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Golding A, Darko S, Wylie WH, Douek DC, Shevach EM. Deep sequencing of the TCR-β repertoire of human forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3) + and FoxP3 - T cells suggests that they are completely distinct and non-overlapping. Clin Exp Immunol 2017; 188:12-21. [PMID: 27880974 DOI: 10.1111/cei.12904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintenance of peripheral tolerance requires a balance between autoreactive conventional T cells (Tconv ) and thymically derived forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3)+ regulatory T cells (tTregs ). Considerable controversy exists regarding the similarities/differences in T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires expressed by Tconv and tTregs . We generated highly purified populations of human adult and cord blood Tconv and tTregs based on the differential expression of CD25 and CD127. The purity of the sorted populations was validated by intracellular staining for FoxP3 and Helios. We also purified an overlap group of CD4 T cells from adult donors to ensure that considerable numbers of shared clonotypes could be detected when present. We used deep sequencing of entire TCR-β CDR3 sequences to analyse the TCR repertoire of Tconv and tTregs . Our studies suggest that both neonatal and adult human Tconv and tTreg cells are, in fact, entirely distinct CD4 T cell lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Golding
- Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - S Darko
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - W H Wylie
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - D C Douek
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - E M Shevach
- Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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2
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Shmagel KV, Saidakova EV, Shmagel NG, Korolevskaya LB, Chereshnev VA, Robinson J, Grivel JC, Douek DC, Margolis L, Anthony DD, Lederman MM. Systemic inflammation and liver damage in HIV/hepatitis C virus coinfection. HIV Med 2016; 17:581-9. [PMID: 27187749 DOI: 10.1111/hiv.12357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV viral infections are characterized by systemic inflammation. Yet the relative levels, drivers and correlates of inflammation in these settings are not well defined. METHODS Seventy-nine HIV-infected patients who had been receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for more than 2 years and who had suppressed plasma HIV levels (< 50 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) were included in the study. Two patient groups, HCV-positive/HIV-positive and HCV-negative/HIV-positive, and a control group comprised of healthy volunteers (n = 20) were examined. Markers of systemic inflammation [interleukin (IL)-6, interferon gamma-induced protein (IP)-10, soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor-I (sTNF-RI) and sTNF-RII], monocyte/macrophage activation [soluble CD163 (sCD163), soluble CD14 and neopterin], intestinal epithelial barrier loss [intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] and coagulation (d-dimers) were analysed. CD4 naïve T cells and CD4 recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) were enumerated. RESULTS Plasma levels of IP-10, neopterin and sCD163 were higher in HCV/HIV coinfection than in HIV monoinfection and were positively correlated with indices of hepatic damage [aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and the AST to platelet ratio index (APRI)]. Levels of I-FABP were comparably increased in HIV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection but LPS concentrations were highest in HCV/HIV coinfection, suggesting impaired hepatic clearance of LPS. Plasma HCV levels were not related to any inflammatory indices except sCD163. In coinfected subjects, a previously recognized relationship of CD4 naïve T-cell and RTE counts to hepatocellular injury was defined more mechanistically by an inverse relationship to sCD163. CONCLUSIONS Hepatocellular injury in HCV/HIV coinfection is linked to elevated levels of certain inflammatory cytokines and an apparent failure to clear systemically translocated microbial products. A related decrease in CD4 naïve T cells and RTEs also merits further exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- K V Shmagel
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS, Perm, Russia.,Perm State University, Perm, Russia
| | - E V Saidakova
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS, Perm, Russia.,Perm State University, Perm, Russia
| | - N G Shmagel
- Perm State University, Perm, Russia.,Perm Regional Center for Protection against AIDS and Infectious Diseases, Perm, Russia
| | - L B Korolevskaya
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS, Perm, Russia.,Perm State University, Perm, Russia
| | - V A Chereshnev
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS, Perm, Russia.,Perm State University, Perm, Russia.,Institute of Immunology and Physiology UB RAS, Yekaterinburg, Russia
| | - J Robinson
- Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - J-C Grivel
- National Institute of Child Health and Development, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - D C Douek
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - L Margolis
- National Institute of Child Health and Development, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - D D Anthony
- Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - M M Lederman
- Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
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3
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Chinn IK, Milner JD, Scheinberg P, Douek DC, Markert ML. Thymus transplantation restores the repertoires of forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3)+ and FoxP3- T cells in complete DiGeorge anomaly. Clin Exp Immunol 2013; 173:140-9. [PMID: 23607606 DOI: 10.1111/cei.12088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/04/2013] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of T cells with a regulatory phenotype after thymus transplantation has not been examined previously in complete DiGeorge anomaly (cDGA). Seven athymic infants with cDGA and non-maternal pretransplantation T cell clones were assessed. Pretransplantation forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3)(+) T cells were detected in five of the subjects. Two subjects were studied in greater depth. T cell receptor variable β chain (TCR-Vβ) expression was assessed by flow cytometry. In both subjects, pretransplantation FoxP3(+) and total CD4(+) T cells showed restricted TCR-Vβ expression. The development of naive T cells and diverse CD4(+) TCR-Vβ repertoires following thymic transplantation indicated successful thymopoiesis from the thymic tissue grafts. Infants with atypical cDGA develop rashes and autoimmune phenomena before transplantation, requiring treatment with immunosuppression, which was discontinued successfully subsequent to the observed thymopoiesis. Post-transplantation, diverse TCR-Vβ family expression was also observed in FoxP3(+) CD4(+) T cells. Interestingly, the percentages of each of the TCR-Vβ families expressed on FoxP3(+) and total CD4(+) T cells differed significantly between these T lymphocyte subpopulations before transplantation. By 16 months post-transplantation, however, the percentages of expression of each TCR-Vβ family became significantly similar between FoxP3(+) and total CD4(+) T cells. Sequencing of TCRBV DNA confirmed the presence of clonally amplified pretransplantation FoxP3(+) and FoxP3(-) T cells. After thymus transplantation, increased polyclonality was observed for both FoxP3(+) and FoxP3(-) cells, and pretransplantation FoxP3(+) and FoxP3(-) clonotypes essentially disappeared. Thus, post-transplantation thymic function was associated with the development of a diverse repertoire of FoxP3(+) T cells in cDGA, corresponding with immunological and clinical recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- I K Chinn
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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4
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Harris LD, Estes JD, Klatt NR, Taft B, Barclay R, Douek DC, Silvestri G, Liffson J, Brenchley J. P11-01. Extensive intestinal damage underlies microbial translocation in the GI tract of chronically SIV-infected Rhesus macaques. Retrovirology 2009. [PMCID: PMC2767633 DOI: 10.1186/1742-4690-6-s3-p146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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5
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Cecchinato V, Trindade CJ, Laurence A, Heraud JM, Brenchley JM, Ferrari MG, Zaffiri L, Tryniszewska E, Tsai WP, Vaccari M, Parks RW, Venzon D, Douek DC, O’Shea JJ, Franchini G. Altered balance between Th17 and Th1 cells at mucosal sites predicts AIDS progression in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques. Mucosal Immunol 2008; 1:279-88. [PMID: 19079189 PMCID: PMC2997489 DOI: 10.1038/mi.2008.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Loss of CD4(+) T cells in the gut is necessary but not sufficient to cause AIDS in animal models, raising the possibility that a differential loss of CD4(+) T-cell subtypes may be important. We found that CD4(+) T cells that produce interleukin (IL)-17, a recently identified lineage of effector CD4(+) T-helper cells, are infected by SIV(mac251)in vitro and in vivo, and are found at lower frequency at mucosal and systemic sites within a few weeks from infection. In highly viremic animals, Th1 cells predominates over Th17 T cells and the frequency of Th17 cells at mucosal sites is negatively correlated with plasma virus level. Because Th17 cells play a central role in innate and adaptive immune response to extracellular bacteria, our finding may explain the chronic enteropathy in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Thus, therapeutic approaches that reconstitute an adequate balance between Th1 and Th17 may be beneficial in the treatment of HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Cecchinato
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - CJ Trindade
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - A Laurence
- Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch, National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - JM Heraud
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - JM Brenchley
- Immunopathogenesis Unit, Lab of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - MG Ferrari
- Advanced BioScience Laboratories Inc., Kensington, Maryland, USA
| | - L Zaffiri
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - E Tryniszewska
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, Department of Microbiology Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - WP Tsai
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - M Vaccari
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - R Washington Parks
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - D Venzon
- Biostatistics & Data Management Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - DC Douek
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - JJ O’Shea
- Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch, National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - G Franchini
- Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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6
