritic cells (and possibly other bone marrow-derived APCs). Interactions with antigen/MHC complexes on thymic epithelial cells promote maturation of double-positive thymocytes to single-positive cells. However, the nature of the antigen/MHC complexes on thymic epithelial cells is unknown, and if the stromal cell interaction model as just outlined is correct, then presumably these complexes must be different from those presented on dendritic cells, otherwise all cells signaled for positive selection would be subject to negative selection by similar complexes on APCs. The nature of the signals provided by thymic epithelial cells versus dendritic cells is unknown and may provide a key to understanding the processes of positive and negative selection within the thymus. Clearly the intense selection of the T-cell repertoire within the thymus explains the high level of cell death observed within the immature thymocyte compartment. Such intensive selection shapes the T-cell repertoire in a way that provides an explanation for the genetic basis of immune responsiveness and for the susceptibility of certain individuals to autoimmunity.

Differentiation of an immature T cell line: a model of thymic positive selection

Thymocyte differentiation is dependent upon recognition of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on thymic stroma, a process called positive selection. Here we describe an immature CD4+8+ T cell line derived from a TCR transgenic mouse that differentiates into CD4+8- cells in response to antigen and nonthymic antigen-presenting cells. When injected intrathymically, these cells differentiate in the absence of antigen. The ability of immature T cells to recognize MHC molecules in the absence of foreign antigen in the thymus can thus be attributed to a unique property of thymic antigen-presenting cells. These studies also demonstrate the phenotypic and functional changes associated with TCR-mediated T cell maturation and establish an in vitro model system of positive selection.

Engagement of the T-cell receptor during positive selection in the thymus down-regulates RAG-1 expression

We have examined the expression of the recombination activating gene RAG-1 by in situ hybridization to thymi from mice bearing transgenes for the T-cell receptor (TCR) alpha chain, TCR beta chain, or both TCR alpha and beta chains. RAG-1 transcription was found in the thymic cortex of transgenic mice carrying a single TCR alpha- or TCR beta-chain transgene, comparable to normal mice. However, RAG-1 transcription was strikingly reduced in the thymic cortex from transgenic mice carrying both TCR alpha- and beta-chain genes and expressing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (H-2b) molecules necessary for positive selection of the transgenic TCR. In contrast, thymi of transgenic mice also carrying both TCR alpha- and beta-chain genes but expressing MHC molecules (H-2d) that did not positively select the transgenic TCR displayed high levels of RAG-1 transcription. The low thymic RAG-1 expression coincided with high transgenic TCR alpha-chain surface expression and with inhibition of endogenous TCR alpha-chain rearrangement. Our findings suggest that binding of the TCR to self MHC molecules during positive selection down-regulates RAG-1 transcription in cortical thymocytes and thereby prevents further TCR alpha-chain rearrangements.

Why is clonal deletion of neonatal thymocytes defective?

A major mechanism for establishing tolerance to some murine self antigens is clonal deletion of self reactive T cells in the thymus. This mechanism is responsible for the near absence of T cells displaying particular T cell receptor (TcR) V beta in strains of mice that express the major histocompatibility complex class II E molecule and a protein encoded within the 3' open reading frame (ORF) of certain endogenous mammary tumor viruses (Mtv). However, clonal deletion does not operate in these same strains during the first few days after birth. This defect could be explained by a difference in any (or any combination of) the three elements involved: the T cell, the thymic stromal cell(s) or the antigen. We have explored these different possibilities and have come to the conclusion that a lack of antigen is the most likely explanation. Yet, neonatal and adult thymi have quite similar levels of messenger ribonucleic acid corresponding to Mtv 3' ORF.

T cells causing immunological disease

Evidence is summarized that genetically encoded self peptides may not be considered immunological as self when expressed solely extrathymically on non-lymphohemopoietic cells; nevertheless, they are antigenic and are recognized by induced effector T cells. An immune response is readily induced against such "nonimmunological" self (as against foreign) by an appropriate presentation of these self peptides on proper antigen-presenting cells. If it is substantial, such an immune response causes a disease resembling an autoimmune disease, which is more appropriately called an "immunopathological T cell-mediated disease" rather than a T cell autoimmunity. These pathogenetic considerations may be incorporated into a revised-extended Gell and Coomb's classification of immunopathologies. If this view of immunopathological T cell-mediated diseases against nonimmunological self is correct, such diseases should be amenable to the same prevention (i.e., vaccination) and treatment principles, as are T cell immune responses to foreign antigens.

Cellular and peptide requirements for in vitro clonal deletion of immature thymocytes

Thymocytes from DO10 T-cell-receptor transgenic mice undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death, when chicken ovalbumin-(323-339) peptide is administered in vivo. Using DO10 mice thymocytes, we have now developed a simple in vitro model system that recapitulates the in vivo clonal-deletion process. When transgenic thymocytes were cocultured with fibroblasts, B cells, or thymic nurse cell lines (all bearing I-Ad) in the presence of chicken ovalbumin-(323-339), deletion of the transgenic TCR+CD4+CD8+ thymocytes was seen within 8-20 hr. Thymocytes designed to bear I-Ad on their surface could mediate the deletion themselves. Thus, thymocyte clonal deletion entirely depends on the stage at which the thymocytes are vulnerable to the onset of apoptosis, rather than on the nature of the peptide antigen-presenting cells. Furthermore, thymic nurse cell line TNC-R3.1 could cause deletion, strongly suggesting that some thymic epithelial/stromal components are potentially capable of participating in negative selection. In all cases examined, little deletion could be induced at a peptide concentration less than 10 nM, thus defining the minimum amount of peptide antigen required for negative selection. The peptide-dependent in vitro negative-selection system will allow further dissection of the molecular and cellular processes involved in clonal deletion due to apoptosis in the thymus.

