In vitro analysis of CD40-CD154 and CD28-CD80/86 interactions in the primary T-cell response to allogeneic "nonprofessional" antigen presenting cells.

BACKGROUND: Recently, several ligand interactions have been examined in detail as potential mediators of costimulatory signaling. The CD154/CD40 and CD28/B7 interactions have been highlighted as being among the more-significant contributors to proper activation of unprimed T lymphocytes. Human keratinocytes (HK) and human dermal fibroblasts (HF) are capable of expressing Class II HLA and CD40 antigens after interferon-gamma exposure, yet neither express significant levels of B7. HK and HF have been characterized as "nonprofessional" antigen presenting cells (APC) and their poor APC function has been partially attributed to deficient costimulatory activity. METHODS: In this study, we examined whether substituting for costimulatory signaling events through the addition of cross-linked monoclonal antibodies against the T-cell ligand/s (CD28 and/or CD154) could restore allostimulation. Mixed lymphocyte reactions were performed combining enriched human peripheral blood T cells and allogeneic HK or HF with or without stimulatory anti-CD28 and/or anti-CD154 antibodies. RESULTS: The results show that the addition of anti-CD28 alone permitted HF but not HK to present alloantigen effectively. In contrast, addition of both anti-CD154 and anti-CD28 was required to generate even a moderate proliferative response to allogeneic HK. Further, adding a monomorphic anti-HLA-DR antibody substantially inhibited these responses. Additional experiments suggest that signaling through CD40/CD154 directs HK to produce TGF-beta, which would adversely affect T-cell activation. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented highlight significant differences in signaling capacities for HK versus HF and provide evidence for a partial mechanism by which allogeneic human skin equivalents might be immunologically null upon engraftment.

Effects of immunoregulatory cytokines on the immunogenic potential of the cellular components of a bilayered living skin equivalent.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the immunocompatibility of an allogeneic living skin equivalent (LSE) would be affected by cytokines that would be potentially present at the wound site. Specifically, the ability of interleukin-1alpha (IL-1a), interleukin-6 (IL-6), or interleukin-12 (IL-12) to induce an allogeneic T cell response to "nonprofessional" antigen presenting cells (APC) was investigated in this series of experiments. Since cytokine concentrations at the wound site can vary greatly, recombinant IL-1a, IL-6, and IL-12 were used over a wide range of concentrations. These cytokines were either added directly to a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) culture system or used to pretreat APC prior to use in the MLR culture. The addition of IL-12, IL-1alpha, or IL-6 into an MLR was examined as a possible means of providing the necessary costimulatory signal for functionally deficient APC, such as human keratinocytes (HK) and dermal fibroblasts (HF). While the results show that IL-1a and IL-12 can significantly augment a primary allogeneic response against appropriately equipped antigen presenting cells, the same was not true for HK or HF. Further experiments showed that pretreatment of HK, HF, or human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with Interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) and either IL-12, IL1alpha, or IL-6 had no significant affect on their ability to present alloantigen to immune-reactive T lymphocytes over IFNgamma-treatment alone. The data suggest that exposure of HK or HF to IL-1alpha, IL-6, or IL-12 in combination with IFNgamma does not provide the additional signal(s) required by these cells to effectively present alloantigen to unprimed T cells. The data suggests that exposure to these immunoregulatory cytokines in the wound bed would be unlikely to affect the immunocompatibility of the LSE.

Normal human keratinocytes inhibit the proliferation of unprimed T cells by TGFbeta and PGE2, but not IL-10.

