Identification of gamma-interferon as a murine macrophage-activating factor for tumor cytotoxicity

Selective Blockade of Interferon-α and -β Reveals Their Non-Redundant Functions in a Mouse Model of West Nile Virus Infection

Although type I interferons (IFNs) were first described almost 60 years ago, the ability to monitor and modulate the functional activities of the individual IFN subtypes that comprise this family has been hindered by a lack of reagents. The major type I IFNs, IFN-β and the multiple subtypes of IFN-α, are expressed widely and induce their effects on cells by interacting with a shared heterodimeric receptor (IFNAR). In the mouse, the physiologic actions of IFN-α and IFN-β have been defined using polyclonal anti-type I IFN sera, by targeting IFNAR using monoclonal antibodies or knockout mice, or using Ifnb^-/- mice. However, the corresponding analysis of IFN-α has been difficult because of its polygenic nature. Herein, we describe two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that differentially neutralize murine IFN-β or multiple subtypes of murine IFN-α. Using these mAbs, we distinguish specific contributions of IFN-β versus IFN-α in restricting viral pathogenesis and identify IFN-α as the key mediator of the antiviral response in mice infected with West Nile virus. This study thus suggests the utility of these new reagents in dissecting the antiviral and immunomodulatory roles of IFN-β versus IFN-α in murine models of infection, immunity, and autoimmunity.

Alterations in macrophages and monocytes from tumor-bearing mice: evidence of local and systemic immune impairment

Macrophages are cells of the innate immune system involved in critical activities such as maintaining tissue homeostasis and immune surveillance. Pro-inflammatory macrophages M1 are responsible for the inflammatory response, while M2 macrophages are associated with the immunosuppressive repair phase of tissue remodeling. Most cancers are associated with chronic inflammation, and a high number of macrophages in tumors have been associated with tumor progression. Much effort has been made in elucidating the mechanisms through which macrophages contribute to tumor development, yet much less is known about the initial mechanisms by which tumors modify macrophages. Our work has focused on identifying the mechanisms by which macrophages from tumor hosts are modified by tumors. We have shown that peritoneal macrophages are significantly altered in mice bearing advanced mammary tumors and are not M1 or M2 polarized, but express a mixture of both transcriptional programs. These macrophages are less differentiated and more prone to apoptosis, resulting in increased myelopoiesis as a compensation to regenerate macrophage progenitors in the marrow. Macrophages in the tumor microenvironment are also neither M1 nor M2 cells and through a display of different mechanisms are even more impaired than their peripheral counterparts. Finally, systemic blood monocytes, precursors of tissue macrophages, are also altered in tumor bearers and show a mixed program of pro- and anti-inflammatory functions. We conclude that there is evidence for local and systemic immune impairment in tumor hosts.

From inflammation to wound healing: using a simple model to understand the functional versatility of murine macrophages

Macrophages are fundamental cells of the innate immune system. Their activation is essential for such distinct immune functions as inflammation (pathogen-killing) and tissue repair (wound healing). An open question has been the functional stability of an individual macrophage cell: whether it can change its functional profile between different immune responses such as between the repair pathway and the inflammatory pathway. We studied this question theoretically by constructing a rate equation model for the key substrate, enzymes and products of the pathways; we then tested the model experimentally. Both our model and experiments show that individual macrophages can switch from the repair pathway to the inflammation pathway but that the reverse switch does not occur.

