An indirect asymmetrical sandwich ELISA using anti-allotype antibodies for the specific and quantitative measurement of mouse IgG2a of Igh-1b allotype

Identification of immunodominant antigens of Chlamydia trachomatis using proteome microarrays

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted pathogen in the world. In order to control this infection there is an urgent need to formulate a vaccine. Identification of protective antigens is required to implement a subunit vaccine. To identify potential antigen vaccine candidates, three strains of mice, BALB/c, C3H/HeN and C57BL/6, were inoculated with live and inactivated C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis (MoPn) by different routes of immunization. Using a protein microarray, serum samples collected after immunization were tested for the presence of antibodies against specific chlamydial antigens. A total of 225 open reading frames (ORF) of the C. trachomatis genome were cloned, expressed, and printed in the microarray. Using this protein microarray, a total of seven C. trachomatis dominant antigens were identified (TC0052, TC0189, TC0582, TC0660, TC0726, TC0816 and, TC0828) as recognized by IgG antibodies from all three strains of animals after immunization. In addition, the microarray was probed to determine if the antibody response exhibited a Th1 or Th2 bias. Animals immunized with live organisms mounted a predominant Th1 response against most of the chlamydial antigens while mice immunized with inactivated Chlamydia mounted a Th2-biased response. In conclusion, using a high throughput protein microarray we have identified a set of novel proteins that can be tested for their ability to protect against a chlamydial infection.

Age-dependent decrease of polymeric Ig receptor expression and IgA elevation in ddY mice: a possible cause of IgA nephropathy

Individual animals in the closed colony population of ddY mice were analyzed to clarify the major cause of age-dependent elevation of serum IgA and the appearance of human IgA nephropathy (IgAN)-like symptoms. Based on the serum IgA levels, the mice were classified into two subgroups. One was a high serum IgA group with some manifestations of IgAN through aging (ddY(High)), and the other was a normal serum IgA group without IgAN (ddY(Norm)). The ratio of urinary IgA to serum IgA was significantly reduced in ddY(High) mice, suggesting an impaired IgA clearance via secretion through the epithelial barrier. The actual clearance rate of the intravenously injected dimeric IgA in ddY(High) mice was found to be slower than that in ddY(Norm) mice. Furthermore, we found that the polymeric Ig receptors (pIgRs) that mediate transcytosis of IgA were poorly expressed in the glomeruli as well as in the intestine of ddY(High) mice, whereas the pIgRs were more abundantly expressed in ddY(Norm) mice. In addition, the comparative study using polymerase chain reaction showed that decreased pIgR expression occurred at the transcriptional level in the ddY(High) population. Taken together, these results suggest that a systemic defect in pIgR expression may result in impaired IgA secretion and accumulation of IgA in the serum of ddY(High) mice. The age-dependent changes of pIgR expression in the dimeric IgA secretion sites of ddY(High) mice suggest a possible cause for the elevation of serum IgA level and the pathogenesis of IgAN-like disease.

Sympathetic abnormalities during autoimmune processes: potential relevance of noradrenaline-induced apoptosis

The sympathetic nervous system is one of the major pathways involved in immune-neuroendocrine interactions. Disturbances in these interactions are likely to have consequences during lymphoproliferative diseases. Work derived from our group as well as from several others led us to the hypothesis that the overstimulation of the immune system that characterizes this type of pathology results in decreased sympathetic nerve activity in lymphoid organs. To explore this possibility, we used as a model lpr/lpr mice, which develop a genetically determined autoimmune, lupus-like lymphoproliferative disease. We show that 18-week-old female C57Bl/6J lpr/lpr mice, which do not show overt symptoms of the disease but already have increased IgM and IgG2a levels in the blood, have decreased noradrenaline (NA) concentration and content in the spleen, but not in the kidney, as compared to normal C57Bl/6J littermates. Lpr/lpr mice do not express normal Fas, and therefore apoptosis cannot be triggered through this receptor. The defects in sympathetic innervation in the spleen of lpr/lpr mice prompted us to evaluate whether NA could influence lymphoid cell mass by inducing apoptosis. We found that NA can directly induce apoptosis in normal lymphoid cells via beta-adrenergic receptors. From the reported results we propose that reduction in sympathetic nerve function in lpr/lpr mice contributes to aggravation of the disease and suggest that in addition to the incapacity to mount Fas-mediated apoptosis, a second proapoptotic mechanism, namely, that triggered by NA, is defective in these animals because of reduced availability of the neurotransmitter.