pp59fyn mutant mice display differential signaling in thymocytes and peripheral T cells

We have generated mutant mice that do not express pp59fyn, a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase related to pp60src, by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells. fyn- mice did not display an overt phenotype. Because fyn is associated with the T cell receptor (TCR), thymocyte and T cell signaling was analyzed in the mutant background. Cross-linking of TCR-CD3 in thymocytes led to markedly reduced calcium fluxes and abrogated proliferation, whereas mature splenic T cells retained largely normal proliferation despite depressed calcium movements and IL-2 production. Similarly, proliferation induced by Thy-1 cross-linking was reduced in thymocytes but not in splenic T cells. fyn- thymocytes were impaired at a late stage of maturation and showed limited clonal deletion to the Mls-1a self-super-antigen but not to staphylococcal enterotoxin A. These results implicate fyn as a critical component in TCR signaling in thymocytes and, potentially, in the process that determines T cell repertoire in the adult mouse.

An NK1.1+ CD4+8- single-positive thymocyte subpopulation that expresses a highly skewed T-cell antigen receptor V beta family

In the present report we describe a CD4+8- heat stable antigen-negative (HSA-) thymocyte subpopulation that expresses a distinguishably low density of alpha beta T-cell antigen receptors (TCRlo) from the majority of CD4+8- high-density TCR (TCRhi) mature-type thymocytes. This subpopulation appears relatively late in life. Analysis of MEL-14, Pgp-1 (CD44), ICAM-1 (CD54), and NK1.1 expression on this subpopulation revealed that the CD4+8- TCRlo population was a population having unique characteristics (MEL-14-, CD44+, ICAM-1+, and NK1.1+) compared to the CD4+8- TCRhi thymocytes, most of which are MEL-14+, CD44-, ICAM-1-, and NK1.1-. When TCR beta-chain variable region (V beta) usage was analyzed, this thymic population expressed predominantly products of V beta 7 and V beta 8.2 TCR gene families. Interestingly, cells with V beta 8.1 TCRs, which are reactive to Mls-1a antigens, were not eliminated from the CD4+8- HSA- TCRlo subpopulation but had been eliminated from the major CD4+8- HSA- TCRhi subpopulation in Mls-1a strains. A subset with a phenotype similar to the CD4+8- HSA- TCRlo thymocytes was also identified primarily in bone marrow, and this subset constituted approximately half of the CD4+ T cells in the bone marrow. The CD4+8- HSA- TCRlo cells showed extremely high proliferative responses to immobilized anti-TCR antibody but generated negligible responses to allogeneic H-2 antigens compared to the responses generated by the major CD4+8- HSA- CD3hi cells. However, the CD4+8- HSA- TCRlo cells in Mls-1b mice mounted vigorous proliferative responses to Mls-1a antigens but not in Mls-1a mice. The properties of this T-cell subset suggest that these cells belong to a lineage distinct from the major T-cell population.

CD45 isoform expression during T cell development in the thymus

Various isoforms of leukocyte common antigen, or CD45, are expressed differentially on T cells at different stages of development and activation. We report studies on CD45 isoform expression on various subsets of human T cells using two- and three-color flow cytometry and cell depletion. Bone marrow cells that were depleted of CD3+ and HLA-DR+ cells were CD45RA-RO-. The earliest CD3-CD4-CD8-CD19- thymocytes were CD45RO- with 20%-30% CD45RA+ cells. The most prominent population of CD4+CD8+ double-positive thymocytes were CD45RA-RO+. Even the CD4+CD8+ blasts were greater than 90% CD45RO+. About 80% of single-positive thymocytes (CD4+CD8- or CD4-CD8+) were also CD45RO+. Only 4.3% of CD4+ and 18% of CD8+ single-positive thymocytes were CD45RA+. In contrast, cord blood T cells which represent the stage that immediately follows single-positive thymocytes, contained 90% CD45RA+ cells. Thus, in terms of CD45 isoform expression, single-positive thymocytes are more like double-positive cells than cord blood T cells. These results suggest the following sequence of CD45 isoform switching during T cell development: CD45RA-RO- or RA+RO- (double-negative thymocytes)----RA-RO+ (double-positive and most single-positive thymocytes)----RA+RO- (cord blood T cells), the last switch from CD45RO to CD45RA occurring as a final step of maturation in the thymus.

Thymus-independent development and negative selection of T cells expressing T cell receptor alpha/beta in the intestinal epithelium: evidence for distinct circulation patterns of gut- and thymus-derived T lymphocytes

We demonstrate that mouse intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) can be divided into subsets based on the differential expression of functional T cell receptor alpha/beta (TCR-alpha/beta) signaling complexes. Two subsets, CD4+ 8 alpha + beta - and CD8 alpha + beta -, are refractory to stimulation with anti-TCR-alpha/beta and contain high frequencies of potentially self-reactive cells. In contrast, the CD4+ and CD8 alpha + beta + IEL subsets are responsive to anti-TCR-alpha/beta and depleted of potentially self-reactive cells. The analysis of fetal liver radiation chimeras using adult thymectomized recipients demonstrates that the four TCR-alpha/beta + IEL subsets are generated in normal numbers in the absence of the thymus. Moreover, expression of the major histocompatibility complex class II-encoded I-E molecule and Mls1a in the gut of the athymic host results in the negative selection of potentially self-reactive T cells expressing V beta 11 and V beta 6, respectively, from those IEL subsets that express functional TCR-alpha/beta signaling complexes. Neither the spleen nor the Peyer's patches of athymic recipients contain T cells of donor origin. In contrast, normal numbers of phenotypically and functionally mature CD4+ and CD8 alpha + beta + T cells of donor origin are found in the lamina propria of chimeric animals. The phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes obtained from Ly5 congenic parabionts reveals that peripheral T cells migrate rapidly to the Peyer's patches and lamina propria, but not to the intestinal epithelium. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the intestinal epithelium is a thymus-independent site of T lymphopoiesis, where selection of the T cell repertoire involves the deletion of potentially self-reactive cells in situ. Moreover, the appearance of donor-derived, phenotypically mature T cells, exclusively in the lamina propria of athymic radiation chimeras, suggests that mature IEL expressing functional TCR-alpha/beta migrate to this site.

