Interactions of galactosyltransferase with serum and secretory immunoglobulins and their component chains

β1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 is a novel receptor for IgA in human mesangial cells

IgA nephropathy is characterized by mesangial deposition of IgA, mesangial cell proliferation, and extracellular matrix production. Mesangial cells bind IgA, but the identity of all potential receptors involved remains incomplete. The transferrin receptor (CD71) acts as a mesangial cell IgA receptor and its expression is upregulated in many forms of glomerulonephritis, including IgA nephropathy. CD71 is not expressed in healthy glomeruli and blocking CD71 does not completely abrogate mesangial cell IgA binding. Previously we showed that mesangial cells express a receptor that binds the Fc portion of IgA and now report that this receptor is an isoform of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase. A human mesangial cell cDNA library was screened for IgA binding proteins and β-1,4-galactosyltransferase identified. Cell surface expression of the long isoform of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase was shown by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy and confirmed by immunoblotting. Glomerular β-1,4-galactosyltransferase expression was increased in IgA nephropathy. IgA binding and IgA-induced mesangial cell phosphorylation of spleen tyrosine kinase and IL-6 synthesis were inhibited by a panel of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase-specific antibodies, suggesting IgA binds to the catalytic domain of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase. Thus, β-1,4-galactosyltransferase is a constitutively expressed mesangial cell IgA receptor with an important role in both mesangial IgA clearance and the initial response to IgA deposition.

The proteomes of human parotid and submandibular/sublingual gland salivas collected as the ductal secretions

Saliva is a body fluid with important functions in oral and general health. A consortium of three research groups catalogued the proteins in human saliva collected as the ductal secretions: 1166 identifications--914 in parotid and 917 in submandibular/sublingual saliva--were made. The results showed that a high proportion of proteins that are found in plasma and/or tears are also present in saliva along with unique components. The proteins identified are involved in numerous molecular processes ranging from structural functions to enzymatic/catalytic activities. As expected, the majority mapped to the extracellular and secretory compartments. An immunoblot approach was used to validate the presence in saliva of a subset of the proteins identified by mass spectrometric approaches. These experiments focused on novel constituents and proteins for which the peptide evidence was relatively weak. Ultimately, information derived from the work reported here and related published studies can be used to translate blood-based clinical laboratory tests into a format that utilizes saliva. Additionally, a catalogue of the salivary proteome of healthy individuals allows future analyses of salivary samples from individuals with oral and systemic diseases, with the goal of identifying biomarkers with diagnostic and/or prognostic value for these conditions; another possibility is the discovery of therapeutic targets.

Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor in Intestinal Immune Defense against the Lumen-Dwelling Protozoan ParasiteGiardia

The polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR) is conserved in mammals and has an avian homologue, suggesting evolutionarily important functions in vertebrates. It transports multimeric IgA and IgM across polarized epithelia and is highly expressed in the intestine, yet little direct evidence exists for its importance in defense against common enteric pathogens. In this study, we demonstrate that pIgR can play a critical role in intestinal defense against the lumen-dwelling protozoan parasite Giardia, a leading cause of diarrheal disease. The receptor was essential for the eradication of Giardia when high luminal IgA levels were required. Clearance of Giardia muris, in which IgA plays a dominant role, was severely compromised in pIgR-deficient mice despite significant fecal IgA output at 10% of normal levels. In contrast, eradication of the human strain Giardia lamblia GS/M, for which adaptive immunity is less IgA dependent in mice, was unaffected by pIgR deficiency, indicating that pIgR had no physiologic role when lower luminal IgA levels were sufficient for parasite elimination. Immune IgA was greatly increased in the serum of pIgR-deficient mice, conferred passive protection against Giardia, and recognized several conserved giardial Ags, including ornithine carbamoyltransferase, arginine deiminase, alpha-enolase, and alpha- and beta-giardins, that are also detected in human giardiasis. Corroborative observations were made in mice lacking the J chain, which is required for pIgR-dependent transepithelial IgA transport. These results, together with prior data on pIgR-mediated immune neutralization of luminal cholera toxin, suggest that pIgR is essential in intestinal defense against pathogenic microbes with high-level and persistent luminal presence.