Polyspecific malaria antibodies present at the time of infection inhibit the development of immunity to malaria but antibodies specific for the malaria merozoite surface protein, MSP1, facilitate immunity

Serum taken from mice immune to malaria as a result of infection and drug cure, or from mice immunized with a recombinant form of the merozoite surface protein, MSP1, can provide passive protection of recipient mice against the lethal parasite, Plasmodium yoelii YM. However, recipients of MSP1-immune serum go on to develop long-term immunity, whereas recipients of serum from mice naturally immune to malaria rapidly lose their resistance to infection. We demonstrate that 'infection/cure' serum suppresses the development of both antibody and cell-mediated parasite-specific responses in recipients, whereas these develop in recipients of MSP1-specific antibodies. These data have profound implications for our understanding of the development of malaria immunity in babies who passively acquire antibodies from their mothers.

Abrogation of oral tolerance by feeding encapsulated antigen

Results from previous studies have indicated that suppression of immune responses cannot be abrogated once oral tolerance has been established. Using a new methodology, OVA was encapsulated and fed to tolerized BDF1 mice. Results from these studies indicated that although IgG2a titers remained low, total IgG and IgG1 antibody titers were no longer suppressed compared to controls. Furthermore, in vitro splenocyte proliferation was not significantly suppressed in tolerized mice fed encapsulated OVA. To determine whether oral tolerance could be abrogated in other strains of mice, BALB/c mice were tolerized and fed encapsulated OVA. Results from these studies indicated that IgG2a as well as IgG1 and total anti-OVA antibody titers were no longer suppressed. Although splenocyte proliferation did remain significantly suppressed in these mice, IFN-gamma and IL-4 levels were no longer decreased. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that abrogation of an established oral tolerance has been demonstrated.

An ELISA for quantification of murine IgG in rat plasma: application to the pharmacokinetic characterization of AP-3, a murine anti-glycoprotein IIIa monoclonal antibody, in the rat

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed to determine concentrations of murine IgG in rat plasma. Specifically, the assay was developed to measure a murine anti-glycoprotein IIIa antibody (AP-3) in rat plasma to facilitate future investigations of AP-3 pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the rat. The working range of the assay is 15-100 ng ml(-1), corresponding to a limit of quantification of 1.5 microg ml(-1) in rat plasma. The assay was validated with respect to accuracy, precision, and cross-reactivity with both pooled rat and mouse IgG. Intra-assay recoveries of AP-3 in rat plasma ranged from 93 to 103%, with CV% values ranging from 5.2 to 8.5%. Inter-assay recoveries of the plasma AP-3 samples ranged from 107 to 119% with CV% values ranging from 17.7 to 25.1%. The assay has no appreciable cross reactivity with pooled rat IgG and full cross reactivity with pooled mouse IgG, making this an ideal assay to determine plasma pharmacokinetics of mouse antibodies in the rat. The assay was used to determine the pharmacokinetics of AP-3 in a Sprague-Dawley rat.

The neonatal Fc receptor is not required for mucosal infection by mouse mammary tumor virus

The milk-borne mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) infects newborn mice via the intestine. Infection is initially restricted to Peyer's patches and later spreads to the epithelial cells of the mammary gland. The receptor that mediates uptake and transport of MMTV across the intestinal barrier has not yet been identified, The neonatal Fc receptor (nFcR), which is expressed by enterocytes during the first two weeks of life, is downregulated at weaning, and its disappearance correlates with the onset of intestinal resistance to MMTV. To test whether the nFcR mediates transport and allows infection, we foster nursed on infected MMTV mothers beta2 microglobulin-deficient (beta2m-deficient) newborn mice that are unable to express the nFcR at the surface of their enterocytes. Exposure of beta2m-deficient mice to milk-borne virus resulted in the deletion of peripheral blood T cells reactive to the superantigen encoded by MMTV. Since beta2m-deficient newborn mice are susceptible to MMTV infection despite the lack of the nFcR, we conclude that the nFcR is not required for MMTV transport.