Developmental regulation of thymocyte susceptibility to deletion by "self"-peptide

The specificity of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire for foreign peptide bound to self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is determined in large part by positive and negative selection processes in the thymus, yet the mechanisms of these selection events remain unknown. Using in vitro organ culture of thymi isolated from mice transgenic for a TCR-alpha/beta specific for cytochrome c peptide bound to I-Ek, we analyzed the developmental timing of negative selection (deletion). On the basis of the experiments described below, we conclude that all CD4+8+ thymocytes, and only CD4+8+ thymocytes, are susceptible to negative selection mediated by the cytochrome c peptide antigen. First, we found that deletion of thymocytes resulting from addition of the cytochrome c peptide to the thymic organ cultures can occur at the earliest stage of TCR, CD4, and CD8 coexpression. Second, we found that CD4+8+ thymocytes isolated from positively selecting or nonselecting MHC haplotypes were equally efficiently deleted in vitro, suggesting that positive selection is not a prerequisite for deletion. Third, we examined the effects of TCR/ligand avidity on the developmental timing of deletion by varying the concentration of cytochrome c peptide added to the organ cultures. We detected deletion only at the CD4+8+ stage: intermediate concentrations of peptide that resulted in partial deletion of CD4+8+ cells did not eliminate the appearance of mature CD4+8- cells. Finally, we found that CD4+8- thymocytes were resistant to deletion as well as activation by peptide antigen added to the intact organ cultures. Nevertheless, the CD4+8- thymocytes isolated from the peptide-treated organ cultures responded vigorously to peptide presented by spleen cells in vitro. Thus, the T cells were tolerant of (but not anergized by) self-antigen encountered in thymic organ culture. Together, these results indicate that thymocytes susceptible to negative selection are not developmentally distinct from those susceptible to positive selection, and further, that the thymic microenvironment plays a role in regulating the outcome of TCR/ligand interactions.

The level of CD8 expression can determine the outcome of thymic selection

During thymic development, thymocytes that can recognize major histocompatability complex (MHC) molecules on thymic epithelial cells are selected to survive and mature (positive selection), whereas thymocytes that recognize MHC on hematopoietic cells are destroyed (negative selection). It is not known how MHC recognition can mediate both death and survival. One model to explain this paradox proposes that thymocytes whose T cell antigen receptors (TCRs) recognize MHC with high affinity are eliminated by negative selection, whereas low affinity TCR-MHC interactions are sufficient to mediate positive selection. Here we report that, while the expression of a 2C TCR transgene leads to positive selection of thymocytes in H-2b mice, expression of both a CD8 transgene and a 2C TCR transgene causes negative selection. This observation indicates that quantitative differences in TCR-MHC recognition are a critical determinant of T cell fate, a finding predicted by the affinity model for thymic selection.

Suppression of virus-specific antibody production by CD8+ class I-restricted antiviral cytotoxic T cells in vivo

The question of whether virus-induced immunosuppression includes the antibody response against the infecting virus itself was evaluated in a model situation. Transgenic mice expressing the T-cell receptor (TCR) specific for peptide 32-42 of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) glycoprotein 1 presented by Db reacted with a strong transgenic cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response starting on day 3 after infection with a high dose (10(6) PFU intravenously [i.v.]) of the WE strain of LCMV (LCMV-WE); LCMV-specific antibody production in the spleen was suppressed in these mice. Low-dose (10(2) PFU i.v.) infection resulted in an antiviral antibody response comparable to that of the transgene-negative littermates. The induction of suppression of LCMV-specific antibody responses was specifically mediated by CD8+ TCR transgenic CTLs, since the LCMV-8.7 variant virus (which is not recognized by transgenic TCR-expressing CTLs because of a point mutation) did not induce suppression. In addition, treatment with CD8 monoclonal antibody in vivo abrogated suppression. Once suppression had been established, it was found to be nonspecific. The abrogation of antibody responses depended on the relative kinetics of the antibody response involved and the kinetics of the anti-LCMV CTL response. Analysis of T- and B-cell subpopulations showed no significant changes, but immunohistochemical analysis of spleens revealed extensive destruction of follicular organization in lymphoid tissue by day 4 in transgenic mice infected with LCMV-WE but not in those infected with the CTL escape mutant LCMV-8.7. Impairment of antigen presentation rather than of T or B cells was also suggested by adoptive transfer experiments, showing that transferred infected macrophages may improve the anti-LCMV antibody response in LCMV-immunosuppressed transgenic recipients; also, T and B cells from suppressed transgenic mice did respond in irradiated and virus-infected nontransgenic mice with antibody formation to LCMV. Such virus-triggered, T-cell-mediated immunopathology causing the suppression of B cells and of protective antibody responses, including those against the infecting virus itself, may permit certain viruses to establish persistent infections.

