The piglet as a model for B cell and immune system development

The ability to identify factors responsible for disease in all species depends on the ability to separate those factors which are environmental from those that are intrinsic. This is particularly important for studies on the development of the adaptive immune response of neonates. Studies on laboratory rodents or primates have been ambiguous because neither the effect of environmental nor maternal factors on the newborn can be controlled in mammals that: (i) transmit potential maternal immunoregulatory factors in utero and (ii) are altricial and cannot be reared after birth without their mothers. Employing the newborn piglet model can address each of these concerns. However, it comes at the price of having first to characterize the immune system of swine and its development. This review focuses on the porcine B cell system, especially on the methods used for its characterization in fetal studies and neonatal piglets. Understanding these procedures is important in the interpretation of the data obtained. Studies on neonatal piglets have (a) provided valuable information on the development of the adaptive immune system, (b) lead to important advances in evolutionary biology, (c) aided our understanding of passive immunity and (d) provided opportunities to use swine to address specific issues in veterinary and biomedical research and immunotherapy. This review summarizes the history of the development of the piglet as a model for antibody repertoire development, thus providing a framework to guide future investigators.

Immunoglobulins, antibody repertoire and B cell development

Swine share with most placental mammals the same five antibody isotypes and same two light chain types. Loci encoding lambda, kappa and Ig heavy chains appear to be organized as they are in other mammals. Swine differ from rodents and primates, but are similar to rabbits in using a single VH family (VH3) to encode their variable heavy chain domain, but not the family used by cattle, another artiodactyl. Distinct from other hoofed mammals and rodents, Ckappa:Clambda usage resembles the 1:1 ratio seen in primates. Since IgG subclasses diversified after speciation, same name subclass homologs do not exist among swine and other mammals unless very closely related. Swine possess six putative IgG subclasses that appear to have diversified by gene duplication and exon shuffle while retaining motifs that can bind to FcgammaRs, FcRn, C1q, protein A and protein G. The epithelial chorial placenta of swine and the precosial nature of their offspring have made piglets excellent models for studies on fetal antibody repertoire development and on the postnatal role of gut colonization, maternal colostrum and neonatal infection on the development of adaptive immunity during the "critical window" of immunological development. This chapter traces the study of the humoral immune system of this species through its various eras of discovery and compiles the results in tables and figures that should be a useful reference for educators and investigators.

Early development of immune system in pigs

Prenatal and early postnatal immune system development has been studied in minipigs. First leukocytes were observed in the yolk sac and fetal liver (FL) on the 17th day of gestation, the majority of them being SWC3(+). The colonization of the thymus (TH) with leukocytes was observed 21 days later. Two waves of fetal TH colonization with pro-T cells were deduced from the frequency of thymocyte subsets. Thymic B cells and immunoglobulin-secreting cells (Ig-SC) were studied by flow cytometry and ELISPOT, respectively. When the total numbers of fetal Ig-SC were compared, the TH was identified as the main source of natural antibodies and the only site of IgA and IgG synthesis. In germ-free animals, the TH also represented the major site of IgG and IgA production and the number of Ig-SC was not influenced by colonization with microflora. FL and bone marrow were identified as primary B lymphopoietic sites. The phenotype of B precursors was characterized and pre-B II cells were shown to be the dominant mononuclear fraction between DG50 and DG105. In the periphery, relative proportions of lymphocyte subsets were determined. Studies in gnotobiotic piglets have revealed that the appearance of CD4(+)CD8(+) T cells and CD2(-) B cells is absolutely dependent on the contact of immune system with live viruses and bacteria, respectively.