Recent investigations in antigen processing suggest that many hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cell types are capable of presenting alloantigen to T lymphocytes. However, the role of certain nonclassical antigen presenting cells is blurred by their apparent ability to down-regulate the immune response as well as activate immune cells, depending upon the microenvironment and the functional state of the responding cells. In this study we examine the ability of cultured allogeneic keratinocytes to inhibit the response of naive T cells to alloantigen or to anti-CD3. Our results demonstrate that as few as 6.25 x 10(3) keratinocytes significantly inhibited T cell proliferation in response to alloantigen as well as anti-CD3-mediated stimulation (49 and 54%, respectively). HK-mediated inhibition of T cell proliferation did not require cell contact, suggesting that inhibition is mediated by cytokines or other soluble factors. This was further supported by experiments demonstrating the inducibility of HK inhibitory activity in the presence of FCS, and the partial blockage of HK inhibitory activity through the addition of indomethacin or anti-TGFbeta antibody. Interestingly, the data suggest that IL-10, a known immunomodulatory cytokine, does not play a role in the inhibitory activity seen in this system. Taken together the results suggest that HK have the potential to regulate the response of T cells to antigen presented by other APC through the production of soluble factors.

Susceptibility to tumors induced by polyoma virus is conferred by an endogenous mouse mammary tumor virus superantigen.

A dominant gene carried in certain inbred mouse strains confers susceptibility to tumors induced by polyoma virus. This gene, designated Pyvs, was defined in crosses between the highly susceptible C3H/BiDa strain and the highly resistant but H-2k-identical C57BR/cdJ strain. The resistance of C57BR/cdJ mice is overcome by irradiation, indicating an immunological basis. In F1 x C57BR/cdJ backcross mice, tumor susceptibility cosegregates with Mtv-7, a mouse mammary tumor provirus carried by the C3H/BiDa strain. This suggests that Pyvs might encode the Mtv-7 superantigen (SAG) and abrogate polyoma tumor immunosurveillance through elimination of T cells bearing specific V beta domains. DNA typing of 110 backcross mice showed no evidence of recombination between Pyvs and Mtv-7. Strongly biased usage of V beta 6 by polyoma virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes in C57BR/cdJ mice implicates T cells bearing this Mtv-7 SAG-reactive V beta domain as critical anti-polyoma tumor effector cells in vivo. These results indicate identity between Pyvs and Mtv-7 sag, and demonstrate a novel mechanism of inherited susceptibility to virus-induced tumors based on effects of an endogenous superantigen on the host's T cell repertoire.

CTLA-4 and CD28 mRNA are coexpressed in most T cells after activation. Expression of CTLA-4 and CD28 mRNA does not correlate with the pattern of lymphokine production.

Ag-presenting cells provide at least two distinct signals for T cell activation. T cell receptor-dependent stimulation is provided by presentation of a specific peptide Ag in association with MHC molecules. In addition, APC also supply costimulatory signals required for T cell activation that are neither Ag- nor MHC restricted. One such costimulatory signal is mediated via the interaction of B7 on APC with the CD28 receptor on T cells. Recently, CTLA-4 has been shown to be a second B7 receptor on T cells. In the present report, we have examined the expression of CD28 and CTLA-4 on a panel of resting and activated normal T cell subsets and T cell clones by RNA blot analysis in an attempt to determine whether their expression defines reciprocal or overlapping subsets. CD28 was detected in resting T cells, whereas CTLA-4 was not. After stimulation with PHA and PMA for 24 h, CTLA-4 mRNA was expressed in both the CD4+ and CD8+ subsets as well as in CD28+ T cells. We examined 37 human and six murine T cell clones that had been previously characterized for their cytokine production. After activation, CTLA-4 and CD28 mRNA were coexpressed in 36 of 37 human T cell clones and all six murine T cell clones. These included T cells of CD4+8-, CD4-8+, and CD4-8- phenotypes as well as clones with Th1 and Th2 cytokine profiles. In contrast, CD28 but not CTLA-4 mRNA was detected in leukemic T cell lines and myelomas. CTLA-4 and B7 mRNA but not CD28 mRNA was detected in two long term HTLV-I-transformed T cell lines. These data demonstrate that CD28 and CTLA-4 mRNA are coexpressed in most activated T cells and T cell clones, providing evidence that they do not define reciprocal subsets. Moreover, they are consistent with the hypothesis that B7 transmits its signal through a single receptor, CD28, on resting T cells, and multiple receptors, CD28 and CTLA-4, on activated T cells.

