Homeostatic control of antibody responses: a model based on the recognition of cell-associated antibody by regulatory T cells

CD4+ T Cells Are Dispensable for Induction of Broad Heterologous HIV Neutralizing Antibodies in Rhesus Macaques

Induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) is a major goal for HIV vaccine development. HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env)-specific bNAbs isolated from HIV-infected individuals exhibit substantial somatic hypermutation and correlate with T follicular helper (Tfh) responses. Using the VC10014 DNA-protein co-immunization vaccine platform consisting of gp160 plasmids and gp140 trimeric proteins derived from an HIV-1 infected subject that developed bNAbs, we determined the characteristics of the Env-specific humoral response in vaccinated rhesus macaques in the context of CD4+ T cell depletion. Unexpectedly, both CD4+ depleted and non-depleted animals developed comparable Tier 1 and 2 heterologous HIV-1 neutralizing plasma antibody titers. There was no deficit in protection from SHIV challenge, no diminution of titers of HIV Env-specific cross-clade binding antibodies, antibody dependent cellular phagocytosis, or antibody-dependent complement deposition in the CD4+ depleted animals. These collective results suggest that in the presence of diminished CD4+ T cell help, HIV neutralizing antibodies were still generated, which may have implications for developing effective HIV vaccine strategies.

Advances in nutritional research on regulatory T-cells

Many clinical and animal studies have shown that certain dietary components exert anti-inflammatory properties that aid in the amelioration of chronic inflammatory diseases. Among the various proposed channels through which dietary components affect immune responses, regulatory T-cells (Tregs) are emerging as key targets for the dietary prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this review, immunoregulation by Tregs is briefly described, followed by a summary of recent advances and possible applications of techniques for the study of Tregs. In addition, this review provides an overview of the current knowledge on Treg regulation by certain dietary components, including vitamins, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and polyphenols. The caveats of previous studies are also discussed in order to highlight the distinctions between dietary studies and immunological approaches. Consequently, this review may help to clarify the means by which nutritional components influence Tregs.

T-cell modulation of the antibody response to bacterial polysaccharide antigens

Pretreatment of mice with subimmunogenic doses of meningococcal polysaccharide (MP), Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (PA), or Streptococcus mutans polysaccharide (SM) resulted in suppression of antibody response. The transfer of putative suppressor T cells (Ts cells) from donor mice primed with a subimmunogenic dose of MP to naive recipients at the time of immunization with MP substantially reduced the magnitude of the antibody response. Also, the infusion of B cells taken from animals immunized with either MP or PA suppressed the antibody response of naive recipients to MP or PA, respectively, relative to controls, suggesting that Ts cells respond to determinants on immune B cells. We observed that the injection of concanavalin A or phytohemagglutinin (two lectins known to augment the activity of amplifier T cells [Ta cells]) 2 days postimmunization enhanced the antibody response to MP and SM. In addition, Ta-cell activity was transferred to naive animals by using spleen cells. Although the administration of phytohemagglutinin at the time of immunization with MP also resulted in increased antibody response, the injection of concanavalin A simultaneous with immunization resulted in a suppression of the antibody response to MP. Although Ts cells generated in response to pneumococcal polysaccharide type III were found to respond to monoclonal antibody Ly-m22, Ta cells responded to monoclonal antibodies L3T4 and Ia but not to Ly-m22. These studies suggest that Ta and Ts cells can modulate the antibody response to MP, SM, and PA in a positive and negative manner, respectively.

Prior exposure to subimmunogenic amounts of some bacterial lipopolysaccharides induces specific immunological unresponsiveness

Pretreatment (priming) of BALB/c mice with a low (subimmunogenic) dose of Escherichia coli O113 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) generates immunological memory 7 to 30 days later; the direct (immunoglobulin M) plaque-forming cell (PFC) responses produced after subsequent immunization with an optimal dose are 4 to 20 times greater than those of unprimed mice. By contrast, priming with a low dose of E. coli O55 LPS, followed by immunization with an optimally immunogenic dose 2 to 30 days later, resulted in a significantly reduced antibody response. Similar results were obtained with Serratia marcescens LPS. Dose-response studies indicated that such unresponsiveness is antigen specific and could be induced with subimmunogenic amounts of LPS. Priming reduced the magnitude of the PFC response to all immunizing doses of LPS tested. Unresponsiveness is not due to (i) an alteration in the time course of the PFC response or to (ii) a change in the isotype of the anti-LPS antibody produced after priming and immunization.