The splenic marginal zone is absent in alymphoplastic aly mutant mice

aly is a unique spontaneous autosomal recessive mutation in mice that causes a deficiency in the systemic lymph nodes (LN) and Peyer's patches (PP). aly also induces abnormal histological findings in the spleen and a deficiency in humoral and cell-mediated immune functions, although lymphocytes of the aly/aly mouse show virtually normal immune responses in vitro. We studied the structure of the spleen of aly mice in detail by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. We found that the spleen of the aly/aly mouse was deficient in the expression of specific antigens for marginal metallophils (MM), marginal zone macrophages (MZM) and fibroblastic reticular cells (FRC), which are components of the marginal zone (MZ) of the spleen. Morphological analysis indicated that the aly/aly spleen is deficient in the structure of MZ, which may, in part, account for the severe immunodeficiency in the aly/aly mouse. We then performed reciprocal bone marrow transplantation experiments (BMT) between normal and aly mice and found a clear correlation between the formation of LN and the development of the splenic MZ in these mice; i.e. successful development of LN was invariably associated with the appearance of the MZ structure, whereas the failure of LN development was always associated with the absence of the development of MZ. These BMT results suggest that a common factor may regulate the generation of both LN and MZ of the spleen.

Lymphotoxicity and myelotoxicity of doxorubicin and SDZ PSC 833 combined chemotherapies for normal mice

In the mouse, the P-glycoprotein-directed chemosensitizer SDZ PSC 833 could both restore a therapeutic window for doxorubicin against multidrug-resistant tumors, by inhibiting P-glycoprotein function, and increase the anti-cancer drug efficacy against drug-sensitive tumors, by increasing doxorubicin bioavailability. Since the success of such combined chemotherapy treatments might have been limited by the myelotoxicity of doxorubicin and the P-glycoprotein expression on some blood cells, their lymphotoxicity and myelotoxicity was studied on normal B6D2F1 mice, and whenever possible, the persistence of blood cell alterations was also searched for in scid recipients of lymphohaematopoietic grafts from the donor mice. Analyzed parameters were blood, lymphoid and myeloid cell numbers, proliferative responses to T- and B-cell mitogens, and serum immunoglobulin levels. Cell alterations caused by doxorubicin alone were potentiated by SDZ PSC 833, but did not persist in scid recipients. Chemotherapy regimens combining SDZ PSC 833 and doxorubicin, and known for their therapeutic benefit for multidrug-resistant tumor-bearing mice, only caused a rather mild toxicity for the lympho-myeloid system of normal mice.

Interactions of B6 wild and B6 gld cells engrafted within athymic nude beige recipients

The murine gld mutation is targetted to the gene coding for the ligand of the Fas receptor for apoptosis. Gld mice display a lymphoproliferative and autoimmune syndrome that can be transferred in both irradiated euthymic wild and athymic beige (nubg) recipients. In order to test whether a supply of normal wild cells could correct the development of the gld syndrome, nubg mice were grafted with mixtures of gld and wild spleen cells from congenic donors which differed for the allotypes of the T-cell Thy1 membrane glycoprotein and/or of the B-cell Ig heavy chain. In the nubg chimeras, the wild spleen cells could down-regulate the hyperactivation of the B cells and the proliferation of the gld T cells, but this was not due to total eradication of the gld T-cell subset. Since this occurred in an athymic recipient, the correction of the gld syndrome did not require wild stem cell differentiation within a thymic environment, but should only depend on a sufficient Fas ligand supply by normal wild cells. Since the gld cells could proliferate in the nubg environment, the nubg environment could not provide sufficient Fas ligand to regulate the gld cell proliferation. Thus, the nubg B cells might lack Fas ligand expression, or express it but to a lower extent that T cells.