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Brenchley JM, Knox KS, Asher AI, Price DA, Kohli LM, Gostick E, Hill BJ, Hage CA, Brahmi Z, Khoruts A, Twigg HL, Schacker TW, Douek DC. High frequencies of polyfunctional HIV-specific T cells are associated with preservation of mucosal CD4 T cells in bronchoalveolar lavage. Mucosal Immunol 2008; 1:49-58. [PMID: 19079160 PMCID: PMC2777611 DOI: 10.1038/mi.2007.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the massive gastrointestinal tract CD4 T-cell depletion in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are not well understood nor is it clear whether similar depletion is manifest at other mucosal surfaces. Studies of T-cell and virus dynamics in different anatomical sites have begun to illuminate the pathogenesis of HIV-associated disease. Here, we studied depletion and HIV infection frequencies of CD4 T cells from the gastrointestinal tract, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and blood with the frequencies and functional profiles of HIV-specific T cells in these anatomically distinct sites in HIV-infected individuals. The major findings to emerge were as follows: (i) depletion of gastrointestinal CD4 T cells is associated with high frequencies of infected CD4 T cells; (ii) HIV-specific T cells are present at low frequencies in the gastrointestinal tract compared to blood; (iii) BAL CD4 T cells are not massively depleted during the chronic phase; (iv) infection frequencies of BAL CD4 T cells are similar to those in blood; (v) significantly higher frequencies and increased functionality of HIV-specific T cells were observed in BAL compared to blood. Taken together, these data suggest mechanisms for mucosal CD4 T-cell depletion and interventions that might circumvent global depletion of mucosal CD4 T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- JM Brenchley
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - KS Knox
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Richard L Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - AI Asher
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - DA Price
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - LM Kohli
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - E Gostick
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - BJ Hill
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - CA Hage
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Richard L Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Z Brahmi
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - A Khoruts
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - HL Twigg
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - TW Schacker
- Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - DC Douek
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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7
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Abstract
There has recently been a resurgence of interest in the gastrointestinal pathology observed in patients infected with HIV. The gastrointestinal tract is a major site of HIV replication, which results in massive depletion of lamina propria CD4 T cells during acute infection. Highly active antiretroviral therapy leads to incomplete suppression of viral replication and substantially delayed and only partial restoration of gastrointestinal CD4 T cells. The gastrointestinal pathology associated with HIV infection comprises significant enteropathy with increased levels of inflammation and decreased levels of mucosal repair and regeneration. Assessment of gut mucosal immune system has provided novel directions for therapeutic interventions that modify the consequences of acute HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- JM Brenchley
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - DC Douek
- Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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8
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Melenhorst JJ, Scheinberg P, Lu J, Ambrozak DR, Sosa E, Zhao L, Hensel NF, Savani BN, Douek DC, Price DA, Barrett AJ. Regulatory T-cell depletion does not prevent emergence of new CD25+ FOXP3+ lymphocytes after antigen stimulation in culture. Cytotherapy 2008; 10:152-64. [PMID: 18368594 DOI: 10.1080/14653240701853536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The removal of human regulatory T (T(reg)) cells from a cellular product prior to the induction of a T-cell response has the potential to boost the total yield of antigen (Ag)-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. METHODS We examined the effect of this manipulation on the generation of human anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) T-cell responses. Furthermore, we examined the clonotypic composition of Ag-specific CD4(+)FOXP3(+) and CD4(+)FOXP3(-) T cells. RESULTS We found that the immunomagnetic depletion of CD25(+) cells had an unpredictable effect on outcome, with total yields of CMV-specific T cells either increasing or decreasing after the removal of these cells. The depletion of CD25(+) cells both removed a proportion of Ag-specific T cells and failed to eliminate a substantial population of T(reg) cells. Furthermore, using a novel T-cell receptor clonotyping technique, we found that Ag recognition induces the expression of FOXP3 in a proportion of specific T cells; these FOXP3-expressing Ag-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were no longer capable of producing inflammatory cytokines. DISCUSSION The depletion of CD25(+) cells from the starting population has a variable effect on the total yield of Ag-specific T cells, a proportion of which invariably acquire FOXP3 expression and lose effector function.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J Melenhorst
- Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1202, USA.
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9
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Rezvani K, Price DA, Brenchley JM, Kilical Y, Gostick E, Sconocchia G, Hansmann K, Kurlander R, Douek DC, Barrett AJ. Transfer of PR1-specific T-cell clones from donor to recipient by stem cell transplantation and association with GvL activity. Cytotherapy 2007; 9:245-51. [PMID: 17464756 DOI: 10.1080/14653240701218524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The curative effects of GvL following transfer of donor-derived T cells during allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) are well established. However, little is known about the nature, origin and kinetics of the anti-leukemic T-cell responses involved. METHODS We used quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for interferongamma mRNA production (IFN-gamma) and PR1/HLA-A*0201 tetramer staining to detect PR1-specific CD8+ T-cell activity in a donor and a patient with CML. Unbiased strand switch anchored RT-PCR was used to further characterize specific clones in PR1 sorted CD8+ T-cell populations. RESULTS We identified PR1-specific CD8(+) T-cell clones from a donor pre-transplant, and demonstrated their transfer in the recipient's blood post-SCT using molecular tracking of Ag-specific T-cell receptors. PR1-specific CD8(+) T-cell populations were polyclonal, with a range of functional avidities for cognate Ag, and displayed predominantly effector memory phenotype early post-SCT, suggesting active stimulation in vivo. Expansion of these PR1-specific CD8(+) T-cell clones in the recipient was followed by complete remission of CML. DISCUSSION This report represents the first direct demonstration that PR1-specific CD8(+) T-cell clones can be transferred during SCT, and supports the feasibility of pre-transplant vaccination strategies that aim to boost the number of anti-leukemic T cells in the graft.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Rezvani
- Stem Cell Allotransplantation Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart Lung Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
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10
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Vaccine Research Center, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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11
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Michalek J, Collins RH, Durrani HP, Vaclavkova P, Ruff LE, Douek DC, Vitetta ES. Definitive separation of graft-versus-leukemia- and graft-versus-host-specific CD4+ T cells by virtue of their receptor beta loci sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2003; 100:1180-4. [PMID: 12531922 PMCID: PMC298747 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0337543100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/11/2002] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although graft-versus-host (GVH) disease (GVHD) is usually associated with graft versus leukemia (GVL), GVL can occur in the absence of clinical GVHD. There is evidence to suggest that GVL and GVH are mediated by different clones of T cells. The objective of this study was to identify the two types of T cells based on their receptor sequences. To this end we used irradiated nonleukemic cells from recipients as stimulator cells in a primary mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). The activated CD4(+) donor T cells that expressed CD25 were purified by cell sorting. To prepare GVL-specific T cells, alloreactive T cells in the primary MLR were first depleted with an anti-CD25 immunotoxin. The remaining T cells had negligible alloreactivity in a secondary MLR. The allodepleted cells were then stimulated by using purified leukemia cells from the same individual as stimulator cells, and the CD25(+)-activated cells were purified by cell sorting. The GVL- and GVH-specific T cells were analyzed for their T cell receptor (TCR) clonality by using anchored RT-PCR of all the TCRbeta locus complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) sequences. By comparing TCRbeta CDR3 sequences from transformed bacterial colonies, we were able to demonstrate that T cells mediating GVH were different from those mediating GVL in each of the eight HLA-mismatched and one HLA-matched donor/recipient pairs. By using the appropriate TCRbeta CDR3-specific primers and probes, the GVH- and GVL-specific clones were monitored in a recipient undergoing an allogeneic stem cell transplant from her HLA-matched related donor.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Michalek
- Cancer Immunobiology Center and Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
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12
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Abstract
Naïve T-cells divide and mature, both functionally and phenotypically, upon stimulation through the T-cell receptor. Although much is known about the overall changes that occur in naïve cells upon TCR stimulation, and the different memory/effector populations that arise following stimulation, the relationship between cell division and functional and phenotypical changes that occur after activation is poorly understood. Here, we examine the early stages of human naïve and antigen-experienced T-cell activation, and the relationship between cell division and acquisition of effector function during the transition from resting antigen-experienced or naïve T-cells into effector cells. Stimulated naïve T-cells proliferate prior to acquisition of effector function, as measured by cytokine production and expression of effector-associated cell surface molecules. Additionally, we show that interlukin-7 (IL-7) can drive proliferation of naïve T-cells without TCR:MHC peptide interactions. IL-7 alone does not, however, drive the proliferation of antigen-experienced T-cells. Memory T-cells will divide in response to exogenous IL-7 but only in the presence of naïve T-cells and IL-2. This study contributes to the current understanding of the mechanistic differences between naïve and memory T-cell responses by defining the functional and phenotypic changes that occur to T-cells after stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Brenchley