Genes on different chromosomes influence the antibody response to bacterial antigens

B6.C congenic strains of mice, possessing histocompatibility (H) alleles from high responding BALB/cBy (C) mice on the genetic background of low responding C57BL/6By (B6) mice, were assayed for their ability to make an antibody response to Type III pneumococcal polysaccharide (SSS-III) and the alpha(1----3) epitope of bacterial (Leuconostoc) dextran B-1355. The results affirmed that the antibody response to SSS-III is multigenic and that genes making a positive contribution to responsiveness are located on different chromosomes, i.e., chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 5, and 9. At least one other gene also influences responsiveness to SSS-III; it is linked to the H-17 locus, which has not yet been assigned to a specific chromosome. Genes on chromosomes 1, 4, and 5 influence the magnitude of the antibody response to dextran B-1355. Some of these genes may be antigen-specific in their mode of action; however, others may not since they appear to exert a positive influence on the antibody response to both SSS-III and dextran B-1355.

Suppressor T cell memory. II. The role of memory suppressor T cells in tolerance to human gamma globulin

The transient presence of suppressor T cell (Ts) activity in high-dose tolerance to human gamma globulin (HGG), and its (apparent) absence in low-dose tolerance, have been advanced as strong evidence against the concept that Ts play an important role in maintenance of immunological unresponsiveness. To analyze this question, CBA mice were exposed to high or low doses of deaggregated HGG (dHGG) and later challenged with HGG in immunogenic form (aHGG); their capacity to mount a primary or secondary suppressive response was assessed in an adoptive hapten-carrier system. Primary suppression reached a maximum 7 d after high-dose tolerance induction and gradually waned thereafter, being no longer detectable by day 30-35. Subsequent challenge of tolerant mice with aHGG, however, led to a rapid reactivation of suppression that bore the hallmarks of an anamnestic secondary response, and this effect was still demonstrable 135 d after tolerance induction. It was also shown that a single low dose of dHGG was capable of generating memory for suppression despite the absence of detectable primary suppression, indicating that the latter is not a prerequisite for induction of memory cells. The results were interpreted as indicating that tolerance, like immunity, is a manifestation of specific immunological memory. If tolerance to self-antigens is maintained by a similar mechanism, it would be expected that memory Ts could be induced during the early stages of fetal development. Mice were therefore exposed to tolerogen in utero by injection of their mothers with dHGG at day 7 of gestation, and were assessed at various times after birth for the capacity to exhibit primary or secondary suppression in adoptive transfer. Nonspecific suppression masked any specific effects during the first 5 wk of life. Antigen-specific, primary suppression was demonstrable subsequently until 10-12 wk of age, and if the animals were challenged with aHGG before transfer an anamnestic secondary suppressive response could be elicited up to 6 mo of age. These observations are consistent with the notion that memory Ts may play an important role in the maintenance of self-tolerance.

Preparation, characterization, and immunogenicity of Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide-protein conjugates

A method is presented for covalently bonding Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide (HIB Ps) to several proteins. The method is efficient and relies upon the use of adipic dihydrazide as a spacer between the capsular polysaccharide and the carrier protein. In contrast to the poor immunogenicity of the purified HIB Ps in mice and rabbits, the HIB Ps-protein conjugates induced serum anti-type b antibodies having bactericidal activity at levels shown to be protective in humans when low doses were injected subcutaneously in a saline solution. The antibody response in mice was related to the dose of the conjugates, increased with the number of injections, and could be primed by the previous injection of the carrier protein. The HIB Ps-protein conjugates were immunogenic in three different mouse strains. The importance of the carrier molecule for the enhanced immunogenicity of the HIB Ps-protein conjugates was shown by the failure of HIB Ps hybrids prepared with either the homologous polysaccharide or pneumococcus type 3 polysaccharide to induce antibodie in mice. Rabbits injected with the HIB Ps-protein conjugates emulsified in Freund's adjuvant produced high levels of serum anti-type b antibodies which induced a bactericidal effect upon H. influenzae type b organisms. It is proposed that the HIB Ps component of the polysaccharide protein conjugates has been converted to a thymic-dependent immunogen. This method may be used to prepare protein-polysaccharide conjugates with HIB Ps and other polysaccharides to be considered for human use.