In vivo and in vitro clonal deletion of double-positive thymocytes

To study the processes of thymic development, we have established transgenic mice expressing and alpha/beta T cell antigen receptor (TCR) specific for cytochrome c associated with class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The transgenic TCR chains are expressed by most of the thymocytes in these mice, and these cells have been shown to efficiently mature in association with Ek- and Ab-encoded class II MHC molecules. This report describes a characterization of the negative selection of these transgenic thymocytes in vivo that is associated with the expression of As molecules. Negative selection by As molecules appears to result in the deletion of a late stage of CD4/CD8 double-positive thymocytes in that there is a virtual absence of transgenic TCR bearing CD4 single-positive thymocytes. This phenotype is accompanied by the appearance of CD4/CD8 double-negative thymocytes and peripheral T cells that are functionally antigen reactive. The process of negative selection has also been investigated using an in vitro culture system. Upon presentation of cytochrome c by Eb-expressing nonthymic antigen-presenting cells, there occurs an antigen dose-dependent deletion of the majority of CD4/CD8 double-positive thymocytes. In contrast, presentation of Staphylococcal enterotoxin A by Eb in vitro results in minimal deletion of double-positive thymocytes. In addition, we use this in vitro model to examine the effects of cyclosporin A on negative selection. In contrast to its effects on mature T cells, and the findings of others in vivo, cyclosporin A does not inhibit antigen-induced deletion of double-positive thymocytes. Finally, a comparison of the antigen dose responses for thymocyte deletion and for peripheral T cell activation indicates that double-positive thymocyte recognition is more sensitive than mature T cells to antigen recognition.

Clonal deletion induced by either radioresistant thymic host cells or lymphohemopoietic donor cells at different stages of class I-restricted T cell ontogeny

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) products and self-antigens expressed in the thymus determine the repertoire of mature alpha/beta T cells. While positive selection of self-MHC-restricted T cells is directed by MHC molecules expressed by thymic epithelial cells, negative selection depends to a large extent on self-antigens presented by lymphohemopoietic cells. However, radioresistant components of the thymus also influence negative selection, but it remains controversial whether this is accomplished by clonal deletion, clonal anergy, or other mechanisms. In this study, T cell development in mice expressing a transgenic T cell receptor (TCR) specific for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) plus H-2Db was analyzed in the presence or absence of the viral antigen. A novel approach to analyze the thymic tissue requirements for negative selection was possible by comparing thymocyte selection in H-2Db versus H-2Dbm13 mice, since the latter allowed positive selection but not LCMV-specific deletion of transgenic TCR-expressing thymocytes. In irradiation bone marrow chimeras expressing the restriction element for negative selection (H-2Db) on host tissue, we show that radioresistant recipient cells in the thymus deleted developing T cells at an early stage of differentiation. In contrast, chimeras expressing H-2Db on lymphohemopoietic donor cells showed clonal deletion at a later stage during ontogeny.

Exclusion and inclusion of alpha and beta T cell receptor alleles

Exclusion and inclusion of T cell receptor (TCR) genes were analyzed in alpha beta TCR transgenic mice. Both transgenes are expressed unusually early on the surface of CD4-8-, HSA+, IL-2R- thymocytes. These progenitor cells give rise to progeny, which at the single-cell level contains endogenous alpha but not beta TCR-RNA as well as protein, in addition to products encoded by the transgenes. Thus, the surface expression of an alpha beta TCR does not prevent further alpha TCR rearrangement in immature thymocytes that still transcribe RAG-1 and RAG-2 genes. Reduced levels of RAG-1 and RAG-2 RNA are detectable only in CD4+8+ TCR high cells, which result from positive selection in the thymus. The results suggest that a developing T cell may try different alpha beta TCRs for binding to thymic MHC ligands, and that recombination at the alpha locus ceases only after positive selection.

Viral infection of the thymus

We have examined infection of the thymus during congenitally acquired chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection of mice, a classic model of antigen-specific T-cell tolerance. Our results show that (i) infection starts at the fetal stage and is maintained throughout adulthood, and (ii) this chronic infection of the thymus can be eliminated by transfer of virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that infiltrate the thymus and clear all viral products from both medullary and cortical regions. Elimination of virus from the thymus results in abrogation of tolerance. During the fetal stage, the predominant cell type infected is the earliest precursor of T cells with a surface phenotype of Thy1+ CD4- CD8- J11d+. In the adult thymus, infection is confined primarily to the cortisone-resistant thymocytes present in the medullary region. The infected cells are CD4+ and J11d+. The presence of J11d, a marker usually associated with immature thymocytes, on infected single positive CD4+ "mature" thymocytes is intriguing and suggests that infection by this noncytolytic virus may affect development of T cells. There is minimal infection of the CD8+ medullary thymocytes or of the double positive (CD4+ CD8+) cells present in the cortex. Infection within the cortex is confined to the stromal cells. Interestingly, there is infection of the double negative (CD4- CD8-) thymocytes in the adult thymus, showing that even during adulthood the newly developing T cells are susceptible to infection by LCMV. Virus can be eliminated from the thymuses of these carrier mice by adoptive transfer of medullary region first and then from the thymic cortex. This result clearly shows the need to reevaluate the widely held notion that mature T cells are unable to reenter the thymus. In fact, in our experiments the donor T cells made up to 20 to 30% of the total cells in the thymus at 5 to 7 days after the transfer. The number of donor T cells declined as virus was eliminated from the thymus, and at 1 month posttransfer, the donor T cells were hardly detectable. The results of this study examining the dynamics of viral infection and clearance from the thymus, the primary site of T-cell development, have implications for understanding tolerance induction in chronic viral infections.