- Vaccine Research Center, NIAID and Department of Experimental Transplantation and Immunology, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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13
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Storek J, Joseph A, Espino G, Dawson MA, Douek DC, Sullivan KM, Flowers ME, Martin P, Mathioudakis G, Nash RA, Storb R, Appelbaum FR, Maloney DG. Immunity of patients surviving 20 to 30 years after allogeneic or syngeneic bone marrow transplantation. Blood 2001; 98:3505-12. [PMID: 11739150 DOI: 10.1182/blood.v98.13.3505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The duration of immunodeficiency following marrow transplantation is not known. Questionnaires were used to study the infection rates in 72 patients surviving 20 to 30 years after marrow grafting. Furthermore, in 33 of the 72 patients and in 16 donors (siblings who originally donated the marrow) leukocyte subsets were assessed by flow cytometry. T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), markers of T cells generated de novo, were quantitated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunoglobulin G(2) (IgG(2)) and antigen-specific IgG levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Infections diagnosed more than [corrected] 15 years after transplantation occurred rarely. The average rate was 0.07 infections per patient-year (one infection every 14 years), excluding respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, lip sores, and hepatitis C. The counts of circulating monocytes, natural killer cells, B cells, CD4 T cells, and CD8 T cells in the patients were not lower than in the donors. The counts of TREC(+) CD4 T cells in transplant recipients younger than age 18 years (at the time of transplantation) were not different from the counts in their donors. In contrast, the counts of TREC(+) CD4 T cells were lower in transplant recipients age 18 years or older, even in those with no history of clinical extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease, compared with their donors. The levels of total IgG(2) and specific IgG against Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae were similar in patients and donors. Overall, the immunity of patients surviving 20 to 30 years after transplantation is normal or near normal. Patients who received transplants in adulthood have a clinically insignificant deficiency of de novo-generated CD4 T cells, suggesting that in these patients the posttransplantation thymic insufficiency may not be fully reversible.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Storek
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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14
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Betts MR, Ambrozak DR, Douek DC, Bonhoeffer S, Brenchley JM, Casazza JP, Koup RA, Picker LJ. Analysis of total human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses: relationship to viral load in untreated HIV infection. J Virol 2001; 75:11983-91. [PMID: 11711588 PMCID: PMC116093 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.75.24.11983-11991.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 558] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific T-cell responses are thought to play a key role in viral load decline during primary infection and in determining the subsequent viral load set point. The requirements for this effect are unknown, partly because comprehensive analysis of total HIV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses to all HIV-encoded epitopes has not been accomplished. To assess these responses, we used cytokine flow cytometry and overlapping peptide pools encompassing all products of the HIV-1 genome to study total HIV-specific T-cell responses in 23 highly active antiretroviral therapy naïve HIV-infected patients. HIV-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses were detectable in all patients, ranging between 1.6 and 18.4% of total CD8(+) T cells. HIV-specific CD4(+) T-cell responses were present in 21 of 23 patients, although the responses were lower (0.2 to 2.94%). Contrary to previous reports, a positive correlation was identified between the plasma viral load and the total HIV-, Env-, and Nef-specific CD8(+) T-cell frequency. No correlation was found either between viral load and total or Gag-specific CD4(+) T-cell response or between the frequency of HIV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. These results suggest that overall frequencies of HIV-specific T cells are not the sole determinant of immune-mediated protection in HIV-infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Betts
- Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9113, USA.
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15
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Douek DC, Betts MR, Hill BJ, Little SJ, Lempicki R, Metcalf JA, Casazza J, Yoder C, Adelsberger JW, Stevens RA, Baseler MW, Keiser P, Richman DD, Davey RT, Koup RA. Evidence for increased T cell turnover and decreased thymic output in HIV infection. J Immunol 2001; 167:6663-8. [PMID: 11714838 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.167.11.6663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 218] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The effects of HIV infection upon the thymus and peripheral T cell turnover have been implicated in the pathogenesis of AIDS. In this study, we investigated whether decreased thymic output, increased T cell proliferation, or both can occur in HIV infection. We measured peripheral blood levels of TCR rearrangement excision circles (TREC) and parameters of cell proliferation, including Ki67 expression and ex vivo bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in 22 individuals with early untreated HIV disease and in 15 HIV-infected individuals undergoing temporary interruption of therapy. We found an inverse association between increased T cell proliferation with rapid viral recrudescence and a decrease in TREC levels. However, during early HIV infection, we found that CD45RO-CD27high (naive) CD4+ T cell proliferation did not increase, despite a loss of TREC within naive CD4+ T cells. A possible explanation for this is that decreased thymic output occurs in HIV-infected humans. This suggests that the loss of TREC during HIV infection can arise from a combination of increased T cell proliferation and decreased thymic output, and that both mechanisms can contribute to the perturbations in T cell homeostasis that underlie the pathogenesis of AIDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Vaccine Research Center, Clinical and Molecular Retrovirology Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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16
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Teixeira L, Valdez H, McCune JM, Koup RA, Badley AD, Hellerstein MK, Napolitano LA, Douek DC, Mbisa G, Deeks S, Harris JM, Barbour JD, Gross BH, Francis IR, Halvorsen R, Asaad R, Lederman MM. Poor CD4 T cell restoration after suppression of HIV-1 replication may reflect lower thymic function. AIDS 2001; 15:1749-56. [PMID: 11579235 DOI: 10.1097/00002030-200109280-00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 182] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To characterize immune phenotype and thymic function in HIV-1-infected adults with excellent virologic and poor immunologic responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS Cross-sectional study of patients with CD4 T cell rises of > or = 200 x 10(6) cells/l (CD4 responders; n = 10) or < 100 x 10(6) cells/l (poor responders; n = 12) in the first year of therapy. RESULTS Poor responders were older than CD4 responders (46 versus 38 years; P < 0.01) and, before HAART, had higher CD4 cell counts (170 versus 35 x 106 cells/l; P = 0.11) and CD8 cell counts (780 versus 536 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.02). After a median of 160 weeks of therapy, CD4 responders had more circulating naive phenotype (CD45+CD62L+) CD4 cells (227 versus 44 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.001) and naive phenotype CD8 cells (487 versus 174 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.004) than did poor responders (after 130 weeks). Computed tomographic scans showed minimal thymic tissue in 11/12 poor responders and abundant tissue in 7/10 responders (P = 0.006). Poor responders had fewer CD4 cells containing T cell receptor excision circles (TREC) compared with CD4 responders (2.12 versus 27.5 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.004) and had shorter telomeres in CD4 cells (3.8 versus 5.3 kb; P = 0.05). Metabolic labeling studies with deuterated glucose indicated that the lower frequency of TREC-containing lymphocytes in poor responders was not caused by accelerated proliferation kinetics. CONCLUSION Poor CD4 T cell increases observed in some patients with good virologic response to HAART may be caused by failure of thymic T cell production.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Teixeira
- Division of Infectious Diseases and the Center for AIDS Research, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
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17
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Weinberg K, Blazar BR, Wagner JE, Agura E, Hill BJ, Smogorzewska M, Koup RA, Betts MR, Collins RH, Douek DC. Factors affecting thymic function after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blood 2001; 97:1458-66. [PMID: 11222394 DOI: 10.1182/blood.v97.5.1458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 322] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is followed by profound immunodeficiency. Thymic function is necessary for de novo generation of T cells after HSCT. Circulating CD45RA(+) naive T-cell levels are predictive of antigen-specific T-cell responses in the absence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). These T cells may not represent recent thymic emigrants, since naive T cells may maintain this phenotype if not antigen-activated. To accurately measure thymic output after HSCT and determine the factors that influence thymic function, T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) were examined in CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells from a cross-section of patients following HSCT. TREC levels rose weeks after HSCT and could be detected in patients 6 years after HSCT. TREC levels correlated with the frequency of phenotypically naive T cells, indicating that such cells were not expanded progeny of naive T cells present in the donor graft. Chronic GVHD was the most important factor that predicted low TREC levels even years after HSCT. Patients with a history of resolved GVHD had decreased numbers of TREC, compared with those with no GVHD. Because few adults had no history of GVHD, it was not possible to determine whether age alone inversely correlated with TREC levels. Recipients of cord blood grafts had no evidence of decreased TREC induced by immunosuppressive prophylaxis drugs. Compared with unrelated donor grafts, recipients of matched sibling grafts had higher TREC levels. Collectively, these data suggest that thymopoiesis is inhibited by GVHD. Larger studies will be needed to determine the independent contributions of age and preparative regimen to post-transplant thymopoietic capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Weinberg
- Division of Research Immunology/Bone Marrow Transplantation, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA.