Overview of the Third International Workshop on Swine Leukocyte Differentiation Antigens

The aim of the Third International Workshop on Swine Leukocyte Differentiation Antigens (CD workshop), supported by the Veterinary Immunology Committee (VIC) of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS), was to standardize the assignment of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) reactive with porcine leukocyte differentiation antigens and to define new antibody clusters, using nomenclature in accordance with human and ruminant CD nomenclature, as agreed at the summary meeting of the Second International Swine CD Workshop in Davis, 1995: only mAb with proven reactivity for the orthologous porcine gene product or cross-reactivity for the human gene products, were given the full CD nomenclature, all other allocations were prefixed with "w". As in previous workshops, the overall organization was entrusted to the chair and first author, with support by the chair of the previous workshop and second author. In addition to the existing 26 pig leukocyte CD/SWC determinants established in previous workshops, this workshop established/confirmed another 11 CDs for pig leukocytes, identified by a total of 21 mAb: CD11R1 (2 mAb), CD11R2 (1 mAb), CD11R3 (4 mAb), wCD40 (1 mAb), wCD46 (4 mAb), wCD47 (3 mAb), wCD49d (1 mAb), CD61 (1 mAb), wCD92 (1 mAb), wCD93 (1 mAb) and CD163 (2 mAb).

Monoclonal antibodies putatively recognising activation and differentiation antigens

In the activation/maturation section, 46 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were analysed using freshly isolated as well as mitogen activated and recall antigen re-stimulated cells. A total of 10 internal standards as well as 6 antibodies with established reactivity for human cells, reported to cross-react with porcine leukocytes, were included in the panel. The standard antibodies were anti-CD25, CD44, CD45, SLA II, SWC1, SWC2, SWC7 and SWC8 reagents. The test panel contained antibodies with putative reactivity to CD25, SLA II and other mAbs directed against ill-defined targets. Single and double colour surface staining was performed in the attempt to group the mAbs tested into clusters of differentiation. Five new anti-class II reagents, two directed to SLA-DQ and three to SLA-DR, could be added to the previously established ones. One new anti-CD25 as well as two new antibodies with SWC7 and SWC8 specificities, respectively, could also be added to the previously established ones. The identity of the two latter antibodies was also confirmed in other sections of this workshop (B-cell section for SWC7 antibodies and myeloid section for the SWC8 antibodies). The antibody JM2F12, in our hands, has shown strong similarities to the cross-reactive anti human-CD49f reagent. No other clusters were identified, as all remaining antibodies behaved in a different way on different target leukocyte populations. The second purpose of the section was fulfilled: interesting staining profiles of several antibodies on differentiating lymphocytes were recorded and are discussed here.

Humoral and cellular immune responses in gluten-treated suckling or hand-fed rats

We analyzed the immune response to gliadin in suckling rats and rats hand-fed with an artificial milk formula, an animal model of gluten enteropathy. Animals of both groups were intragastrically given either gliadin or albumin (control animals) or gliadin from birth till day 55. When compared to the controls, spleen lymphocytes from both groups of gliadin-treated rats cultivated in vitro exhibited a significant increase of spontaneous 3H-thymidine incorporation. Moreover, the proliferation of spleen and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymhocytes from both groups of gliadin-treated suckling and hand-fed rats was specifically increased by the in vitro gliadin challenge. Spleen B cells from gliadin-treated rats spontaneously produced higher amounts of gliadin-specific antibodies than those from the controls, however, in vitro stimulation by gliadin caused no further increase in antibody production. Apoptotic DNA fragmentation in MLN cells was higher in gliadin-treated rats than in albumin-treated ones, independently of the milk diet during the suckling period.

Antibody repertoire development in fetal and neonatal piglets. II. Characterization of heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 diversity in the developing fetus