Anti-phenyltrimethylamino immunity in mice. II. L-Tyrosine-p-azophenyltrimethylammonium-induced suppressor T cells selectively inhibit the expression of B-cell clones bearing a cross-reactive idiotype

The anti-phenyltrimethylamino (TMA) response in A/J mice is characterized by a cross-reactive idiotype(s) (CRI) that appears linked to the Ig-Ie allotype. These findings made it attractive to look for a CRI on T cells reactive to the same TMA determinant. Thus a suppressor T-cell (Ts) assay specific for L-tyrosine-p-azophenyltrimethylammonium [tyr(TMA)] was developed. A/J mice were primed with either tyr(TMA) in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), L-tyrosine-azobenzenearsonate [tyr(ABA)] in CFA, or with CFA alone. 6 wk later all mice were inoculated with TMA-bovine serum albumin (BSA) in CFA, boosted with soluble TMA-BSA 3 wk later, and plaqued 7 d after the soluble boost. Priming with tyr(TMA) in CFA resulted in 66% suppression of anti-TMA plaque-forming cells (PFC) as compared with control groups primed with tyr(ABA) in CFA or CFA alone. The suppression was shown to be mediated by Ts, as only T cells but not B cells from suppressed animals transfer the suppression in adoptive cell transfer experiments into lethally irradiated recipients. The profile of the anti-TMA PFC in the suppressed and nonsuppressed animals was examined via incorporation of anti-idiotypic sera (specific for CRI-TMA) into the plaquing medium. The results of these experiments indicate that the suppression of the major CRI+-TMA PFC was virtually complete, whereas the CRI--TMA PFC are left intact. When A/J mice were primed with idiotypic antisera (anti-Id) or normal rabbit serum (NRS) rather than with the antigen on CFA alone, and the same protocol was followed thereafter, the anti-Id-inoculated mice were suppressed by 63% when compared with the NRS-primed controls. Again the suppression could be accounted for by the exclusive elimination of CRI+ anti-TMA PFC. The possibility that the antigen-induced idiotype suppression may result from idiotypic restrictions between interacting CRI+-Ts and CRT+-B cells will be discussed.

Heterogeneity of murine regulatory T cells. I. Subpopulations of amplifier and suppressor T cells

Immunization of C3H/HeJ mice with 4 X 10(9) SRBC yields a whole splenic T-cell population which can, upon transfer, specifically suppress recipient direct and indirect plaque-forming cells (PFC) responses to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC). Discontinuous bovine serum albumin density gradient fractionation of these T cells demonstrated a population of low density T cells which augmented and a population of high density T cells which suppressed recipient responses irrespective of the number of T cells transferred. Moreover, infusion of admixtures of low and high density cells resulted in intermediate regulatory functions which could be predicted by knowing the regulatory capacity of each population alone. In addition to heterogeneity existing among regulatory T cells as regards amplification and suppression, it appeared that heterogeneity existed within the suppressor T population. Thus, T cells capable of inhibiting direct PFC could be distinguished from those suppressing indirect PFC by their differential localization in peripheral lymphoid tissue, differences in the dissipation of suppressive influences during incubation at 37 degrees C, and by differences in the possible requirement for adherent cell populations. While the relative frequency of both low density amplifier and high density suppressor cells increased with the dose of SRBC used for their induction, it appeared that suppressor cells might be generated in response to feedback signals from amplifier cells. These studies indicate that further delineation of heterogeneity existing within suppressor populations may be helpful in defining mechanisms required for the induction and manifestation of suppressive regulatory forces.