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18
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Abstract
The function and integrity of the basal ganglia is modulated by sex steroids whose activity may be controlled by P450 enzymes, such as members of the CYP2C subfamily. The expression of CYP2C enzymes in rat basal ganglia was examined by immunohistochemistry along with some of the factors that might control their expression. Whereas no CYP2C11 or CYP2C12 immunoreactivity was detected in the basal ganglia of either male or female rats, marked CYP2C13 immunoreactivity was evident in neurones of the subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, and interpeduncular nucleus. Strong CYP2C13 immunoreactivity was also expressed in the cortex, olfactory tubercle, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, hypothalamic nuclei, medial habenular nucleus, red nucleus, and medial forebrain bundle. Similar results were found in male and female rats. Following 6-hydroxydopamine lesioning of the nigro-striatal tract, tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity was absent and CYP2C13 immunoreactivity was decreased markedly in the substantia nigra pars compacta, implying its presence in dopaminergic neurones. Modulation of sex steroids, using castrated rats, had no effect on the number of CYP2C13 positive neurones in the substantia nigra pars compacta. These results indicate that CYP2C13 protein is constitutively and widely expressed in rat brain. However, its expression is not sex-specific and is unaffected by castration. The role of CYP2C13 in brain is unknown but it may be involved in the generation of neurosteroids and catecholoestrogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- A G Riedl
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Centre, Hodgkin Building, Guy's, Kings and St. Thomas' School of Biomedical Sciences, King's College, London, UK
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19
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Evans JT, Okamoto Y, Douek DC, McFarland RD, Gatlin J, Koup RA, Garcia JV. Thymocyte differentiation from lentivirus-marked CD34(+) cells in infant and adult human thymus. J Immunol Methods 2000; 245:31-43. [PMID: 11042281 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-1759(00)00270-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Changes in thymic function and immune system homeostasis associated with HIV infection or chemotherapy have significant effects on the ability of patients to maintain a complete T cell receptor repertoire. Therefore, the development of in vitro systems to evaluate thymic function in children and adults may aid in the understanding of thymopoiesis and the development of new therapies to improve thymic output. Here we use a lentivirus-based gene transfer system to mark CD34(+) cells with EGFP and follow their differentiation into CD4(+) and CD8(+) single positive thymocytes in human thymic organ cultures. Lentivirus-marked cells entered the thymus and were detected in both the cortex and medulla. Pretreatment of the thymus with 2-deoxyguanosine depleted resident thymocytes and significantly increased the percentage of EGFP(+) thymocytes. High frequency gene transfer into CD34(+) cells and maintained expression throughout differentiation allows for the in vitro assessment of thymic function. In thymuses ranging in age from fetal to adult we observed EGFP(+) thymocytes at all stages of development suggesting that thymuses of all ages are capable of accepting new T cell progenitors and contributing to the maintenance of T cell homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Evans
- Division of Infectious Diseases Y9.206, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390-9113, USA
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20
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Douek DC, Vescio RA, Betts MR, Brenchley JM, Hill BJ, Zhang L, Berenson JR, Collins RH, Koup RA. Assessment of thymic output in adults after haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and prediction of T-cell reconstitution. Lancet 2000; 355:1875-81. [PMID: 10866444 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02293-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 422] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The potential benefits of haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation are tempered by the depletion of T-cells accompanying this procedure. We used a new technique which quantifies the excisional DNA products of T-cell-receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement to measure thymic output directly in patients with multiple myeloma, and thus assessed the contribution of the thymus to immune recovery after transplantation. METHODS We studied 40 patients, 34-66 years of age, who had been randomly assigned myeloablative chemotherapy and autologous peripheral-blood haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation with unmanipulated grafts or grafts enriched for CD34 stem cells. CD4 and CD8 T-cell counts were measured, thymic output was estimated serially until 2 years after transplantation, and percentages of naive T-cells were measured. FINDINGS The production of substantial numbers of new naive T cells by the thymus could be detected by 100 days post-transplant; there was a significant inverse relation between age and recovery of new T cells. In the CD34-unselected group, numbers of TCR-rearrangement excision circles returned to baseline after 2 years, whereas in the CD34-selected group, numbers at 2 years were significantly higher than both baseline numbers (p=0.004), and 2-year numbers in the unselected group (p=0.046). Increased thymic output correlated with, and was predictive of, increased naive T-cell numbers and broader T-cell-receptor repertoires. INTERPRETATION Our results provide evidence that the adult thymus contributes more substantially to immune reconstitution after haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation than was previously thought, and therefore could be a target for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, USA.