Since the actual combinatorial diversity in the V(H) repertoire in fetal piglets represents <1% of the potential in mice and humans, we wondered whether 1) complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) diversity was also restricted; 2) CDR3 diversity changed with fetal age; and 3) to what extent CDR3 contributed to the preimmune VDJ repertoire. CDR3 spectratyping and sequence analyses of 213 CDR3s recovered from >30 fetal animals of different ages showed that >95% of VDJ diversity resulted from junctional diversity. Unlike sheep and cattle, somatic hypermutation does not contribute to the repertoire. These studies also revealed that 1) N region additions are as extensive in VDJ rearrangements recovered at 30 days as those in late term fetuses, suggesting that TdT is fully active at the onset of VDJ rearrangement; 2) nearly 90% of all rearrangement are in-frame until late gestation; 3) the oligoclonal CDR3 spectratype of 30-day fetal liver becomes polyclonal by 50 days, while this change occurs much later in spleen; 4) there is little evidence of individual variation in CDR3 spectratype or differences in spectratype among lymphoid tissues with the exception of the thymus; and 4) there is a tendency for usage of the most J(H) proximal D(H) segment (D(H)B) to decrease in older fetuses and for the longer D(H) segment to be trimmed to the same length as the shorter D(H) when used in CDR3. These findings suggest that in the fetal piglet, highly restricted combinatorial diversity and the lack of somatic mutation are compensated by early onset of TdT activity and other mechanisms that contribute to CDR3 junctional diversity.

Antibody repertoire development in fetal and neonatal piglets. V. VDJ gene chimeras resembling gene conversion products are generated at high frequency by PCR in vitro

The recovery of VDJ rearrangement is most often accomplished by PCR amplification of DNA extracted from mixtures of B-cells. Using this procedure in swine, VDJs containing chimeric V(H) genes that resemble gene-conversion products, are frequently encountered. To examine whether these chimeras could be the result of PCR artifacts, we used different combinations of swine VDJ templates, each having unique CDR1, CDR2 and D(H) segments, to generate >2600 clones. Using equal amounts of two templates and 30 cycles of PCR, up to 45% of the resultant clones were VDJ chimeras. The frequency of chimeras was independent of the specific VDJ template and the chimeras were generated regardless of whether Taq-, Pfu- or mixtures of Taq- and Pfu-polymerases were employed or whether PCR extension time was prolonged six-fold. The frequency of generating chimeras was dependent on the ratio of the two target DNAs although even ratios approximately 1:10 generated approximately 10% chimeric VDJs. Chimeras could be generated using only 10 cycles of PCR or using the initial template DNAs diluted as much as 1:10000. Of the 279 chimeric VDJs generated, 61% of the crossovers occurred in FR3, 21% in FR2 and 18% in both FR2 and FR3. We interpret these results to mean that in vivo gene conversion in this species can only be unambiguously proven when the VDJs from individual B-cells are bearing a single VDJ rearrangement amplified and sequenced or when VDJs are cloned without the use of PCR.

Early ontogeny of thymocytes in pigs: sequential colonization of the thymus by T cell progenitors

Successive colonization of the thymus by waves of thymocyte progenitors has been described in chicken-quail chimeras and suggested from studies in mice. In swine, we show that the first CD3epsilon-bearing thymocytes appear on day 40 of gestation (DG40). These early thymocytes were CD3epsilonhigh and belonged to the gammadelta T cell lineage. Mature CD3epsilonhigh alphabeta thymocytes were observed 15 days later (DG55), and their occurrence was preceded by the appearance of CD3epsilonlow thymocytes (DG45). Thereafter, we observed transient changes in thymocyte subset composition (DG56-DG74), which can be explained by a gap in pro-T cell delivery to the thymus. This delivery gap corresponds with the expression of the pan-leukocyte CD45 and pan-myelomonocytic SWC3a markers in fetal liver and bone marrow and is probably caused by shifting of primary lymphopoiesis between these organs. Therefore, we conclude that the embryonic thymus is colonized by at least two successive waves of hemopoietic progenitors during embryogenesis and that the influx of thymocyte progenitors is discontinuous. Surface immunophenotyping and cell cycle analysis of thymocyte subsets allowed us to compare thymocyte differentiation in pigs with that described for rodents and humans and to propose a model for T cell lymphopoiesis in swine. We also observed that the porcine IL-2Ralpha (CD25), a typical differentiation marker of pre-T cells in mice and humans, was not expressed on thymocyte precursors in pigs and could only be found on mature thymocytes. Finally, we observed a subset of TCRgammadelta+ thymocytes that were cycling late during their development in the thymus.