Functional plasticity of macrophages: in situ reprogramming of tumor-associated macrophages

The extent to which the functional heterogeneity of Mvarphis is dependent on the differentiation of functional sublineages remains unresolved. One alternative hypothesis proposes that Mvarphis are functionally plastic cells, which are capable of altering their functional activities progressively in response to progressively changing signaling molecules generated in their microenvironment. This "functional plasticity" hypothesis predicts that the functionally polarized Mvarphis in chronic pathologies do not represent Mvarphi sublineages but rather, are mutable phenotypes sustained by chronic signaling from the pathological environment. Solid TAMvarphis are chronically polarized to provide activities that support tumor growth and metastasis and suppress adaptive immune responses. In support of the functional plasticity hypothesis, administration of slow-release microsphere-encapsulated IL-12 successfully reprogrammed TAMvarphis in situ, reducing Mvarphi support of tumor growth and metastasis and enhancing Mvarphi proimmunogenic activities. Increased knowledge of how Mvarphi function is regulated and how polarized Mvarphis can be reprogrammed in situ will increase our ability to control Mvarphi function in a variety of pathological states, including cancer and chronic inflammatory disease.

Functional plasticity of macrophages: reversible adaptation to changing microenvironments

There has been substantial research activity in the past decade directed at phenotyping macrophage lineages and defining macrophage functional subsets or patterns of activity. The emphasis over the past 2-3 years has been to divide macrophage functional patterns into type 1 (Th1-driven) or type 2 (Th2-driven) functions. However, a huge array of environmental factors (including cytokines, chemokines, pattern recognition receptors, hormones) differentially regulates macrophage response patterns, resulting in the display of numerous distinct, functional phenotypes. Upon stimulation, a macrophage does not display just a single set of functions but rather displays a progression of functional changes in response to the progressive changes in its microenvironment. The remarkable ability of monocytes and tissue macrophages to adapt to changes in their microenvironment challenges the thesis that macrophages displaying unique tissue-specific or response-specific, functional patterns represent distinct lineages. With the exception of mature osteoclasts and mature dendritic cells, evidence supporting stable differentiation as the basis for macrophage functional heterogeneity is equivocal. The concept of whether macrophages develop into functional subsets as opposed to continuously adapting their functional pattern in response to the changing environment of a progressive inflammatory response is important to resolve from the perspectives of therapeutic targeting and understanding the role of macrophages in disease pathogenesis.

The distinct role of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells during the anti-tumour effects of targeted superantigens

To target T-cells to the tumour area we created a recombinant protein of the bacterial superantigen (SAg) Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and the Fab-fragment of a tumour-reactive antibody. This antibody-targeted SAg immunotherapy therapy has been shown to be highly efficient, eliminating > 95% of the pulmonary metastasis in mice carrying established melanoma micrometastases. Earlier studies demonstrated that elimination of the C215-expressing B16-melanoma lung metastasis was dependent on interferon (IFN)-gamma release and expression of perforin. In the present study, therapeutic effector functions were analysed both locally at the tumour site and systemically in the spleen. In order to elucidate the role of each T-cell subset during Fab-SEA therapy, CD4 knock-out (KO) and CD8 KO mice were used. Tumour size reduction was statistically significant in Fab-SEA-based tumour therapy in both types of T-cell-deficient mice compared to wild-type mice. CD4 KO mice displayed a drastic reduction in the number of tumour-infiltrating macrophages and CD8+ T-cells. Therapy-induced accumulation of perforin-containing cells at the tumour site was significantly impaired in CD8 KO mice, and marginally in CD4 KO mice. Moreover, CD4 KO mice failed to produce substantial amounts of the tumour suppressive cytokine IFN-gamma. This is in sharp contrast to normal mice where a massive local release was recorded. CD8 KO mice displayed a spontaneous production of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 locally in the tumour. Neither normal nor CD4 KO mice produced detectable levels of these Th-2-associated cytokines. The high level of IL-10 was demonstrated to inhibit Fab-SEA tumour therapy, since the therapeutic efficacy was significantly higher in IL-10 KO mice. These results illustrate the importance of a finely tuned cellular collaboration to regulate the various phases of an efficient anti-tumour immune response.