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis mediated by cloned T cells specific for a synthetic peptide of myelin proteolipid protein. Fine specificity and T cell receptor V beta usage.

Proteolipid protein (PLP) is the major protein of central nervous system myelin. SJL (H-2s) mice immunized with a synthetic peptide corresponding to PLP residues 139-151 develop acute EAE. In this study, 6 IAs-restricted, CD4+, TCR alpha beta-bearing T cell clones were derived from SJL/J mice after immunization with this synthetic peptide. The clones responded in in vitro proliferative assays to the whole PLP molecule and to PLP peptide 139-151, but not to irrelevant Ag. They also responded to truncated and overlapping forms of the peptide but five distinct reactivity patterns were observed using these peptides. A panel of anti-TCR V beta mAb and TCR V beta-specific cDNA probes were used to determine the TCR V beta usage of the clones. Five clones were found to use four different V beta (V beta 2, V beta 6, V beta 10, or V beta 17a), whereas the V beta on the sixth clone could not be identified. Five of the clones induced EAE of varying severity upon adoptive transfer into naive syngeneic mice or mice pretreated with irradiation and pertussis and one clone was nonencephalitogenic. The Ag-specific proliferative response of all but the nonencephalitogenic clone could be blocked by an anti-CD4 mAb. Thus, the clones showed differences in their fine specifity, TCR V beta usage, sensitivity to antibody blocking, and encephalitogenic potency. These data demonstrate that the T cell response to the encephalitogenic PLP peptide 139-151 is heterogeneous.

T cell recognition of Mlsc,x determinants.

Among a large number of cow insulin-specific T cell clones derived from both C57BL/10 and B10.A strains, several were found to react to non-MHC-linked gene products of a number of allogeneic strains. The stimulatory moiety for three of these clones correlates, in part, with expression of Mlsc, as defined by mouse strains C3H/HeJ and A/J. In addition, all three of these clones are stimulated by cells from strain PL/J, which has the poorly defined Mlsx allele. The data strongly suggest that Mlsx may, in fact, be Mlsc or is, at least, highly cross-reactive with Mlsc. Segregation analysis by using (B10.D2 X PL/J)F2 mice demonstrates that the Mlsx gene is genetically independent of the Mlsa linked Ly-9 marker on chromosome 1. Further studies with the use of these Mlsc,x-reactive clones reveal that they also recognize a gene product present in many mouse strains including DBA/2 which were previously phenotyped as Mlsa. However, testing of BxD recombinant inbred lines excludes Mlsa as being the stimulatory moiety. We therefore propose reclassification of the Mls phenotypes of several mouse strains based upon a two-locus model for Mls.

The relationship of Mlsx to Mlsc.

Among T cell clones with specificity for cow insulin and autologous class II MHC products, a significant number displayed interesting patterns of alloreactivity to non-MHC antigens. Four clones are described in this report. One is a typical Mlsa-reactive clone, while the other three proliferate to a variety of allogeneic spleen cells with reportedly different Mls phenotypes. These include PL/J stimulator cells, designated Mlsx, all strains reported to be Mlsc, and several strains previously typed as Mlsa. Little is known about Mlsx except that it does not appear to be cross-reactive with Mlsa. In this report, therefore, we attempt to investigate the reasons why these clones seem to be stimulated by a variety of different Mls phenotypes. Our conclusions are, first, that some of the strains previously typed as Mlsa may actually express a second Mls product, either c or x, in a manner analogous to the CBA/J strain (which expresses both Mlsa and Mlsc), and second, that Mlsc and Mlsx are cross-reactive. In preliminary experiments, we investigate the genetic relationship between Mlsc and Mlsx by analysis of backcrosses, and the extent of cross-reactive recognition of Mlsc and Mlsx by raising T cell clones which recognize one but not the other. Our preliminary conclusion is that Mlsc and Mlsx are cross-reactive, but represent distinct gene products.