Early ontogeny of monocytes and macrophages in the pig

Prenatal development of cord blood monocytes and tissue macrophages was studied in pig foetuses by immunophenotyping and functional assays. The function of peripheral blood monocytes was compared in germ-free and conventional piglets. First macrophages were identified by electron microscopy in foetal liver on the 25th day of gestation. Monoclonal antibodies against porcine CD45 and SWC3 antigens were used for flow cytometric identification of myelomonocytic cells in cell suspensions prepared from the yolk sac, foetal liver, spleen and cord blood. Leukocytes expressing the common myelomonocytic antigen SWC3 were found in all organs studied since the earliest stages of development. Opsonized zymosan ingestion assay was used to determine the phagocytic capacity of foetal mononuclear phagocytes isolated from cord blood, liver and spleen. In the foetal liver, avid phagocytosis of apoptic cells had been found to occur before cells were able to ingest zymosan in vitro. The first cells capable of ingesting zymosan particles were found on the 40th day of gestation in umbilical blood and 17 days later in foetal spleen and liver. Their relative proportion increased with age. Cord blood monocytes and peripheral blood monocytes in germ-free piglets had low oxidatory burst activity as shown by iodonitrophenyl tetrazolium reduction assay. A remarkable increase of oxidatory burst activity was observed in conventional piglets, probably due to activation of immune mechanisms by the microflora colonizing gastrointestinal tract.

Prenatal ontogeny of lymphocyte subpopulations in pigs

Although porcine lymphocytes have been classified into numerous subpopulations in postnatal animals, little is known about the ontogeny of these complex cell subsets. Using double- and triple-colour flow cytometry (FCM), we investigated the surface phenotype of fetal lymphoid cells in the thymus, cord blood, spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes at different stages of gestation. It was found that the major lymphocyte subpopulations started to appear at the beginning of the second third of the gestation period, with B cells being the earliest lymphocyte subpopulation to appear in the periphery. The T-cell receptor (TCR) gamma delta+ cells were the earliest detectable T-cell subset, developing first in the thymus and subsequently arriving in the periphery. Later in ontogeny, however, the number of TCRalpha beta+ lymphocytes rapidly increased, becoming the predominant T cells both in the thymus and in the periphery. Cells with the phenotype of adult natural killer cells were also identified in pig fetuses, though their nature and functional roles remain to be investigated. In addition, CD2 was expressed on most B cells whilst very few CD4+ TCRalpha beta+ cells or CD2+ TCRgamma delta+ cells expressed CD8, suggesting that the expression of CD2 and CD8 may reflect the functional status of the cells in postnatal animals. Taken together, this study has provided a systematic analysis of fetal porcine lymphocyte subpopulations and may provide the base for studies to establish the physiological roles of these lymphocyte subsets.

Expression of CD2 on porcine B lymphocytes

Remarkable interspecies differences in CD2 expression on B lymphocytes have been reported in mammals. Human and rat B cells lack CD2, whilst B lymphocytes in mice are CD2+. In pigs, B cells have been supposed not to express CD2. We show here, however, that CD2 is present at a low level on a prominent subset of porcine B cells. Moreover, we describe changes in the proportions of CD2+ and CD2- B-cell subsets during ontogeny. Before contact with microflora, the majority of peripheral surface immunoglobulin M+ (sIgM+) B cells express CD2 and sIgM+CD2- B cells are rare. Shortly after colonization of conventional (CV) piglets with complex intestinal microflora, numerous CD2- B cells appear in the periphery and their relative number increases with age in both CV and specific pathogen-free (SPF) pigs. However, monoassociation of germ-free (GF) piglets with a single Escherichia coli strain does not result in a significant increase of sIgM+CD2- B cells in the periphery. We suggest that CD2 is down-regulated in porcine B lymphocytes upon activation with microflora in mucosa-associated lymphatic tissues. In bone marrow (BM), we identified putative porcine B-cell precursors. These cells express CD2 at low density and do not bear either the common myelomonocytic antigen or T and B-lymphocyte receptors. Similar to mouse and human pre-B cells, this lymphocyte-sized subset expresses CD25 and class II antigens. CD2 positivity of these cells indicates that CD2 is expressed earlier than sIgM during B lymphopoiesis in pigs.