Interferon gamma rapidly induces in human monocytes a DNA-binding factor that recognizes the gamma response region within the promoter of the gene for the high-affinity Fc gamma receptor

Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) transcriptionally activates several early-response genes in monocytes that are important for the ultimate phenotype of the activated macrophage. One of these genes is the high-affinity Fc receptor for IgG (Fc gamma RI). Recently, Pearse et al. [Pearse, R.N., Feinman, R. & Ravetch, J. V. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 11305-11309] defined within the promoter region of the Fc gamma RI gene an element, the gamma response region, which was necessary for IFN-gamma-induced enhancement of Fc gamma RI. In this report we describe the induction by IFN-gamma of a DNA-binding factor, FcRF gamma (Fc gamma RI DNA-binding factor, IFN-gamma induced), that specifically recognizes the gamma response region element. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) demonstrated the presence of FcRF gamma in human monocytes within 1 min after exposure to IFN-gamma. On EMSA, FcRF gamma consisted of two complexes termed FcRF gamma 1 and FcRF gamma 2. The nuclear concentration of FcRF gamma rapidly increased, peaked at 15 min, and then fell after 1-2 hr. Dose-response studies revealed (i) as little as 0.05 ng of IFN-gamma per ml induced FcRF gamma, (ii) maximum activation occurred at 1 ng/ml, and (iii) steady-state levels of Fc gamma RI mRNA closely paralleled that of FcRF gamma. Since FcRF gamma was activated in cells normally not expressing Fc gamma RI RNA, other regulatory mechanisms must control Fc gamma RI-restricted tissue expression. Activation of FcRF gamma by IFN-gamma was inhibited by pretreatment with 500 nM staurosporin and 25 microM phenyl arsine oxide. These data suggest that a kinase and possibly a phosphatase activity are required for IFN-gamma-induced signaling of FcRF gamma in monocytes.

Regulation of cell-surface receptors for human interferon-gamma on the human histiocytic lymphoma cell line U937

Interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) binds to high-affinity receptors on monocytes and is rapidly internalized. This study investigates the ability of the human monocyte-like cell line, U937, to regulate the cell-surface expression of the IFN gamma receptor (IFN gamma R) during endocytosis of ligand. Recombinant IFN gamma was radiolabelled to high specific radioactivity with Bolton-Hunter reagent and used to enumerate IFN gamma R on treated U937 cells. Cells which had internalized IFN gamma for up to 3 h displayed maximal levels of IFN gamma R at all time points tested after all unlabelled IFN gamma had been acid-stripped from the cell at pH 2.78. Therefore there was no evidence of down-modulation of the receptor. After trypsin treatment of the IFN gamma R, the cells were able to synthesize and insert into the cell membrane up to 1000 IFN gamma R molecules/h after a 60 min lag. Since biosynthesis played a minor role during the first 30 min of endocytosis, I examined other possibilities to explain the lack of down-modulation of the receptor. A solubilized-receptor assay revealed the presence of an intracellular pool of receptors equal to about 25% of the number of cell surface receptors. Using trypsin to differentiate between intracellular and surface receptors, I observed that 43% of those receptors that were internalized after a 30 min exposure to IFN gamma (580 molecules) could be recycled back to the plasma membrane. In addition, equal rates of receptor decay (t1/2 = 5 h) were observed in the presence of cycloheximide with or without IFN gamma. All the data taken together suggest that during the first 30 min of endocytosis both the expression of an intracellular source of receptor and recycling of internalized receptors contribute to maintain optimal receptor expression.

Proteolytic inactivation of cytokines by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa alkaline protease and elastase are thought to contribute to bacterial invasiveness, tissue damage, and immune suppression in animals and patients infected with the bacterium. This study examined the ability of the two proteases to inactivate a number of cytokines that mediate immune and inflammatory responses. Human recombinant gamma interferon (rIFN-gamma) and human recombinant tumor necrosis factor alpha were inactivated by both proteases. Murine rIFN-gamma was relatively resistant to alkaline protease but was inactivated by elastase, and human recombinant interleukin-1 alpha and recombinant interleukin-1 beta were resistant to the effects of both proteases. Western immunoblots suggested that cytokine inactivation by these proteases, where it occurred, required only limited proteolysis of the polypeptides. The ability of different P. aeruginosa strains to inactivate IFN-gamma appeared to require the production of both proteases for optimum activity. These results indicate that in vitro cytokine inactivation by Pseudomonas proteases is selective, requires only limited proteolysis, and in certain instances reflects the cooperative effects of both proteases.