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21
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Abstract
The ability to measure human thymic output would be an invaluable tool for the study of the development of the naive T cell repertoire, as well as naive T cell regeneration after intensive cytotoxic chemotherapy or effective antiretroviral therapy of progressive HIV infection. We and others have demonstrated previously that quantification of T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TREC) within peripheral T cell populations provides insight into the frequency of recent thymic emigrants (RTE) and, therefore, into thymic function. However, measurement of RTE by this approach is complicated by the fact that TREC levels also are determined by turnover within the naive T cell compartment. Here, we report a phenotypic approach to RTE measurement. We demonstrate that alphaE integrin (CD103) expression is up-regulated very late in thymic development on a subset of CD8(+)/CD4(-) thymocytes and also defines a distinct subset of naive CD8(+) T cells in the periphery. The latter subset is differentiated from circulating CD103(+) mucosa-associated memory T cells by its naive T cell phenotype (CD45RO(-), CD62L(bright), CD27(bright), CD11a(dim), CD95(dim)) and its high concentration of TREC. Indeed, sorted CD103(+) naive CD8(+) cells display higher levels of TREC than their CD103(-) naive counterparts, and these cells demonstrate an age-related decline in frequency that is enhanced significantly by thymectomy. The thymic dependence of this subset and the cells' relatively evanescent presence in the periphery suggest that these cells are a population of RTE and that quantification of their frequency in peripheral blood provides an estimate of the level of ongoing thymopoiesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- R D McFarland
- Division of Hematopathology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235, USA
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22
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Sodora DL, Douek DC, Silvestri G, Montgomery L, Rosenzweig M, Igarashi T, Bernacky B, Johnson RP, Feinberg MB, Martin MA, Koup RA. Quantification of thymic function by measuring T cell receptor excision circles within peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues in monkeys. Eur J Immunol 2000; 30:1145-53. [PMID: 10760804 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1521-4141(200004)30:4<1145::aid-immu1145>3.0.co;2-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The thymus is the primary organ responsible for the production of mature TCR alpha / beta T cells. Quantification of a DNA excision circle that is produced during TCR rearrangement, termed a signal joint TCR rearrangement excision circle (sjTREC) can be used as a measure of thymic function. Here sjTREC measurement has been applied to two monkey species used as animal models of human disease, rhesus macaques (Asian origin) and sooty mangabeys (African origin). Initial PCR analysis determined that the TCR deltaRec-PsiJalpha rearrangement leading to sjTREC formation occurs in both species. Primers to a DNA sequence conserved in macaques, mangabeys and humans were used in a quantitative competitive PCR assay to quantify sjTREC. We found that as in humans, sjTREC in these two monkey species decline with age. sjTREC are first generated in thymocytes during the early stages of TCR rearrangement. Lymph node CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells contain more sjTREC than peripheral blood T cell populations, suggesting that recent thymic emigrants home to the lymphoid tissues. The sjTREC level is significantly higher within the peripheral blood CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells of mangabeys compared to macaques. Removal of the thymus in four macaques led to a profound decrease in peripheral blood sjTREC level by 1 year post-thymectomy, indicating the lack of a significant extra-thymic source of peripheral naive T cells in macaques. Our results indicate that production, trafficking, and proliferation of recent thymic emigrants in these two monkey species represents a useful animal model system for understanding human immunological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Sodora
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9113, USA.
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23
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Douek DC, Koup RA, McFarland RD, Sullivan JL, Luzuriaga K. Effect of HIV on thymic function before and after antiretroviral therapy in children. J Infect Dis 2000; 181:1479-82. [PMID: 10762580 DOI: 10.1086/315398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/1999] [Revised: 12/09/1999] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies were undertaken to investigate the role of the thymus in T cell reconstitution in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children treated with antiretroviral therapy. Nine pediatric patients who acquired HIV perinatally were treated with multidrug combinations of antiretroviral agents. Plasma virus load and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets were measured, and thymus function was measured by quantifying T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles in peripheral blood. Patients with virus loads remaining >400 RNA copies/mL plasma were classified as virologic nonresponders. Thymus function was initially decreased in all subjects. After antiretrovirus therapy, peripheral CD4+ T cells increased in all subjects. Thymus function was restored in 4 of 5 virologic responders but in only 1 of 4 virologic nonresponders. This suggests that HIV has an adverse effect upon thymic function in pediatric HIV infection. Potent antiretroviral therapy restores thymic function but is affected by the degree to which virus suppression is achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Department of Internal Medicine and Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235-9113, USA.
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24
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Markert ML, Hicks CB, Bartlett JA, Harmon JL, Hale LP, Greenberg ML, Ferrari G, Ottinger J, Boeck A, Kloster AL, McLaughlin TM, Bleich KB, Ungerleider RM, Lyerly HK, Wilkinson WE, Rousseau FS, Heath-Chiozzi ME, Leonard JM, Haase AT, Shaw GM, Bucy RP, Douek DC, Koup RA, Haynes BF, Bolognesi DP, Weinhold KJ. Effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy and thymic transplantation on immunoreconstitution in HIV infection. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2000; 16:403-13. [PMID: 10772526 DOI: 10.1089/088922200309061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether thymic transplantation in addition to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) will restore T cell function in HIV infection. Eight treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with CD4+ T cell counts of 200-500/mm3 were randomized into thymic transplantation and control arms. All patients received HAART (zidovudine, lamivudine, and ritonavir) for 6 weeks prior to transplantation. Thymic transplantation was done without immunosuppression, using postnatal HLA-unmatched cultured allogeneic thymus tissue. Patients were immunized every 6 months with the neoantigen keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and the recall antigen tetanus toxoid (TT). T cell phenotype and function and T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) were assessed. Thymic allografts were biopsied at 2 months. Six HIV-infected patients completed the study. Four patients received cultured allogeneic postnatal thymic grafts, two others were controls. CD4+ T cell counts increased and T cell-proliferative responses to Candida antigen and TT normalized in all patients. Proliferative responses to KLH developed in three of four transplant recipients and one of two controls. Patients responding to KLH after secondary immunization had greater TREC increases compared with the patients who did not respond. All thymic allografts were rejected within 2 months. In summary, four of six patients developed T cell-proliferative responses to the neoantigen KLH over the first 2 years of HAART. The transplanted thymus tissue, however, was rejected. There was no clear difference in restoration of T cell function in the transplant recipients compared with the controls. Increases in TRECs after initiation of HAART may correlate with improved immune function.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Markert
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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25
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Abstract
The thymus represents the major site of lymphopoiesis of T-cell receptor (TCR) alphabeta T-cells. Age-related involution may affect its potential to reconstitute T-cells that are lost during HIV infection, chemotherapy, and bone marrow transplantation. However, there is mounting evidence that the age-related changes in the thymus are quantitative, not qualitative, and recent data suggest that the adult thymus can indeed contribute to T-cell reconstitution. Using newer methods to assess thymic function, it can be shown that the increases in naïve T-cell numbers in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy for AIDS are largely derived from the thymus. This provides direct evidence for the functional capacity of the adult thymus.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Departments of Internal Medicine and Microbiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75235-9113, USA
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26
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Sempowski GD, Hale LP, Sundy JS, Massey JM, Koup RA, Douek DC, Patel DD, Haynes BF. Leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M, IL-6, and stem cell factor mRNA expression in human thymus increases with age and is associated with thymic atrophy. J Immunol 2000; 164:2180-7. [PMID: 10657672 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.164.4.2180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 199] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The roles that thymus cytokines might play in regulating thymic atrophy are not known. Reversing thymic atrophy is important for immune reconstitution in adults. We have studied cytokine mRNA steady-state levels in 45 normal human (aged 3 days to 78 years) and 34 myasthenia gravis thymuses (aged 4 to 75 years) during aging, and correlated cytokine mRNA levels with thymic signal joint (sj) TCR delta excision circle (TREC) levels, a molecular marker for active thymopoiesis. LIF, oncostatin M (OSM), IL-6, M-CSF, and stem cell factor (SCF) mRNA were elevated in normal and myasthenia gravis-aged thymuses, and correlated with decreased levels of thymopoiesis, as determined by either decreased keratin-positive thymic epithelial space or decreased thymic sjTRECs. IL-7 is a key cytokine required during the early stages of thymocyte development. Interestingly, IL-7 mRNA expression did not fall with aging in either normal or myasthenia gravis thymuses. In vivo administration of LIF, OSM, IL-6, or SCF, but not M-CSF, i.p. to mice over 3 days induced thymic atrophy with loss of CD4+, CD8+ cortical thymocytes. Taken together, these data suggest a role for thymic cytokines in the process of thymic atrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- G D Sempowski
- Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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27
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Abstract
Relatively little is known of the details of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) expression and thymocyte selection in human thymus. In both humans and mice major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules have been described which show a highly restricted thymic expression. Such patterns may offer clues about cellular interactions in thymic selection because transgenic mice with MHC expression targeted to specific thymic sites show altered T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire selection. We have analysed human thymic HLA class II expression, relating the expression pattern to sites of thymocyte apoptosis. While HLA-DQ is poorly expressed by most peripheral antigen-presenting cells (APC), thymus stains strongly for HLA-DQ as well as for HLA-DR. HLA-DM is abundant in medulla but weakly expressed by cortical cells. Class II expression in Hassall's corpuscles (HC) is unusual in several respects: we have previously shown them to be encircled by HLA-DO+ epithelial cells and here further demonstrate that HC are negative for HLA-DR and HLA-DP, but often positive for HLA-DQ and HLA-DM. Transcriptional control of HLA class II products at this site is thus unlike cells that have previously been studied. Apoptotic thymocytes are restricted to the cortex and the corticomedullary junction. However, a minority of apoptotic cells are visible in the medulla, these being found in the HLA-DQ positive HC. The apoptotic thymocytes in HC can be CD4+ single positive (SP), CD8+ SP or CD4+CD8+ double-positive (DP). This study thus shows that the HC within human thymic medulla are noteworthy both for their unusual hierarchy of HLA class II expression and because they are the only medullary site of thymocyte apoptosis. We propose that HC are a site at which mature thymocytes receive activation/tolerization signals from peptides reprocessed from apoptotic cells. The differential HLA transcriptional control at this site may indicate that specific T-cell subpopulations are affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Transplantation Biology Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
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28
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Markert ML, Boeck A, Hale LP, Kloster AL, McLaughlin TM, Batchvarova MN, Douek DC, Koup RA, Kostyu DD, Ward FE, Rice HE, Mahaffey SM, Schiff SE, Buckley RH, Haynes BF. Transplantation of thymus tissue in complete DiGeorge syndrome. N Engl J Med 1999; 341:1180-9. [PMID: 10523153 DOI: 10.1056/nejm199910143411603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The DiGeorge syndrome is a congenital disorder that affects the heart, parathyroid glands, and thymus. In complete DiGeorge syndrome, patients have severely reduced T-cell function. METHODS We treated five infants (age, one to four months) with complete DiGeorge syndrome by transplantation of cultured postnatal thymus tissue. Follow-up evaluations included immune phenotyping and proliferative studies of peripheral-blood mononuclear cells plus biopsy of the thymus allograft. Thymic production of new T cells was assessed in peripheral blood by tests for T-cell-receptor recombination excision circles, which are formed from excised DNA during the rearrangement of T-cell-receptor genes. RESULTS After the transplantation of thymus tissue, T-cell proliferative responses to mitogens developed in four of the five patients. Two of the patients survived with restoration of immune function; three patients died from infection or abnormalities unrelated to transplantation. Biopsies of grafted thymus in the surviving patients showed normal morphologic features and active T-cell production. In three patients, donor T cells could be detected about four weeks after transplantation, although there was no evidence of graft-versus-host disease on biopsy or at autopsy. In one patient, the T-cell development within the graft was demonstrated to accompany the appearance of recently developed T cells in the periphery and coincided with the onset of normal T-cell function. In one patient, there was evidence of thymus function and CD45RA+CD62L+ T cells more than five years after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS In some infants with profound immunodeficiency and complete DiGeorge syndrome, the transplantation of thymus tissue can restore normal immune function. Early thymus transplantation - before the development of infectious complications - may promote successful immune reconstitution.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Markert
- Department of Pediatrics, Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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29
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Abstract
Reconstituting the immune response will be critical for the survival of HIV-infected individuals once viral load is brought under control. While the adult thymus was previously thought to be relatively inactive, new data suggest it may play a role in T cell reconstitution. We examined thymopoiesis in adults up to 56 years of age and found active T cell receptor (TCR) rearrangement, generating a diverse TCR Vbeta repertoire. The resulting thymocytes are functional and are capable of responding to costimulatory signals. These data demonstrate that the adult thymus remains active late in life and contributes functional T cells to the peripheral lymphoid pool.
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Affiliation(s)
- B D Jamieson
- Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, California 90095-1678, USA.
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30
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Douek DC, McFarland RD, Keiser PH, Gage EA, Massey JM, Haynes BF, Polis MA, Haase AT, Feinberg MB, Sullivan JL, Jamieson BD, Zack JA, Picker LJ, Koup RA. Changes in thymic function with age and during the treatment of HIV infection. Nature 1998; 396:690-5. [PMID: 9872319 DOI: 10.1038/25374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1363] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The thymus represents the major site of the production and generation of T cells expressing alphabeta-type T-cell antigen receptors. Age-related involution may affect the ability of the thymus to reconstitute T cells expressing CD4 cell-surface antigens that are lost during HIV infection; this effect has been seen after chemotherapy and bone-marrow transplantation. Adult HIV-infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) show a progressive increase in their number of naive CD4-positive T cells. These cells could arise through expansion of existing naive T cells in the periphery or through thymic production of new naive T cells. Here we quantify thymic output by measuring the excisional DNA products of TCR-gene rearrangement. We find that, although thymic function declines with age, substantial output is maintained into late adulthood. HIV infection leads to a decrease in thymic function that can be measured in the peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues. In adults treated with HAART, there is a rapid and sustained increase in thymic output in most subjects. These results indicate that the adult thymus can contribute to immune reconstitution following HAART.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Department of Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235, USA
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31
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Boyton RJ, Lohmann T, Londei M, Kalbacher H, Halder T, Frater AJ, Douek DC, Leslie DG, Flavell RA, Altmann DM. Glutamic acid decarboxylase T lymphocyte responses associated with susceptibility or resistance to type I diabetes: analysis in disease discordant human twins, non-obese diabetic mice and HLA-DQ transgenic mice. Int Immunol 1998; 10:1765-76. [PMID: 9885897 DOI: 10.1093/intimm/10.12.1765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) has been implicated as a targeted self antigen in the immune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. T cell responses to GAD65 peptides have been detected in both patients with type I diabetes and in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse. To establish which GAD65 epitopes are important in the immunopathogenesis of disease we initially compared T cell responses to GAD65 epitopes in conditions of disease susceptibility and protection. T cell responses to GAD65 peptides were measured in monozygotic twin pairs selected on the basis of disease discordance and T cell recognition of immunogenic regions of GAD65. Peptides of interest were then used to immunize susceptible NOD mice and H2-E transgenic NOD mice which are protected from diabetes. A differential response to the epitope GAD65 521-535 discriminated diabetic from non-diabetic human twins as well as susceptible from protected mice. This epitope as well as GAD 505-519 induces T cell responses despite binding the type I diabetes associated HLA-DQA1*0301/DQB1*0302 product with low affinity. Since DQ-restricted T cell responses are difficult to study in humans, HLA-DQ8 transgenic mice were then used: GAD epitopes 521-535 and 505-519 induced responses in DQ8 transgenic mice and T cell lines were established. Long-term T cell lines against GAD 505-519 were HLA-DQ restricted, and responded to peptide with a strong IFN-gamma and IL-10 response. The findings implicate GAD 521-535 as a possible target peptide in pathogenesis and are compatible with a model whereby self-reactive T cells specific for low-affinity peptide-MHC complexes may escape thymic negative selection.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Cells, Cultured
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/enzymology
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/genetics
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/immunology
- Diseases in Twins
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/metabolism