Absence of porcine interferon alpha secreting cells in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice inoculated with porcine leukocytes

A low frequency leukocyte subpopulation, referred to as natural interferon producing cells (NIPC) is able to produce high amounts of interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) following contact with noninfectious viral structures. In order to examine the possible leukocytic nature and bone marrow origin of NIPC, severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice were reconstituted with porcine leukocyte populations, including bone marrow cells. At different times after reconstitution, enriched CD4 and CD45 positive porcine cells were isolated from various mouse organs and tested for the presence of porcine NIPC by porcine IFN-alpha specific ELISPOT assay, after in vitro stimulation by UV inactivated transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV). Although engraftment of porcine cells in SCID mice was shown by flow cytometry and by the production of pig immunoglobulins, no IFN-alpha secreting cells could be detected. This result suggests that NIPC do not derive from bone marrow precursor cells, or that growth factors needed for in vivo expansion of porcine NIPC were absent in mice.

Monoclonal antibodies putatively identifying porcine B cells

Comparison was made of the binding of 38 test and three standard monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to B cells from various pig lymphoid tissues by flow cytometry (FCM) and immunohistochemistry. Some mAbs were also tested on B cells from foetal pig tissues. Twenty of the new mAbs bound, though to variable degrees, to porcine B cells but only three were given cluster assignations: C35 (#147) and BB6-11C9 (#167) were assigned to wCD21 and 2F6/8 (#057) was assigned to SWC7.

Effect of controlled antigenic stimulation on lymphocyte subsets in pigs and pig fetuses

The effect of controlled antigenic stimulation in immunologically virgin organisms, i.e. pig fetuses treated with NDCM (Nocardia delipidated cell mitogen) and germ-free (GF) piglets associated with a non-pathogenic E. coli 086, on peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets defined by the expression of CD5 and CD8 was studied by double color flow cytometry. Stimulation of both fetuses and GF piglets increased the frequency of CD8low+ lymphocytes. A prominent subset of CD5-CD8low+NK cells was present in GF and E. coli associated piglets and their frequency was slightly higher in E. coli associated animals. The most pronounced difference between stimulated and non-stimulated animals was in a relative proportion of an ill-defined lymphocyte subset with an unusual CD5low+CD8low+ expression. Both NDCM injection into fetal blood circulation and association of GF piglets with E. coli resulted in a marked increase of frequency of CD5low+CD8low+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood.

Cellular expression of the cytolytic factor in earthworms Eisenia foetida

Coelomic fluid of earthworms contains a 42 kDa protein designated CCF-1 (coelomic cytolytic factor 1), which accounts for approximately 40% of cytolytic activity of the entire coelomic fluid. CCF-1 was documented to be present on cells of the mesenchymal lining of the coelomic cavity as well as on free coelomocytes. Both cellular and humoral levels of CCF-1 were significantly increased after parenteral injection of endotoxin. Moreover, CCF-1 seems to be involved in cell mediated cytotoxicity, because cytotoxic activity is blocked in the presence of anti-CCF-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb).