Serological abnormalities induced by engraftment of viable motheaten hematopoietic cells in nude beige recipients

C57BL/6J (B6) mice homozygous for the viable motheaten (mev) mutation are short-lived and display severe immunodeficiency, autoimmunity and inflammatory disease. B6 mice doubly homozygous for the nude (nu) and beige (bg) mutations (nubg mice) are also short-lived and immunodeficient. Nevertheless, grafts of mev lympho-hematopoietic cells increased life expectancy of nubg recipients. Such [mev --> nubg] chimeras did not develop any mev-like inflammatory pathology but showed autoimmunity features, particularly hyperglobulinemia which, unlike the mev one, was due to IgG rather than IgM. Serological studies of [mev IgHb --> nubg Igha] chimeras surprisingly revealed the exclusive host B-cell origin of the IgG2a overproduced by these chimeras. Yet, about half of such chimera serum IgM being IgMb, mev B cells had actually engrafted the nubg hosts. Together with the lack of transfer of the inflammatory pathology, this suggests that a non-mev environment might succeed acting as a regulator of some mev-induced dysfunctions.

Interactions of the scid or beige mutations with the viable motheaten mutation

The viable motheaten (mev) mice are characterized by a moth-eaten appearance of the coat, immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, generalized inflammatory disease, paws necroses, and early death. The target of the single point mev mutation is PTP1C, a protein tyrosine phosphatase whose deficient expression in hematopoietic cells should explain all phenotypic features of mev mice, particularly their autoimmune and inflammatory pathologies. In order to evaluate their role in the development of the mev mouse disease, we constructed mevscid congenics to probe the impact of autoimmunity and mevbeige congenics to probe the impact of elastase and cathepsine G neutrophil activities. Both mevscid and mevbeige mice were nearly equivalent to mev mice with regards to moth-eaten appearance, paw necroses and early death. Thus, autoimmunity does neither initiate nor substantially enhance the mev mouse syndrome. Moreover, the beige mutation-linked deficiency of protease activity of neutrophils is unable to significantly reduce the mev mutation-dependent inflammatory pathology.

Adoptive transfer of the entire gld (generalized lymphoproliferative disease) syndrome in nude beige mice by a single gld thymocyte graft

C57BL/6 nude beige mice (B6 nubq; no T cell, no NK activity) were used as recipients for the adoptive transfer of thymocytes from B6 gld mice (generalized lymphoproliferative disease) which are a model of systemic lupus erythematous. The [gld----nubg] chimeras showed several similarities with gld control mice including the T cell disorders (lymphoproliferation and Con A-response deficiency of splenocytes) and B cell disorders (hyperglobulinemia and elevated anti-single-stranded DNA antibody titers). This suggests that the gld lymphoproliferative disorder has a thymic origin (and does not result from an abnormally extrathymic T cell development) and that the gld T cells have an essential role for the emergence of the disorders of both the T and B cells.

Serum immunoglobulin isotype profile of viable and non viable lymphoid cell chimaeras made with nude athymic lpr (lymphoproliferation) mouse recipients

C57BL/6 mice (B6) which are homozygous at the nu (nude, athymic) and lpr (lymphoproliferation) locus (B6 nulpr) are short-lived. We showed previously that increased survival could be obtained by grafting lymphoid cells from euthymic lpr-homozygous B6 mice (B6 lpr) mice ([lpr----nulpr] chimaeras), but curiously enough not from normal (B6 wild) mice ([wild----nulpr] chimaeras). Moreover female, but not male, [lpr----nulpr] chimaeras developed spleen and lymph node enlargement. In the present paper the distribution and absolute concentrations of all serum immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes have been determined in these chimaeras and their controls. All chimaeras displayed whole serum Ig levels higher than those of B6 wild mice, suggesting a successful reconstitution of the athymic recipients by the grafted lymphoid cells, but two types of chimaeras were peculiar. The short-lived [wild----nulpr] chimaeras showed a proportion of IgM as high as ungrafted B6 nulpr mice, suggesting a deficient down-regulation of IgM production by the grafted B6 wild-type lymphoid cells. The [lpr----nulpr] female chimaeras recovered a long lasting overexpression of all Ig isotypes, like B6 lpr mice, while all the other chimaeras showed a transient overexpression only. Since neither lymphadenopathy nor persistent increase of serum Ig levels were observed in [lpr----nu] chimaeras, our data confirmed the need for a genetically lpr host to allow the significant development of the lpr syndrome.