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Glutamate Decarboxylase/immunology
- Glutamate Decarboxylase/metabolism
- HLA-DQ Antigens/genetics
- HLA-DQ Antigens/immunology
- Humans
- Immunity, Innate
- Immunodominant Epitopes/immunology
- Immunodominant Epitopes/metabolism
- Lymphocyte Activation/immunology
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Inbred NOD
- Mice, Transgenic
- Middle Aged
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Peptide Fragments/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/enzymology
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Boyton
- Transplantation Biology Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
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32
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Watts PM, Riedl AG, Douek DC, Edwards RJ, Boobis AR, Jenner P, Marsden CD. Co-localization of P450 enzymes in the rat substantia nigra with tyrosine hydroxylase. Neuroscience 1998; 86:511-9. [PMID: 9881865 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(97)00649-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Susceptibility to develop Parkinson's disease has been linked to abnormalities of P450 enzyme function. Multiple P450 enzymes are expressed in brain but the relationship of these to Parkinson's disease is unknown. We have investigated the expression of P450 enzymes in the rat substantia nigra and their co-localization in tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons and astrocytes. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-peptide antisera against the following P450 enzymes: CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2B1/2, CYP2C12, CYP2C13/2C6, CYP2D1, CYP2D4, CYP2E1, CYP3A1, CYP3A2 and NADPH-P450 oxidoreductase. Immunoreactivity in nigral cells was found only for CYP2E1 and CYP2C13/2C6. CYP2E1 immunoreactivity was localized to many midbrain nuclei including the substantia nigra pars compacta but not the substantia nigra pars reticulata while immunoreactivity to CYP2C13/2C6 was found in the substantia nigra pars compacta, substantia nigra pars reticulata and many other midbrain nuclei. Sections of rat midbrain double labelled for either CYP2E1 or CYP2C13/2C6 and tyrosine hydroxylase or glial fibrillary acidic protein were examined for co-localization by confocal laser scanning microscopy. CYP2E1 and CYP2C13/2C6 immunoreactivity was found in tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta but not in glial cells. CYP2C13/2C6, but not CYP2E1, was also found in non-glial, non-tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing cells in the substantia nigra pars reticulata. Isoniazid induction increased CYP2E1 fluorescence signal intensity from nigral dopaminergic neurons. At least two P450 enzymes are found in nigral dopamine containing cells and one, namely CYP2E1, is selectively localized to this cell population. CYP2E1 is a potent generator of free radicals which may contribute to nigral pathology in Parkinson's disease. The expression of CYP2E1 in dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra raises the possibility of a causal association with Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- P M Watts
- Neurodegenerative Disease Research Centre, Biomedical Sciences Division, King's College, London, UK
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33
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Abstract
The status of the HLA-DNA and -DOB genes in the HLA class II region has remained unclear for several years. Weak mRNA transcripts from each locus can be detected in B cells and some other cell types, but the issues of whether proteins are generated and, if so, whether they acquire partner chains to form class II heterodimers have not been resolved. The products of the homologous murine genes pair with each other to form the H-20 heterodimer. We now report that the products of HLA-DNA and -DOB are expressed as a heterodimer in humans, HLA-DO. It is expressed in various class II-positive cells including dendritic cells. The heterodimer associates with invariant chain and has a relatively short half-life. Its subcellular distribution differs from HLA-DR such that it is not expressed at the cell surface although it is found in some DR-containing compartments, suggesting a role at the intracellular stage of class II function. In the thymus, subpopulations of cells in both cortex and medulla, including HLA-DR+ and DR- cells, are HLA-DO+. Hassall's corpuscles, a medullary site of thymocyte death, are ringed by HLA-DO+ epithelium. This unusual pattern of expression may suggest a specialized role for HLA-DO in the thymus.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- Transplantation Biology Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
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34
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Morel AS, Quaratino S, Douek DC, Londei M. Split activity of interleukin-10 on antigen capture and antigen presentation by human dendritic cells: definition of a maturative step. Eur J Immunol 1997; 27:26-34. [PMID: 9021994 DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830270105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Human CD1+ CD14- dendritic cells (DC) can be derived from CD14+ monocytes using granulocyte/monocyte colony-stimulating factor and interleukin (IL)-4. We have previously shown that IL-10 pre-treatment of such DC significantly inhibited their antigen-presenting capacity to CD4+ T cell clones. In this study, we further analyze how IL-10 influences antigen presentation. We first investigated whether IL-10 could alter the early stage of antigen presentation, the capture of antigen. This can be mediated by mannose receptor (MR)-mediated endocytosis and by fluid-phase uptake through macropinocytosis. IL-10-treated DC showed an enhancement of both mechanisms of antigen capture, as indicated by the increase of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran uptake through MR and lucifer yellow uptake. However, IL-10-treated DC, irradiated or glutaraldehyde-fixed, were less efficient than untreated DC in stimulating mixed leukocyte reaction as well as in inducing the activation of peptide-specific T cell clones, indicating that IL-10 achieves its effects mainly by modifying the cell surface phenotype of DC. HLA class I and II, as well as intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-3, B7-1, B7-2 and ICAM-3 expression were either significantly increased or essentially unchanged, and the ability to bind the epitope recognized by the T cell clones was also unaffected regardless of IL-10 treatment. Our study also indicates that as-yet unidentified accessory molecules may play an essential role in T cell activation. Thus, the IL-10-treated DC possess an increased capacity to capture antigen, with a concomitant decreased stimulatory activity. Our study suggests that IL-10-treated DC have the characteristics of highly immature DC (high capture ability, low stimulatory potency) and may represent an early maturative step of human DC of monocytic origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Morel
- The Mathilda & Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Sunley Division, London, GB
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35
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Abstract
T cells of the gamma delta subset have been found to localise to demyelinated lesions in both multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of both diseases. We have assessed mice carrying a targeted mutation of the T cell receptor-alpha locus which consequently lack T cell receptor (TCR) alpha beta cells but have an intact gamma delta(+)-T cell population for their susceptibility to EAE. No disease was found in any of the mutant mice, nor was any infiltration of the CNS detected. These data show that, at least in the absence of TCR-alpha beta cells. TCR-gamma delta cells are not able to elicit the pathology associated with EAE.
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Affiliation(s)
- J I Elliott
- Section of Transplantation Biology, Clinical Research Centre, R.P.M.S., Hummersmith Hospital, London, UK
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36
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Douek DC, Corley KT, Zal T, Mellor A, Dyson PJ, Altmann DM. Negative selection by endogenous antigen and superantigen occurs at multiple thymic sites. Int Immunol 1996; 8:1413-20. [PMID: 8921419 DOI: 10.1093/intimm/8.9.1413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The site of negative selection in the thymus has been inferred from a range of different experiments. Analysis of thymic deletion of V beta 5+, V beta 11+ or V beta 17a+ cells in H-2E transgenic mice led to the theory that negative selection occurs predominantly in the medulla (specifically, through presentation by medullary dendritic cells). Other experiments investigated whether transgenic TCR are deleted at the double-positive (DP) or single-positive stage following encounter with peptide ligand: by flow cytometric analysis deletion is generally found to occur at the DP thymocyte stage and as these cells are found predominantly in the cortex, it has been inferred that this is the key site of negative selection. The visualization of apoptotic thymocytes in situ has recently been reported for specific examples of negative selection. Using a panel of TCR transgenic lines in which negative selection occurs at different stages of thymocyte development, we have used TUNEL staining to analyse the anatomical sites of thymocyte apoptosis. For the first time we have been able to compare directly the sites of deletion induced by the endogenous cognate peptides or by endogenous superantigen. We show that generalization from the medullary deletion of V beta 5+, V beta 11+ or V beta 17a+ cells by the endogenous superantigens Mtv 8 and 9 from limited examples of cortical deletion by exogenous peptide administered to TCR transgenic mice is over-simplified. Apoptotic thymocytes in mice lacking Mtv superantigens are indeed localized in the cortex. However, when deletion is induced by cognate self peptide, apoptosis can occur in the cortex, the medulla or at the junction between the two.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Douek
- MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
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37
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Birk OS, Douek DC, Elias D, Takacs K, Dewchand H, Gur SL, Walker MD, van der Zee R, Cohen IR, Altmann DM. A role of Hsp60 in autoimmune diabetes: analysis in a transgenic model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1996; 93:1032-7. [PMID: 8577709 PMCID: PMC40025 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.93.3.1032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