Tumor-specific T cells which form clusters with dendritic cells and tumor cells and deliver macrophage-activating factors

T cells prepared from tumor (Meth A)-bearing mice were cocultured with homologous tumor cells and splenic dendritic cells to enrich tumor-specific T cells by the separation of clusters. T blasts generated from clusters were capable of inhibiting the in vivo tumor cell growth. The culture supernatant of clustering cells (CLSN) was effective in activating macrophages (M phi) to be cytostatic and cytocidal against tumor cells. Moreover, it was found that CLSN contains at least 3 distinct factors; one was identified as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and the others are so far unidentified, but one acts synergistically with IFN-gamma, possibly as the second signal, and the other cooperates with lipopolysaccharide but not with IFN-gamma. We propose that the tumor-specific T cells secrete soluble mediators which cooperate with each other in M phi activation against tumor cells.

Activation of monocytes by interferon-gamma has no effect on the level or affinity of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-phosphate oxidase and on agonist-dependent superoxide formation

Human monocytes purified by elutriation were cultured for 3 d in Teflon bags with or without human recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN gamma). The cells were then collected and used in suspension to determine the rate of stimulus-dependent superoxide or hydrogen peroxide formation as a measure of the NADPH-oxidase. The treatment with IFN gamma increased this rate two- to threefold when phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was used as the stimulus. By contrast, no IFN gamma-dependent increase in superoxide production was observed when the cells were stimulated with different concentrations of the receptor agonist N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (f-Met-Leu-Phe) alone or in combination with another receptor agonist, platelet-activating factor (PAF). At optimum concentrations, f-Met-Leu-Phe elicited rates of superoxide formation that could not be exceeded under other stimulatory conditions including PMA after treatment with IFN gamma. It thus appears that f-Met-Leu-Phe can lead to maximum activation of the NADPH-oxidase, and that this response is not influenced by IFN gamma. Treatment with IFN gamma also failed to affect the affinity of PMA- or f-Met-Leu-Phe-stimulated oxidase for NADPH, the Km values being 30 to 40 microM under all conditions. IFN gamma did not alter the cellular levels of cytochrome b558, as measured by low-temperature spectroscopy, and protein kinase C, as measured by [3H]phorbol dibutyrate binding, and did not appreciably influence the stimulus-dependent increase of cytosolic free calcium. These results indicate that activation of human mononuclear phagocytes by IFN gamma does not affect the level and the kinetic properties of NADPH-oxidase or its activation by receptor agonists. They confirm, however, that IFN gamma enhances the respiratory burst response to PMA.

Mouse macrophages stimulated by recombinant gamma interferon to kill tumor cells are not bactericidal for the facultative intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes

Data presented here demonstrate that recombinant gamma interferon (rIFN-gamma) activated a single population of 10% fetal calf serum-elicited mouse peritoneal exudate cells to express tumoricidal activity but not bactericidal activity for the facultative intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Fetal calf serum-elicited cells incubated with rIFN-gamma phagocytosed listeriae normally, suggesting that their inability to kill this bacterium is not because they cannot phagocytose it. Data also show that proteose peptone-elicited peritoneal exudate cells, which are bactericidal but not tumoricidal, acquired tumoricidal activity but lost bactericidal activity following incubation overnight with rIFN-gamma. These experiments show that under conditions sufficient for rIFN-gamma to induce macrophages to express tumoricidal activity, the same cell population does not express bactericidal activity for the facultative intracellular bacterium L. monocytogenes. This suggests that mechanisms responsible for these two biological activities may be different.