In vivo study of interferon-alpha-secreting cells in pig foetal lymphohaematopoietic organs following in utero TGEV coronavirus injection

Non-infectious UV-inactivated transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) was previously shown to induce interferon alpha (IFN alpha) secretion following in vitro incubation with blood mononuclear cells. In this study, pig foetuses at different stages of gestation were injected in utero with (a) partially UV-inactivated wild TGEV or (b) fully UV-inactivated wild or dm49-4 mutant TGEV coronavirus. Nucleated cells from foetal liver, bone marrow, spleen and blood were isolated 10 or 20 h after injection and assayed ex vivo for IFN alpha secretion by ELISPOT and ELISA techniques. The administration of TGEV induced IFN alpha-secreting cells in foetal lymphohaematopoietic organs at mid-gestation. In contrast, IFN alpha was not detected in control sham-operated foetuses. A specific point mutation in the amino acid sequence of the viral membrane glycoprotein M of TGEV mutant dm49-4 was associated with lower or absent IFN alpha in utero inducibility by mutant virus as compared with wild virus. Flow cytometry analysis did not show differences in leukocyte surface marker expression between control and TGEV- or between dm49-4 and wild virus-treated foetus cells, with the exception of a reduction in percentages of polymorphonuclear cells in TGEV-treated lymphohaematopoietic tissues, which is probably due to IFN alpha secretion. The present data provided in vivo evidence of IFN alpha secretion at the cell level in foetal lymphohaematopoietic organs. Such IFN alpha-secreting cells in lymphohaematopoietic tissues may be the source of IFN alpha detected during foetal infections.

Early ontogeny of immune cells and their functions in the fetal pig

The origin of immune cells and their products have been studied in the prenatal period in miniature pigs. Macrophages were first detected on day 25, and myelocytes and lymphoid cells by day 28. Membrane antigens SLA-DR and CD45 were found by day 22, membrane molecules MG-7, 8/1, CD1, CD2 and 74-22 by day 28, Gamma/delta T cells were found initially in extrathymic sites (in the liver). The first gamma/delta T cells were detected as early as 40 days of gestation. The expression of fibronectin, Thy-1 and its message, Ig isotypes and the first induction of IFN alpha were described.

Isotype and antibody specificity of spontaneously formed immunoglobulins in pig fetuses and germ-free piglets: production by CD5- B cells

Pig fetuses, colostrum-deprived newborns and germ-free (GF) piglets, animals in which B-cell development is not influenced by maternal regulatory factors, were employed to study the occurrence and specificity of natural antibodies (NAb). Serum immunoglobulins of all isotypes were found in 44-day-old fetuses (the gestation period in pigs lasts 114 days) and their level, with predominating IgM, was increased during fetal ontogeny. In sera of fetuses at the end of embryonic life as well as of newborns and older GF piglets, antibody activity against autoantigens (thyroglobulin, hormones, ssDNA), phylogenetically conserved proteins (myosin), haptens (trinitrophenyl; TNP) and bacterial components (Escherichia coli O86, tetanic anatoxin) was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The antigen-biding activity of IgM NAb increased after isolation of the serum immunoglobulins on a Staphylococcus Protein A (SPA)-Sepharose column. IgM reactivity similar to that detected in serum was found in supernatants from polyclonally stimulated cultures of spleen of 8- and 12-day-old GF piglets. Pig fetal liver IgM+ B cells, which were able to produce IgM after polyclonal stimulation, did not express the CD5 molecule. Our results indicate that pig preimmune repertoire is comparable to that described in humans and mice, although in contrast to these species pig B-1 cells do not express CD5.

Hemolytic function of opsonizing proteins of earthworm's coelomic fluid

Synthetic 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate copolymer particles (HEMA) can be opsonized in the coelomic fluid of Eisenia foetida earthworms. The incomplete coelomic fluid (i.e., the coelomic fluid after incubation with HEMA particles) exerts a lower level of hemolytic activity compared to complete coelomic fluid. The decreased hemolysis can be compensated by the addition of isolated opsonins. On the other hand, isolated opsonins do not possess direct hemolytic capacity. It can be suggested that at least one of the isolated opsonins is involved in the hemolytic process. These results support the hypothesized cooperation of humoral and cellular mechanisms in earthworm defence.