A pathogenic role for self-reactive cells against the stress protein Hsp60 has been proposed as one of the events leading to autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells in the diabetes of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. To examine this hypothesis, we generated transgenic NOD mice carrying a murine Hsp60 transgene driven by the H-2E alpha class II promoter. This would be expected to direct expression of the transgene to antigen-presenting cells including those in the thymus and so induce immunological tolerance by deletion. Detailed analysis of Hsp60 expression revealed that the endogenous gene is itself expressed strongly in thymic medullary epithelium (and weakly in cortex) yet fails to induce tolerance. Transgenic mice with retargeted Hsp60 showed overexpression of the gene in thymic cortical epithelium and in bone marrow-derived cells. Analysis of spontaneous T-cell responses to a panel of self and heterologous Hsp60 antigens showed that tolerance to the protein had not been induced, although responses to an immunodominant 437-460 epitope implicated in disease were suppressed, probably indicating an epitope shift. This correlated with changes in disease susceptibility: insulitis in transgenic mice was substantially reduced so that pathology rarely progressed beyond periislet infiltration. This was reflected in a substantial reduction in hyperglycemia and disease. These data indicate that T cells specific for some epitopes of murine Hsp60 are likely to be involved in the islet-cell destruction that occurs in NOD mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- O S Birk
- Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom
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38
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Abstract
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II genes are the strongest susceptibility markers for many human autoimmune diseases. A perplexing aspect of this is that HLA alleles can confer either susceptibility or dominant protection. In nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, the strongest known diabetes susceptibility locus is within the MHC and is presumed to be the H-2Ag7 product. When NOD mice carry a transgenic E alpha d molecule allowing expression of an H-2E heterodimer, diabetes is prevented. We investigated whether, as in human autoimmunity, a single class II heterodimer might protect from some autoimmune diseases while predisposing to others. NOD mice are susceptible to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by the proteolipoprotein (PLP) epitope 56-70. Susceptibility to EAE was analyzed in NOD mice which either have or lack transgenic H-2E expression. We found that H-2E expression in NOD mice has converse effects on diabetes and EAE: while diabetes is prevented, EAE is greatly exacerbated and leads to demyelination. Although PLP 56-70 could be presented both in the context of H-2A and H-2E, increased disease severity in H-2E transgenic mice could not be attributed either to an enhanced T cell proliferative response to PLP or to differences in determinant spread. However, cytokine analysis of the response revealed important differences between NOD mice and their H-2E transgenic counterparts: H-2E expression was associated with reduced interleukin-4 secretion and enhanced interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) secretion by lymph node cells, while the response of central nervous system infiltrating T cells displayed a markedly enhanced IFN-gamma response. Thus, whether a particular class II molecule confers resistance or susceptibility to an autoimmune disease may depend on differential cytokine profiles elicited by particular class II/autoantigen complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Takács
- Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, GB
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39
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Chandler P, Frater AJ, Douek DC, Viney JL, Kay G, Owen MJ, Hayday AC, Simpson E, Altmann DM. Immune responsiveness in mutant mice lacking T-cell receptor alpha beta+ cells. Immunology 1995; 85:531-7. [PMID: 7558145 PMCID: PMC1383779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune responses of mice with T-cell receptor (TCR)gamma delta+ T cells but lacking TCR alpha beta+ cells because of a disruption in the TCR alpha gene, were analysed against alloantigens, soluble protein antigen, killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis and exogenous superantigen. Rejection of skin allografts mismatched for classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plus multiple minor H antigens was virtually abrogated but the presence of mismatched Qa-1 non-classical MHC antigens on donor tissue resulted in a significant proportion of TCR alpha-/- mice rejecting such grafts. In view of the proposed role for gamma delta T cells in mycobacterial responses, and particularly against self- or mycobacterial heat-shock protein HSP 65, we examined these responses in TCR alpha-/- mice. Local responses after immunization were low in lymph nodes and no component of these was directed against mycobacterial HSP 65. However, splenic T cells from mutant mice responded strongly to either purified protein derivative (PPD) or M. tuberculosis. Our findings indicate that TCR alpha-/- mice are selectively compromised: while responses to (undefined) mycobacterial antigens were substantial, responses to some other target antigens such as MHC alloantigens and HSP 65, believed to be preferentially recognized by gamma delta receptors, were poor or absent. However, the fact that the mutant mice more readily rejected allografts that are mismatched for the non-classical MHC antigen Qa-1 in addition to classical MHC and minor-H incompatibility, indicates that in some mice the residual immune response, presumed to be by gamma delta cells, is sufficient to cause skin graft rejection and that recognition of non-classical MHC antigens may play an important part in the response.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Chandler
- MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
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40
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Altmann DM, Douek DC, Frater AJ, Hetherington CM, Inoko H, Elliott JI. The T cell response of HLA-DR transgenic mice to human myelin basic protein and other antigens in the presence and absence of human CD4. J Exp Med 1995; 181:867-75. [PMID: 7532684 PMCID: PMC2191922 DOI: 10.1084/jem.181.3.867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Analysis of HLA class II transgenic mice has progressed in recent years from analysis of single chain HLA class II transgenes with expression of mixed mouse/human heterodimers to double transgenic mice expressing normal human heterodimers. Previous studies have used either HLA transgenic mice in which there is a species-matched interaction with CD4 or mice which lack this interaction. Since both systems are reported to generate HLA-restricted responses, the matter of the requirement for species-matched CD4 remains unclear. We have generated triple transgenic mice expressing three human transgenes, DRA, DRB, and CD4, and compared HLA-restricted responses to peptide between human-CD4+ (Hu-CD4+) and Hu-CD4- littermates. We saw no difference between Hu-CD4+ and Hu-CD4- groups, supporting the notion that for some responses at least the requirement for species-matched CD4 may not be absolute. Evidence for positive selection of mouse T cell receptors in HLA-DR transgenic mice came both from the acquisition of new, HLA-restricted responses to various peptides and from an increased frequency of T cells using the TCR V beta 4 gene segment. An important goal with respect to the analysis of function in HLA transgenic mice is the clarification of mechanisms which underpin the recognition of self-antigens in human autoimmune disease. As a first step towards 'humanized' disease models in HLA transgenic mice, we analyzed the responses of HLA-DR transgenic mice to the human MPB 139-154 peptide which has been implicated as an epitope recognized by T cells of multiple sclerosis patients. We obtained T cell responses to this epitope in transgenic mice but not in nontransgenic controls. This study suggests that HLA transgenic mice will be valuable in the analysis of HLA-restricted T cell epitopes implicated in human disease and possibly in the design of new disease models.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Altmann
- MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom
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41
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Altmann DM, Lider O, Douek DC, Cohen IR. Activation of specific T cell lines by the antigens avidin and myelin basic protein in the absence of antigen-presenting cells. Eur J Immunol 1987; 17:1635-40. [PMID: 2445586 DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830171117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated the specific activation by soluble antigen of rat or mouse long-term T helper cell lines using antigen-presenting cell (APC)-free culture conditions. Some T cell lines specific for avidin or myelin basic protein responded to native antigen in the absence of added APC. Responses in the absence of APC were substantial and specific although, as would be expected, lower than in the presence of APC. Proliferation could not be inhibited by culture with anti-Ia antibodies and the ability of lines to respond to antigen in the absence of APC did not correlate with the endogeneous surface Ia expression of the lines. Furthermore, irradiated T cells were unable to act as presenting cells for lines cells of the same or a different specificity. This suggests that the T cells did not present antigen to each other, and demonstrates, along with other data shown, that activation cannot be attributed to undetected APC remaining in the cultures. Anti-avidin T cell lines differed markedly in their ability to respond to avidin in the absence of added APC.S2, an anti-avidin line of H-2s genotype consistently responded well to avidin seen in the absence of added APC; K2, an H-2k anti-avidin line, responded moderately and B3, and H-2b anti-avidin line, although the most prolific responder in the presence of APC, never responded to antigen in their absence. Z1a, a Lewis rat-derived T cell line specific for myelin basic protein, proliferated well in response to the antigen in the absence of added APC. The present findings demonstrate that some T cells can recognize and respond to native antigens without the mediation of specialized APC.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Altmann
- Department of Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot
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