What T cells tell macrophages to do during resistance to listeriosis

We have presented 5 experimental observations which support a model for resistance to infection by the facultative intracellular bacterium, L. monocytogenes, in which the primary role for listeria-specific effector T cells is to cause recruitment of heightened numbers of macrophages and neutrophils which express potent anti-bacterial activity. These observations are: 1. Both macrophages and neutrophils, from mice and men, are bactericidal for listeria, salmonella, and E. coli. 2. When titrated, inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils have as much bactericidal activity as do immunologically-elicited macrophages and neutrophils. Thus "activated" macrophages are no better than inflammatory macrophages at killing bacteria. 3. Spleen T cells which transfer resistance to listeria also transfer, in a dose-dependent manner, the ability to accumulate enhanced numbers of neutrophils and macrophages following antigenic challenge. Phagocytes which accumulate following injection of immune vs. normal T cells kill bacteria equally well. 4. The major defect in mice which are genetically-susceptible to listeria is that they accumulate fewer macrophages and neutrophils in response to challenge with antigen or with an inflammatory agent than do mice which are genetically-resistant to listeria. 5. Macrophages induced to express bactericidal activity are not necessarily tumoricidal, and macrophages induced to express tumoricidal activity are not necessarily bactericidal. Thus bactericidal and tumoricidal properties of macrophages can be dissociated. Moreover, macrophages stimulated by recombinant IFN gamma to express tumoricidal activity do not express bactericidal activity.

Evidence for a gamma-interferon receptor that regulates macrophage tumoricidal activity

Gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma) is the macrophage-activating factor (MAF) produced by normal murine splenic cells and the murine T cell hybridoma 24/G1 that induces nonspecific tumoricidal activity in macrophages. Incubation of 24/G1 supernatants diluted to 8.3 IRU IFN-gamma/ml with 6 X 10(6) elicited peritoneal macrophages or bone marrow-derived macrophages for 4 h at 37 degrees C, resulted in removal of 80% of the MAF activity from the lymphokine preparation. Loss of activity appeared to result from absorption and not consumption because (a) 40% of the activity was removed after exposure to macrophage for 30 min at 4 degrees C, (b) no reduction of MAF activity was detected when the 24/G1 supernatant was incubated with macrophage culture supernatants, and (c) macrophage-treated supernatants showed a selective loss of MAF activity but not interleukin 2 (IL-2) activity. Absorption was dependent on the input of either IFN-gamma or macrophages and was time dependent at 37 degrees C but not at 4 degrees C. With four rodent species tested, absorption of murine IFN-gamma displayed species specificity. However, cultured human peripheral blood monocytes and the human histiocytic lymphoma cell line U937 were able to absorb the murine lymphokine. Although the majority of murine cell lines tested absorbed 24/G1 MAF activity, two murine macrophage cell lines, P388D1 and J774, were identified which absorbed significantly reduced amounts of natural IFN-gamma. Purified murine recombinant IFN-gamma was absorbed by elicited macrophages but not by P388D1. Normal macrophages but not P388D1 bound fluoresceinated microspheres coated with recombinant IFN-gamma and binding was inhibited by pretreatment of the normal cells with 24/G1 supernatants. Scatchard plot analysis showed that 12,000 molecules of soluble 125I-recombinant IFN-gamma bound per bone marrow macrophage with a Ka of 0.9 X 10(8) M-1. Binding was quantitatively inhibitable by natural IFN-gamma but not by murine IFN alpha. IFN-beta competed only weakly. Monoclonal antibodies against IFN-gamma either inhibited or enhanced MAF activity by blocking or increasing IFN-gamma binding to macrophages, respectively. These results indicate that IFN-gamma reacts with a receptor on macrophage in a specific and saturable manner and this interaction initiates macrophage activation.