Transgenic mice expressing the human high-affinity immunoglobulin (Ig) E receptor alpha chain respond to human IgE in mast cell degranulation and in allergic reactions.

The high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin (Ig) E (Fc epsilon RI) on mast cells and basophils plays a key role in IgE-mediated allergies. Fc epsilon RI is composed of one alpha, one beta, and two gamma chains, which are all required for cell surface expression of Fc epsilon RI, but only the alpha chain is involved in the binding to IgE. Fc epsilon RI-IgE interaction is highly species specific, and rodent Fc epsilon RI does not bind human IgE. To obtain a "humanized" animal model that responds to human IgE in allergic reactions, transgenic mice expressing the human Fc epsilon RI alpha chain were generated. The human Fc epsilon RI alpha chain gene with a 1.3-kb promoter region as a transgene was found to be sufficient for mast cell-specific transcription. Cell surface expression of the human Fc epsilon RI alpha chain was indicated by the specific binding of human IgE to mast cells from transgenic mice in flow cytometric analyses. Expression of the transgenic Fc epsilon RI on bone marrow-derived mast cells was 4.7 x 10(4)/cell, and the human IgE-binding affinity was Kd = 6.4 nM in receptor-binding studies using 125I-IgE. The transgenic human Fc epsilon RI alpha chain was complexed with the mouse beta and gamma chains in immunoprecipitation studies. Cross-linking of the transgenic Fc epsilon RI with human IgE and antigens led to mast cell activation as indicated by enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of the Fc epsilon RI beta and gamma chains and other cellular proteins. Mast cell degranulation in transgenic mice could be triggered by human IgE and antigens, as demonstrated by beta-hexosaminidase release in vitro and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in vivo. The results demonstrate that the human Fc epsilon RI alpha chain alone not only confers the specificity in human IgE binding, but also can reconstitute a functional receptor by coupling with the mouse beta and gamma chains to trigger mast cell activation and degranulation in a whole animal system. These transgenic mice "humanized" in IgE-mediated allergies may be valuable for development of therapeutic agents that target the binding of IgE to its receptor.

Reduced thymic maturation but normal effector function of CD8+ T cells in CD8 beta gene-targeted mice.

CD8 is a cell surface glycoprotein on major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted T cells. Thymocytes and most peripheral T cells express CD8 as heterodimers of CD8 alpha and CD8 beta. The intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL), which have been suggested to be generated extrathymically, express CD8 predominantly as homodimers of CD8 alpha. We have generated CD8 beta gene-targeted mice. CD8 alpha+ T cell population in the thymus and in most peripheral lymphoid organs was reduced to 20-30% of that in wild-type littermates. CD8 alpha expression on thymocytes and peripheral T cells also decreased to 44 and 53% of the normal levels, respectively. In contrast, neither the population size nor the CD8 alpha expression level of CD8 alpha+ IEL was reduced. This finding indicates that CD8 beta is important only for thymic-derived CD8+ T cells. The lack of CD8 beta reduces but does not completely abolish thymic maturation of CD8+ T cells. Our result also reveals the role of CD8 beta in regulating CD8 alpha expression on thymic derived T cells. Peripheral T cells in these mice were efficient in cytotoxic activity against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and vesicular stomatitis virus, suggesting that CD8 beta is not essential for the effector function of CD8+ T cells.