T-cell responsiveness to an oncogenic peripheral protein and spontaneous autoimmunity in transgenic mice

Why T cells develop autoimmune reactivity to some antigens and tolerance to others is unknown. Various mechanisms can provide for T-cell tolerance. These include deletion in the thymus, exhaustive differentiation in the periphery, T-cell receptor and coreceptor downregulation, and anergy. Which mechanisms normally provide for tolerance to antigens expressed on specific tissues and why they sometimes fail is unclear. To understand this, we analyzed how a tissue-specific protein with defined timing and location of expression is recognized by T cells so as to induce tolerance or autoimmunity. We crossed mice expressing the simian virus 40 large tumor antigen on pancreatic acini beginning 4-25 days after birth with mice transgenic for a rearranged T-cell receptor that recognizes this antigen presented by the class I major histocompatibility complex molecule H-2Kk. No T-cell tolerance was found; rather, T-cell reactivity accompanied lymphocytic infiltration and pancreatic acinar destruction. This result argues that T cells may become spontaneously autoreactive to certain postnatally expressed peripheral proteins and that this reactivity may lead to autoimmune disease.

Weak positive selection of transgenic T cell receptor-bearing thymocytes: importance of major histocompatibility complex class II, T cell receptor and CD4 surface molecule densities

We have produced alpha beta T cell receptor (TcR)-transgenic mice and studied MHC-dependent positive selection of T cells bearing this receptor. The alpha and beta transgenes were isolated from an I-Ed-restricted, CD4+ BALB/c (H-2d/d) T cell clone specific for a peptide consisting of the 91-101 residues of the lambda 2 immunoglobulin light chain of MOPC315. Mice which carry the transgenes on a BALB/c background, but with H-2d/d, H-2b/d or H-2b/b major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes, were investigated for TcR expression in thymocytes and peripheral T cells. The thymocytes expressing the transgene-encoded alpha beta receptor are weakly positively selected when compared with previous findings in other TcR-transgenic mice models. Thus, alpha beta thymocytes vary in their efficacy of being positively selected by their restriction element. Furthermore, the density of TcR and CD4 on thymocytes, as well as the density of I-Ed molecules on thymic epithelial cells, appear critical for the extent of positive selection. A possible explanation is that the transgenic TcR has a marginal affinity for self-MHC molecules on thymic epithelium, and that this may be compensated for by an increase in the number of CD4/TcR/MHC ternary complexes forming between the maturing thymocyte and the cortical epithelial cells.

T cell subset-specific expression of antigen receptor beta chains in alpha chain-transgenic mice

A large number of V beta 8 gene-encoded cDNA were analyzed from peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets of T cell receptor (TcR) alpha chain-transgenic mice. This analysis demonstrates that a limited repertoire of TcR beta chains are co-expressed with the transgenic alpha chain. Most importantly, certain V beta 8-J beta combinations were found exclusively in one of the subsets and, in some cases, subset-specific differences were localized to the VDJ junctional region of the beta chain genes. In contrast, CD4-CD8- transgenic T cells, as well as CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from normal littermate controls, were found to express diverse beta chain repertoires. The present study suggests that beta chains with distinct structural characteristics are expressed in the CD4+ and CD8+ subsets, respectively. Moreover, the data suggest that the same structural constraints do not apply to the population of CD4-CD8- transgenic T cells.

Disruption of CD8-dependent negative and positive selection of thymocytes is correlated with a decreased association between CD8 and the protein tyrosine kinase, p56lck

The CD4 and CD8 coreceptor molecules on immature thymocytes participate in T cell repertoire selection. To examine more definitively the role of CD4 and CD8 in the negative and positive selection of immature thymocytes, we generated transgenic mice with elevated surface CD4 expression and mated them with mice expressing a transgenic T cell receptor. Augmented CD4 expression was found to markedly alter CD8-dependent negative and positive selection of T cells specific for the male (H-Y) antigen presented by H-2Db major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. Moreover, the cytoplasmic tail of CD4 was essential for effecting these alterations, since the overexpression of tailless CD4 molecules failed to influence the outcome of CD8-dependent selection. The inhibition of positive and negative selection in double-transgenic mice expressing the full-length CD4 molecule was associated with a decreased interaction between the protein tyrosine kinase p56lck and CD8. These results strongly implicate p56lck in T cell repertoire selection.

The development of functionally responsive T cells

The work reviewed in this article separates T cell development into four phases. First is an expansion phase prior to TCR rearrangement, which appears to be correlated with programming of at least some response genes for inducibility. This phase can occur to some extent outside of the thymus. However, the profound T cell deficit of nude mice indicates that the thymus is by far the most potent site for inducing the expansion per se, even if other sites can induce some response acquisition. Second is a controlled phase of TCR gene rearrangement. The details of the regulatory mechanism that selects particular loci for rearrangement are still not known. It seems that the rearrangement of the TCR gamma loci in the gamma delta lineage may not always take place at a developmental stage strictly equivalent to the rearrangement of TCR beta in the alpha beta lineage, and it is not clear just how early the two lineages diverge. In the TCR alpha beta lineage, however, the final gene rearrangement events are accompanied by rapid proliferation and an interruption in cellular response gene inducibility. The loss of conventional responsiveness is probably caused by alterations at the level of signaling, and may be a manifestation of the physiological state that is a precondition for selection. Third is the complex process of selection. Whereas peripheral T cells can undergo forms of positive selection (by antigen-driven clonal expansion) and negative selection (by abortive stimulation leading to anergy or death), neither is exactly the same phenomenon that occurs in the thymic cortex. Negative selection in the cortex appears to be a suicidal inversion of antigen responsiveness: instead of turning on IL-2 expression, the activated cell destroys its own chromatin. The genes that need to be induced for this response are not yet identified, but it is unquestionably a form of activation. It is interesting that in humans and rats, cortical thymocytes undergoing negative selection can still induce IL-2R alpha expression and even be rescued in vitro, if exogenous IL-2 is provided. Perhaps murine thymocytes are denied this form of rescue because they shut off IL-2R beta chain expression at an earlier stage or because they may be uncommonly Bcl-2 deficient (cf. Sentman et al., 1991; Strasser et al., 1991). Even so, medullary thymocytes remain at least partially susceptible to negative selection even as they continue to mature.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