Mucosal immunotherapy of tuberculosis: is there a value in passive IgA?

Immunotherapeutic approaches, which have been considered for tuberculosis (TB), include immuno-potentiating or suppressing agents, cytokines, antibodies, DNA vaccines, non-pathogenic mycobacteria and mycobacterial extracts. While most or all of these potential agents showed at least some degree of promise in various experimental models, few progressed to clinical trials, yielding only moderately encouraging, though controversial results. Consequently, further research is required, as the need for an immunological agent, adjunct to chemotherapy, remains strongly justified. Its purpose is to shorten the currently protracted (6-9 months) drug treatment and thus increase compliance rates, which are most disappointing in areas with the highest disease prevalence. Using a mouse model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, we recently reported, that an intranasally given monoclonal IgA antibody significantly reduced the bacterial load in the infected lungs, and that this protective effect of IgA could be further extended by co-inoculation with interferon gamma (IFNgamma). In this review, we describe the main features of IgA and its cellular receptors, the extent and possible mechanisms of passive vaccination with an IgA monoclonal antibody against the alpha-crystallin antigen of Mtb and discuss the potentials of this approach in the wider context of immunotherapy of TB.

Selective adherence of IgA to murine Peyer's patch M cells: evidence for a novel IgA receptor

M cells represent the primary route by which mucosal Ags are transported across the intestinal epithelium and delivered to underlying gut-associated lymphoid tissues. In rodents and rabbits, Peyer's patch M cells selectively bind and endocytose secretory IgA (SIgA) Abs. Neither the nature of the M cell IgR nor the domains of SIgA involved in this interaction are known. Using a mouse ligated ileal loop assay, we found that monoclonal IgA Abs with or without secretory component, but not IgG or IgM Abs, bound to the apical surfaces of Peyer's patch M cells, indicating that the receptor is specific for the IgA isotype. Human serum IgA and colostral SIgA also bound to mouse M cells. The asialoglycoprotein receptor or other lectin-like receptors were not detected on the apical surfaces of M cells. We used recombinant human IgA1 and human IgA2 Abs and domain swapped IgA/IgG chimeras to determine that both domains Calpha1 and Calpha2 are required for IgA adherence to mouse Peyer's patch M cells. This distinguishes the M cell IgA receptor from CD89 (FcalphaI), which binds domains Calpha2-Calpha3. Finally, we observed by immunofluorescence microscopy that some M cells in the human ileum are coated with IgA. Together these data suggest that mouse, and possibly human, M cells express an IgA-specific receptor on their apical surfaces that mediates the transepithelial transport of SIgA from the intestinal lumen to underlying gut-associated organized lymphoid tissues.

Hepatitis A virus-specific immunoglobulin A mediates infection of hepatocytes with hepatitis A virus via the asialoglycoprotein receptor

The mechanisms underlying the hepatotropism of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and the relapsing courses of HAV infections are unknown. In this report, we show for a mouse hepatocyte model that HAV-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) mediates infection of hepatocytes with HAV via the asialoglycoprotein receptor, which binds and internalizes IgA molecules. Proof of HAV infection was obtained by detection of HAV minus-strand RNA, which is indicative for virus replication, and quantification of infectious virions. We demonstrate that human hepatocytes also ingest HAV-anti-HAV IgA complexes by the same mechanism, resulting in infection of the cells, by using the HepG2 cell line and primary hepatocytes. The relevance of this surrogate receptor mechanism in HAV pathogenesis lies in the fact that HAV, IgA, and antigen-IgA complexes use the same pathway within the organism, leading from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver via blood and back to the gastrointestinal tract via bile fluid. Therefore, HAV-specific IgA antibodies produced by gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue may serve as carrier and targeting molecules, enabling and supporting HAV infection of IgA receptor-positive hepatocytes and, in the case of relapsing courses, allowing reinfection of the liver in the presence of otherwise neutralizing antibodies, resulting in exacerbation of liver disease.