Adoptive transfer of the gld syndrome in double congenic nude lpr mice

Homozygosity for either the lymphoproliferation (lpr) or the generalized lymphoproliferative disease (gld) mutation of mice causes the development of strikingly similar autoimmune and lymphoproliferative syndromes. The relationship between the lpr and gld mutations was studied by grafting B6 gld spleen cells (SC) to athymic B6 nude lpr mice (B6 nulpr) or to B6 nude (B6 nu) mice as controls. The injection of B6 gld SC, but not of B6 wild SC, to B6 nulpr mice caused a prolongation of survival of the short living B6 nulpr recipients. This was associated with elevated anti-single stranded DNA antibody titers and a serum hyperglobulinemia, as well as by a splenomegaly which was nearly as high as in genetically B6 gld mice, and by a marked lymphadenopathy (though milder than that of B6 gld mice). In contrast the [gld----nu] chimaeras showed a more attenuated form of gld-induced syndrome. These results suggest that the lpr environment supplied in athymic lpr recipients is compatible with--and may even favour--the development of the gld-induced syndrome.

Immunoglobulin isotypes of C57BL/6 nu/nu, lpr/lpr mice. Lack of direct intrinsic effect of the lpr gene on B cell hyperactivity

The absolute concentrations of mouse immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain isotypes were determined by specific ELISAs in the serum of C57BL/6 (B6) mice doubly homozygous at the nude (nu) and the lymphoproliferation (lpr) locus (B6 nu, lpr mice), and compared with normal B6 nu mice. The distribution and the absolute concentrations of all Ig isotypes were found to be very similar in B6 nu, lpr and B6 nu mice, for both sexes and with similar increases in titers with ageing. Thus, the major part of the severe autoimmunity and hyperglobulinemia characteristic of the lpr syndrome of euthymic B6 lpr mice, including their elevated titers of thymus-independent IgM and IgG3 isotypes, is abrogated by the nude mutation, an effect of which is the lack of thymus differentiation. Though a postulated intrinsic activity of the lpr gene directly on B cell hyperactivity cannot be discarded, its expression would then require the presence of either the thymus or of T cells or of other cells or factors whose expression is also abrogated by the homozygosity at the nude locus.

Partial expression of the viable motheaten (mev) mutation in the heterozygous state: abnormal levels of serum immunoglobulins and natural anti-ssDNA antibodies

The 'viable motheaten' (mev) mutation in the C57BL/6 (B6) mouse causes a rapidly progressive and fatal autoimmune syndrome in mev-homozygous B6 mice, combined with generalized immunodeficiency, whereas the mev-heterozygous B6 mice look phenotypically normal. However, serological analyses of the levels of some spontaneously occurring, natural antibodies and of the levels and distribution of the different classes of immunoglobulins revealed mild but evident dysregulation of the natural humoral immunity of +/mev individuals.

Serum concentrations of IgM, IgG1, IgG2b, IgG3 and IgA in C57BL/6 mice and their congenics at the lpr (lymphoproliferation) locus

The serum concentrations of IgM, IgG1, IgG2b, IgG3 and IgA were determined in mice of C57BL/6 background, from weaning to one year of age, by quantitative isotype-specific, indirect double sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Only limited data could be obtained for the IgG2a isotype in the present study. The mean serum Ig levels found for 6-month-old B6 mice were 0.22 mg/ml for IgM, 0.28 mg/ml for IgG1, 1.22 mg/ml for IgG2b, 0.18 mg/ml for IgG3, 0.075 mg/ml for IgA and about 0.7 mg/ml for IgG2a. In comparison with mice of the wild strain, C57BL/6 mice homozygous at the lpr (lymphoproliferation) locus showed very high increases in serum Ig levels when older than 20 weeks. With 6-month-old B6 lpr mice, increases in concentration were found for all tested heavy chain isotypes: 6 to 6.5-fold for IgA (0.45 mg/ml) and IgG1 (1.82 mg/ml), 9-fold for IgG3 (1.6 mg/ml), 11 to 11.5-fold for IgM (2.44 mg/ml) and IgG2b (13.8 mg/ml) and about 8-fold for IgG2a (5.5 mg/ml). Therefore homozygosity at the lpr locus provides the conditions for generalized, poly-isotypic rather than isotype-specific restricted Ig enhancement. This observation may be more compatible with hyperinducibility of all B-cell subclasses than with excessive production of T-cell-derived factors whose activity would be expected to be restricted to some T-dependent subclasses, and at least to affect IgM-committed B cells to a lesser extent than other B-cell classes.