T cells and human autoimmune thyroid disease: emerging data show lack of need to invoke suppressor T cell problems

Human T cells recognize self and foreign antigens when such antigens are processed into small peptides and bound to molecules coded for by genes of the HLA region on chromosome 6. The part of the T-cell surface which is responsible for such recognition is a set of molecules coded for by a variety of genes and known as the T-cell-receptor complex. In animal models, T cells are able to transfer autoimmune thyroiditis and T cells have, therefore, long been implicated in the etiology of human autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). Information gained from the study of intrathyroidal T cells and thyroid antigen-specific T-cell clones has shown that in patients with Graves' disease, mainly helper T-cell clones have been obtained, whereas in autoimmune (Hashimoto's) thyroiditis cytolytic T-cell clones may be predominant. Such thyroid antigen-specific T cells have now been shown to recognize one or other of the three major thyroid-specific antigens; thyroglobulin, thyroid peroxidase, or the TSH receptor and efforts are currently in progress to characterize the T-cell epitopes of these major thyroid autoantigens. Recent findings of restricted T-cell receptor V gene use amongst intrathyroidal T cells confirm the primary role of T cells in human thyroid autoimmune processes leading to AITD. However, the mechanisms whereby such autoreactive T cells escape deletion and anergy, and how they become activated, remain uncertain. There is compelling evidence that the thyroid cell itself, by expressing HLA molecules, and presenting antigen directly to the T cells, may initiate disease, perhaps after an external insult.

Cross-species transplantation tolerance: rat bone marrow-derived cells can contribute to the ligand for negative selection of mouse T cell receptor V beta in chimeras tolerant to xenogeneic antigens (mouse + rat----mouse)

Mixed xenogeneic bone marrow reconstitution (mouse + rat----mouse) results in stable mixed lymphopoietic chimerism (1-48% rat), long-term survival, and the induction of stable functional donor-specific transplantation tolerance to xenoantigens in vivo. To examine the role of negative selection of potentially xenoreactive T lymphocytes during tolerance induction across a species barrier, mixed xenogeneic chimeras (mouse + rat----mouse) were prepared and analyzed using a mixture of mouse and rat bone marrow cells for relative T cell receptor (TCR)-V beta expression on mouse T cells. In mixed xenogeneic chimeras (B10 mouse + rat----B10 mouse), T cell maturation proceeded normally in the presence of rat bone marrow-derived elements, and functional donor-specific tolerance to rat xenoantigens was present when assessed by mixed lymphocyte reactivity in vitro. V beta 5, which is expressed at high (undeleted) levels in normal B10 mice, was consistently deleted in B10 recipients of Wistar Furth (WF), but not F344 rat bone marrow, whereas the coadministration of either F344 rat or WF rat bone marrow with B10 mouse bone marrow cells resulted in a significant decrease in expression of TCR-V beta 11. Taken together, these data demonstrate for the first time that rat bone marrow-derived cells can contribute in a strain-specific manner to the ligand for negative selection of specific mouse TCR-V beta during tolerance induction across a species barrier.

Mechanism of self-tolerance of gamma/delta T cells in epithelial tissue

The present study examined mechanisms of tolerance for T cell receptor gamma/delta (TCR-gamma/delta) cells. Using a transgenic (Tg) model, we demonstrate that although alloantigen (Ag)-specific TCR-gamma/delta cells are deleted in the thymus and spleen of Ag-bearing mice, intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) expressing normal levels of the Tg TCR were present. However, Tg+ IELs from Ag-bearing mice were unresponsive to activation. Furthermore, self-reactive Tg+ IELs decreased in number over time. Thus, in epithelial tissue, Tg TCR-gamma/delta cells are eliminated subsequent to and most likely as a result of the induction of clonal anergy.

Molecular and cellular aspects of immunologic tolerance

This review seeks to explain the most exciting recent data concerning the nature of self/non-self discrimination by the immune system in a manner accessible to a biochemical readership. The nature of recognition in the two great lymphocyte families, B cells and T cells, is described with special emphasis on the nature of the ligands recognized by each. The history of the field of immunologic tolerance is surveyed, as are the key experiments on conventional mice which provided a conceptual framework. This suggested that tolerance was essentially due to 'holes' in the recognition repertoires of both the T and B cell populations so that lymphocytes competent to react to self antigens were not part of the immunologic dictionary. There were essentially two ways to achieve this situation. On the one hand, self antigens might 'catch' developing lymphocytes early in their ontogeny and delete the cell, a process of clonal abortion. On the other hand, self antigens might signal lymphocytes (particularly immature cells) in a negative manner, reducing or abolishing their capacity for later responses, without causing death. This process is referred to as clonal anergy. Evidence for both processes exists. Special emphasis is placed on a wave of experimentation beginning in 1988 which imaginatively uses transgenic mouse technology to study tolerance. Transgenic manipulations can produce mice which synthesize foreign antigens in a constitutive and/or inducible manner, sometimes only in specific locations; mice which possess T or B lymphocytes almost all expressing a given receptor of known specificity; and mice which are an immunologic time bomb in that the antigen is present and so too are lymphocytes all endowed with receptors for that antigen. These experiments have vindicated the possibility of both clonal abortion and clonal anergy in both T and B cell populations, the choice of which phenomenon occurs depending on a number of operational circumstances. For T cell tolerance, clonal abortion occurs if the self antigenic determinant concerned is present within the thymus; if not, clonal anergy is more likely. For B cell tolerance, the strength of the negative signal and therefore the choice between abortion and anergy depends on the molar concentration of the self antigen, the capacity for multivalent presentation to a B cell, and the affinity of the B cell's receptor for the antigen in question. Some B cells with low affinity for self antigens certainly escape censorship and remain capable of secreting low affinity anti-self antibodies, which however do no harm.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Control of self-reactivity in the intestine