False positivity of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for measurement of secretory IgA antibodies directed at HIV type 1 antigens

We have determined that polymeric IgA in saliva of HIV-1-uninfected individuals binds in varying degrees to components of culture supernatants containing HIV-1 recombinant proteins when ELISA is used for the determination. This finding did not extend to salivary IgG antibodies. Further, such problems were not encountered in Western blot. Binding did not appear to be mediated by salivary proteins known to bind to IgA, including secretory component, amylase, lactoferrin, lysozyme, galactosyl transferase, or secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, and was not influenced by blocking reagents or by changes in secondary anti-IgA antibodies. Although these findings will not likely impact on the use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid for HIV-1 infection (the HIV-1 response in saliva is mostly of the IgG isotype), they indicate that assessments of this secretion as an indicator of IgA mucosal immune responses to HIV-1 vaccines should be undertaken with caution.

Secretory component, the receptor for polymeric immunoglobulin, has nothing to do with beta-galactosyltransferase in human milk

Secretory component (SC) in external secretions is a soluble form of the polymeric immunoglobulin-receptor that is expressed on the cell membrane of mucosal epithelial cells. beta-(1-4)galactosyl transferase (beta-GT) is an enzyme that transfers galactose to non-reducing N-acetylglucosamine residues on various glycoproteins and is present in a soluble form in secretions as well as in a membrane-bound form. beta-GT is considered to have affinity for glycoproteins, including IgA in secretion. It has been claimed that these two proteins are related to or identical with each other. In the present study, we defined that the SC and the beta-GT are each independent molecules by the following facts; (1) both molecules are separable either by antibody-affinity chromatography, conventional ion-exchange or molecular exclusion chromatography, (2) conventionally purified SC from human milk contained neither enzymatic activity or antigenic determinants of the beta-GT, (3) recombinant beta-GT does not show reactivity with antibodies to SC, and (4) the SC showed no reactivity with antibody to beta-GT.

Interactions of cell-surface galactosyltransferase with immunoglobulins

Detection of the activity of beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase (beta-1,4-GT) in suspensions of viable mouse hepatocytes, the human hepatoma cell line Hep G2, the human colonic adenocarcinoma cell line HT-29, the monocyte-like cell line U937, and human splenic B and T lymphocytes suggested the presence of beta-1,4-GT, in an enzymatically active form, on plasma membranes. The presence of beta-1,4-GT on cell surfaces was also indicated from the effect of trypsinization of live cells, which significantly reduced cell surface beta-1,4-GT activity, but did not affect the activity associated with cytoplasmic membranes. Furthermore, the presence of beta-1,4-GT on the cell surface was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence staining of cells with anti-beta-1,4-GT antibody. The detection of radioactivity in immunoglobulins (Ig) and their component chains after incubation with suspensions of intact cells in the presence of Mn2+ and UDP-[3H]-galactose, indicated that Ig molecules were galactosylated. In the absence of UDP-[3H]-galactose, beta-1,4-GT on cell surfaces, or immobilized on Sepharose-4B, formed stable complexes with galactose acceptors, including Ig. The efficiency of binding decreased in the order: J chain > alpha chain > mu chain > polymeric IgA2 > monomeric/polymeric IgA1 > IgM > IgG. Thus, beta-1,4-GT could act as a cell-surface receptor for Ig through a cation-dependent, lectin-like association of the beta-1,4-GT with the carbohydrate moieties of the Ig. This was confirmed by indirect surface immunofluorescence and radiolabeled ligand binding assays. The binding was inhibitable by EDTA, alpha-lactalbumin (in the presence of glucose), GlcNAc, or uridine 3',5'dialdehyde. At 37 degrees C, the apparent affinity constants and association rate constants of interaction between cell surface beta-1,4-GT on glutaraldehyde-fixed HT-29 and U937 cells and alpha 2 chain or monomeric IgA1 were in the range from 7.1 x 10(7) to 4.6 x 10(8) M-1 and from 1 x 10(5) to 3 x 10(6) M-1 s-1, respectively. The dissociation rate constants and half time of dissociation calculated from these data were in the range from 2.1 x 10(-2) to 5.0 x 10(-4) s-1 and from 33 to 1380 s, respectively. The number of alpha 2 or IgA1 molecules bound per HT-29 and U937 cell were in the range from 1.9 x 10(5) to 1.3 x 10(6). The binding of IgA by the cell surface beta-1,4-GT was not associated with internalization or the catabolic degradation of the ligand.