Trafficking of QD-Conjugated MPO-ANCA in Murine Systemic Vasculitis and Glomerulonephritis Model Mice

Age-determined severity of anti-myeloperoxidase autoantibody-mediated glomerulonephritis in mice

Background

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis (AAV) is a typical disease of the elderly. In AAV, there is an age-specific increase in disease incidence with age being a predictor of disease outcome. In this study, we aimed to determine the contribution of age to the development of AAV employing a mouse model of anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibody-mediated glomerulonephritis.

Methods

Anti-MPO IgG and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated glomerulonephritis was induced in 3- and 18-month-old C57Bl6 mice. Clinical and pathological parameters of disease severity, alterations in the immune system and kidney specific changes in these mice were evaluated.

Results

Eighteen-month-old mice developed increased disease severity upon injection of anti-MPO IgG/LPS compared with 3-month-old mice. This was evidenced by increased albuminuria, more extensive glomerular capillary necrosis and increased glomerular neutrophil accumulation. Glomerular crescent formation was mild in both young and old mice. Old mice displayed higher plasma interleukin-6 levels as well as higher proportions of circulating neutrophils and activated monocytes compared with young mice. In addition, renal mRNA levels of inflammatory genes and endothelial adhesion molecules were higher in 18-month-old mice compared with 3-month-old mice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our results indicate that aged mice develop more severe clinical and pathological disease upon induction of anti-MPO IgG/LPS-mediated glomerulonephritis. These findings may be attributed to age-related changes in the immune system as well as in the kidney itself.

Toxicity of nanocrystal quantum dots: the relevance of surface modifications

With the development of nanotechnology, nanometer-sized products smaller than several 100 nm have been applied for all areas of science and technology. The nanometer-sized products, including carbon nanotubes, fullerene derivatives, and nanocrystals made of various materials, are widely employed as novel tools in various fields, not only in material engineering, electronics, plastics, automobile, aviation, and aerospace industries, but also even in cellular biology, molecular biology, and basic and clinical medical fields. In particular, nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) have been widely used in biological and medical studies because of their far brighter photoemission and photostability. The physical and chemical properties of QDs have been circumstantially investigated, but little is known about the potential harmful effects of QDs on human health. In addition to the physical and chemical properties of the QDs, their toxicity and biological behavior are generally regulated by three other conditions: (1) the QD core material itself, (2) the surface modifications of the QD, and (3) the external environmental condition of the QDs. We herein report on the in vitro and in vivo toxicity and biological behavior of nanocrystals such as QDs. Accumulating evidence suggests that the QD-capping material, rather than the core metalloid complex, is responsible for the majority of their toxicity and biological activity. For example, molecules covered with a toxic agent showed cytotoxicity, whereas QDs conjugated with biomolecules retained the biological effects of the conjugate.

Antimyeloperoxidase antibodies rapidly induce alpha-4-integrin-dependent glomerular neutrophil adhesion

Patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) frequently develop severe vasculitis and glomerulonephritis. Although ANCAs, particularly antimyeloperoxidase (anti-MPO), have been shown to promote leukocyte adhesion in postcapillary venules, their ability to promote adhesion in the glomerular vasculature is less clear. We used intravital microscopy to examine glomerular leukocyte adhesion induced by anti-MPO. In mice pretreated with LPS, 50 microg anti-MPO induced LFA-1-dependent adhesion in glomeruli. In concert with this finding, in mice pretreated with LPS, more than 80% of circulating neutrophils bound anti-MPO within 5 minutes of intravenous administration. However, even in the absence of LPS, more than 40% of circulating neutrophils bound anti-MPO in vivo, a response not seen in MPO(-/-) mice. In addition, a higher dose of anti-MPO (200 microg) induced robust glomerular leukocyte adhesion in the absence of LPS. The latter response was beta2-integrin independent, instead requiring the alpha4-integrin, which was up-regulated on neutrophils in response to anti-MPO. These data indicate that anti-MPO antibodies bind to circulating neutrophils, and can induce glomerular leukocyte adhesion via multiple pathways. Lower doses induce adhesion only after an infection-related stimulus, whereas higher doses are capable of inducing responses in the absence of an additional inflammatory stimulus, via alternative adhesion mechanisms.