In the intestine maintenance of self-tolerance may involve tissue-specific self-Ags, APCs, 'second signals', and extrathymic pathways of T cell maturation. These factors combine to create a unique environment where autoimmune tissue destruction is prevented despite local inflammatory influences. In this review we summarize our findings using a TCR-gamma delta transgenic model where self-tolerance was maintained by clonal deletion for cells localizing to peripheral lymphoid tissue and by clonal anergy for cells localizing to the intraepithelial compartments. Several possible explanations exist for these results but in general, these findings have implications for the maintenance of self-tolerance of normal TCR-alpha beta and TCR-gamma delta IELs in epithelial tissues such as the intestine.

Analysis of the immune system with transgenic mice: T cell development

Transgenic mice carrying functionally rearranged T cell receptor genes have contributed significantly to our knowledge of T cell development and thymic positive and negative selection processes. In addition, TCR-transgenic mice have been used to investigate mutations affecting thymocyte development, like scid and lpr. Gene targeting by homologous recombination will allow to analyze more specifically the molecular mechanisms underlying thymic selection and peripheral tolerance.

Involvement of both T cell receptor V alpha and V beta variable region domains and alpha chain junctional region in viral antigen recognition

We have studied the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-specific cytotoxic T cell response in transgenic mice expressing either the T cell receptor (TcR) alpha (V alpha 2/J alpha TA31) or the corresponding TcR beta (V beta 8.1/D beta/J beta 2.4) chain originally isolated from the LCMV glycoprotein specific (residues 32-42), H-2Db-restricted T cell clone P14. The expression of single transgenic TcR chains did not influence the corresponding endogenous TcR V gene usage in unstimulated T cells indicating that one particular TcR alpha or beta chain can randomly pair with different V beta or V alpha chains without any obvious bias. However, upon infection with LCMV, reactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) from P14 beta-transgenic mice were predominantly V alpha 2+ whereas CTL from P14 alpha-transgenic mice preferentially expressed V beta 8.1 and unexpectedly also V beta 8.3 (but not V beta 8.2). Correspondingly, the LCMV-specific CTL response in both alpha and beta TcR-transgenic mice was strongly biased to the original P14 T cell epitope (LCMV glycoprotein residues 32-42). Sequence analysis of a large panel of LCMV-reactive "half-transgenic" TcR from P14 single receptor chain-transgenic mice revealed a highly conserved VJ alpha and a more diverse VDJ beta junctional region. This report demonstrates that the antigen specificity of the studied TcR depends on the specific combination of both TcR alpha and beta chains which implies that amino acids located in the TcR V alpha and V beta segments as well as in the junctional region are involved in binding of the viral antigenic fragment.

Tolerance to liver-specific antigens

We have described a TG model for peripheral tolerance of alloreactive CTL. Expression of Q10/L on hepatocytes renders mice functionally tolerant, although in vitro we observe that TG animals have normal numbers of CTL.Pf directed against this antigen. The basis for the tolerance presumably resides in the fact that the TG mice are lacking a subpopulation, either through deletion or anergy, that is responsible for recognition of the antigen on hepatocytes in vivo. The data are consistent with a tolerance model where cells with high affinity receptors are silenced. The presumed low affinity antigen-specific cells remaining in TG mice cannot be primed in vivo when immunized with antigen on spleen cells. Further, these CTL generate poor lytic activity in vitro. This failure to prime TG CTL in vivo could be attributed to primed cells traveling to the liver where they become tolerized when exposed to antigen on hepatocytes. However, we show that TG cells, after transfer to non-TG recipients, cannot be primed in vivo, indicating that the presumed low-affinity cells remaining in TG mice are not readily activable in this milieu. These data also indicate that this tolerance is not readily reversible during a 10- to 17-d time interval.

T-cell tolerance to viruses

T-cell tolerance to self antigens is maintained by events that occur within the thymus and in the periphery. Mechanisms that operate on immature T cells within the thymus are effective in induction of tolerance to viruses, but mechanisms of tolerizing mature T cells are likely to break down. This failure of peripheral mechanisms to induce T-cell tolerance to viruses has implications for autoimmunity and for treatment of chronic viral infections.