[Coronary arteritis induced by CAWS (Candida albicans water-soluble fraction) in various strains of mice]

The intraperitoneal administration of CAWS (water-soluble extracellular polysaccharide fraction obtained from the culture supernatant of Candida albicans NBRC 1385) to mice induces coronaritis similar to Kawasaki disease. We analyzed differences in the occurrence of coronary arteritis among mouse strains, inbred strains, a closed colony, hybrids and mutants. CAWS vasculitis was induced in almost all of the inbred and closed colony strains tested, except for CBA / J mice; it was induced also in hybrids, CDF1 and BDF1. In mutant strains of various immunological defects, such as C57BL / 6J Ham Slc-bg , Balb / c nu / nu , C.B.17 / Icr-scid / scid , WBB6F1-W / W (v) mice, all induced CAWS vasculitis but a relatively weak phenotype. It has already been postulated that CAWS vasculitis is regulated by various genes, those related to acute as well as chronic inflammation. This might well reflect the clinical situation in human disease.

Update on pathogenic mechanisms of systemic necrotizing vasculitis

Systemic necrotizing vasculitis is rare but can have serious sequelae. Despite recent advances in cellular and molecular immunology and genetics, the causes of vasculitic syndromes remain largely undefined. Although mechanisms of blood vessel damage in systemic necrotizing vasculitis are complex, recent studies have provided significant insights.

GFP expression by intracellular gene delivery of GFP-coding fragments using nanocrystal quantum dots

Gene therapy is an attractive approach to supplement a deficient gene function. Although there has been some success with specific gene delivery using various methods including viral vectors and liposomes, most of these methods have a limited efficiency or also carry a risk for oncogenesis. We herein report that quantum dots (QDs) conjugated with nuclear localizing signal peptides (NLSP) successfully introduced gene-fragments with promoter elements, which promoted the expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene in mammalian cells. The expression of eGFP protein was observed when the QD/gene-construct was added to the culture media. The gene-expression efficiency varied depending on multiple factors around QDs, such as (1) the reading direction of the gene-fragments, (2) the quantity of gene-fragments attached on the surface of the QD-constructs, (3) the surface electronic charges varied according to the structure of the QD/gene-constructs, and (4) the particle size of QD/gene complex varied according to the structure and amounts of gene-fragments. Using this QD/gene-construct system, eGFP protein could be detected 28 days after the gene-introduction whereas the fluorescence of QDs had disappeared. This system therefore provides another method for the intracellular delivery of gene-fragments without using either viral vectors or specific liposomes.

Mechanisms of ANCA-mediated leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in vivo

Anti-myeloperoxidase (anti-MPO) antibodies have been implicated in the pathogenesis of small-vessel vasculitis, but the molecular mechanisms by which these antibodies contribute to disease are unknown. For determination of how anti-MPO antibodies affect inflammatory cell recruitment in small-vessel vasculitis, intravital microscopy was used to monitor leukocyte behavior in the accessible cremasteric microvessels under various experimental conditions. After local pretreatment of the cremaster muscle with cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, or keratinocyte-derived chemokine), administration of anti-MPO IgG to wild-type mice reduced leukocyte rolling in favor of augmented adhesion to and transmigration across the endothelium. This led to a decrease in the number of systemic circulating leukocytes and, similar to the early events in the development of vasculitic lesions, an increase in leukocyte recruitment to renal and pulmonary tissue. TNF-alpha led to the greatest recruitment of inflammatory cells, and IL-1beta led to the least. When anti-CD18 was co-administered, anti-MPO IgG did not affect leukocyte rolling, adhesion, or transmigration; similarly, anti-MPO IgG did not produce these effects in Fc receptor gamma chain-/- mice. This study provides direct in vivo evidence of enhanced leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in the presence of anti-MPO IgG and highlights the critical roles of Fcgamma receptors and beta2 integrins in mediating these interactions. In addition, it suggests that neutrophils primed by cytokines in the presence of anti-MPO IgG can have systemic effects and target specific vascular beds.