T and B cell tolerance and responses to viral antigens in transgenic mice: implications for the pathogenesis of autoimmune versus immunopathological disease

Experiments with transgenic mice illustrate clonal elimination of T cells specific for antigens expressed appropriately in the thymus, but presence of inducible T cells when the antigen presented on class I MHC antigens is expressed exclusively on non-lymphohemopoietic cells in the periphery (pancreatic beta islet cells). TCR-transgenic LCMV-carrier mice expressing LCMV in the thymus exhibit clonal elimination at the early CD4+8+ thymocyte stage, causing CTL unresponsiveness in these mice. In contrast, studies with RIP LCMV-GP-transgenic mice (expressing GP in pancreatic beta cells) and with TCR-RIP LCMV-GP double-transgenic mice show that CTL reactivity is normal. These experiments argue against so-called peripheral anergy of class I MHC antigen-restricted cytotoxic T cells as a general mechanism of peripheral immunological tolerance to self. They reveal that self epitopes that are genetically self and presented by class I antigens may not be considered immunologically self if expressed solely extrathymically, despite the fact that they are antigenic and can be recognized by induced effector T cells. Genetic self that is presented on cells which can induce neither tolerance nor an immune response is immunologically dealt with as foreign and therefore may be called nonimmunological self. Appropriate presentation of the same epitope on antigen-presenting cells promptly induces effector T cells and causes disease; such disease should not be called autoimmune because it is an immunopathological T-cell mediated disease, comparable to an unfavorably balanced immunopathological T-cell response to a virus. Mechanisms that control autoantibody responses were studied in mice expressing a viral transgene. Such mice generate neutralizing antiviral autoantibody responses only when the transgenic viral antigen is linked to a foreign T-helper determinant. These findings, therefore, document differences in levels of T- vs B-cell tolerance (so-called split tolerance) under a given expression level of a "self" antigen. They illustrate how unresponsiveness of B cells to produce T-independent IgM is dose-dependent and that IgG autoantibodies are triggered by introducing foreign T-helper determinants that can be recognised in a linked fashion. This model suggests that, while T-cell tolerance to tolerogenic self in the thymus is solid, B-cell tolerance in general is not. From the point of view of autoantibody responses these T-helper cells may also be called immunopathological; i.e., these T-helper cells are specific for foreign epitopes that, via linked recognition, trigger truly autoimmune B cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

T-cell receptor and T-cell-resistant virus variants

Analysis of the T-cell receptor has revealed the molecular basis of antigen recognition by T cells specific for viral antigens. Studies using T-cell receptor transgenic mice have provided evidence for clonal deletion of virus-specific T cells in persistently infected hosts and for selection of T-cell-resistant virus variants in vivo.

Lower receptor avidity required for thymic clonal deletion than for effector T-cell function

Clonal deletion in the thymus plays a major part in T-cell tolerance to self antigens. But the mechanism of negative selection, its fine specificity and the threshold of affinity and avidity remains unknown. We have now examined these aspects of negative selection with mice expressing a transgenic T-cell receptor with specificity for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) glycoprotein in association with the class I H-2Db molecule. These mice were rendered tolerant to LCMV by neonatal infection with mutant LCMVs bearing point mutations in the T-cell epitope recognized by the transgenic T-cell receptor. Variant LCMVs were also tested for their ability to elicit antiviral responses in transgenic mice in vivo and in vitro. Comparison in vivo revealed that a low-avidity receptor interaction, which was unable to induce effector T cells in the periphery, was still sufficient for clonal deletion in the thymus.

Down-regulation of T cell receptors on self-reactive T cells as a novel mechanism for extrathymic tolerance induction

By generating two types of transgenic mice we have investigated how extrathymic events can contribute to self tolerance. The major histocompatibility complex class I gene Kb was expressed under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter in cells of neuroectodermal origin outside the thymus. These mice were tolerant to Kb. When crossed to transgenic mice expressing a Kb-specific T cell receptor (TCR), clonotype+, CD8+CD4- mature T cells could be detected in normal numbers in the thymus of the double-transgenic mice but were strongly reduced in spleen and lymph nodes in comparison with TCR single-transgenic mice. After isolation of clonotype negative splenic T cells and activation in vitro, reappearance of the clonotype+, CD8+CD4- cells was observed. These results indicate that down-regulation of TCR and CD8 molecules on the antigen-specific T cells is a novel mechanism, by which peripheral tolerance to this antigen can occur.

Ablation of "tolerance" and induction of diabetes by virus infection in viral antigen transgenic mice

To address the mechanisms of tolerance to extrathymic proteins, we have generated transgenic mice expressing the lymphocytic choriomeningitis viral (LCMV) glycoprotein (GP) in the beta islet cells of the pancreas. The fate of LCMV GP-specific T cells was followed by breeding the GP transgenic mice with T cell receptor transgenic mice, specific for LCMV and H-2Db. These studies suggest that "peripheral tolerance" of self-reactive T cells does not involve clonal deletion, clonal anergy, or a decrease in the density of T cell receptors or accessory molecules. Instead, this model indicates that self-reactive cytotoxic T cells may remain functionally unresponsive, owing to a lack of appropriate T cell activation. Infection of transgenic mice with LCMV readily abolishes peripheral unresponsiveness to the self LCMV GP antigen, resulting in a CD8+ T cell-mediated diabetes. These data suggest that similar mechanisms may operate in several so-called "T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases."

Transgenic approaches to modification of cell and tissue function

The past 18 months have seen rapid advances in the use of transgenic techniques for elucidating cellular mechanisms. The modification of gene, cellular and tissue function has been enhanced by developments in the use of antisense and ribozyme constructs, and by improvements in strategies for cell ablation and homologous recombination.

T-cell subset relationships in thymocyte development

During the past couple of years there has been significant progress in our understanding of the development of different lineages of T cells within the thymus. Pathways, subpopulations and cellular dynamics are all becoming clearer. Signal transduction through primary and accessory receptors is also beginning to be understood. However, the exact nature of the events that lead uncommitted cells to choose a particular lineage (either alpha beta/gamma delta or CD4+/CD8+) has still not been determined.