Preventing autoimmune arthritis using antigen-specific immature dendritic cells: a novel tolerogenic vaccine.

Conventional treatments for autoimmune diseases have relied heavily on nonspecific immune suppressants, which possess a variety of adverse effects without inhibiting the autoimmune process in a specific manner. In the present study we demonstrate the effectiveness of antigen-specific, maturation-resistant, tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) in suppressing collagen-induced arthritis, a murine model of rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment of DC progenitors with the NF-kappaB inhibiting agent LF 15-0195 (LF) resulted in a population of tolerogenic DC that are characterized by low expression of MHC class II, CD40, and CD86 molecules, as well as by poor allostimulatory capacity in a mixed leukocyte reaction. Administering LF-treated DC pulsed with keyhole limpet hemocyanin antigen to naïve mice resulted hyporesponsiveness specific for this antigen. Furthermore, administration of LF-treated DC to mice with collagen-induced arthritis resulted in an improved clinical score, in an inhibited antigen-specific T-cell response, and in reduced antibody response to the collagen. The efficacy of LF-treated DC in preventing arthritis was substantiated by histological examination, which revealed a significant decrease in inflammatory cell infiltration in the joints. In conclusion, we demonstrate that in vitro-generated antigen-specific immature DC may have important potential as a tolerogenic vaccine for the treatment of autoimmune arthritis.

Mechanism of modulation of T cell responses by N-palmitoylated peptides.

Small structural changes in the antigenic peptides recognized by TCR can alter the biological properties of those peptides and convert them into weak agonists, partial agonists, or antagonists of these receptors. These altered peptide ligands (APL) are usually generated by conservative amino acid substitutions at TCR contact residues. Here, we show that APL with therapeutic properties can also be generated by attachment of palmitic acid at the N terminus of the peptide without the need to modify the peptide's primary sequence. Using N-palmitoylated pigeon cytochrome-c peptide 81-104 (PALPCC(81-104)), we were able to induce T cell hyporesponsiveness to the wild-type peptide in vitro. More importantly, administration of the PALPCC(81-104 )to mice reduced the responsiveness to the native peptide when tested ex vivo. Biochemical and functional experiments indicated that the action of N-palmitoylated peptides was due to the conversion of the native peptide into a weak agonist that could then induce T cell anergy. Our results demonstrate that N-palmitoylation of antigenic peptides is a feasible strategy to generate APL, as it avoids the need to screen multiple amino acid variants of each specific antigen to identify those with therapeutic properties.

LF15-0195 generates tolerogenic dendritic cells by suppression of NF-kappaB signaling through inhibition of IKK activity.

LF15-0195 (LF) is a potent, less toxic analog of the immunosuppressant 15-deoxyspergualine, which we previously reported to prevent graft rejection and to induce permanent tolerance in a murine cardiac transplantation model. However, the underlying mechanism of action of LF required elucidation. In this study, dendritic cells (DC) treated with LF before activation with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) failed to express maturation markers (major histocompatibility complex II, CD40, CD86) and interleukin-12. LF prevented, in a concentration-dependent manner, the activation and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) in DC following addition of TNF-alpha/LPS. Yet-activated and active IkappaB kinases (IKKs) were inhibited in cells pretreated with LF, thereby preventing the phosphorylation of IkappaB and release of NF-kappaB, a key regulator of genes associated with the maturation of DC. LF-induced inhibition of IKK activity was reversed in a dose-dependent manner by the overexpression of IKK. The T helper cell type 2 (Th2) differentiation of naïve T cells promoted by LF-treated DC in vitro correlates with Th2 polarization observed in transplant recipients made tolerant by LF. These data demonstrated that LF-induced blockade of NF-kappaB signaling at the level of IKK promoted the generation of tolerogenic DC that inhibited Th1 polarization and increased Th2 polarization in vitro and in vivo.

Synergistic tolerance induced by LF15-0195 and anti-CD45RB monoclonal antibody through suppressive dendritic cells.

BACKGROUND: LF 15-0195 (LF), a novel analogue of 15-deoxyspergualin (DSG), inhibits maturation of dendritic cells (DC). Anti-CD45RB is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that blocks activation of T-helper (Th) 1 cells and generates T-regulatory cells. This study addressed whether these two reagents act synergistically to inducing tolerance, and investigated associated cellular mechanisms. METHODS: BALB/c recipients were treated by a short course of mAb alone, LF alone, or the combination of both agents. Mice that accepted a C57BL/6 cardiac allograft for more than 100 days were considered tolerant. Splenic DC were purified using positive selection for CD11c. Bone marrow DC were generated by culture with interleukin-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Surface marker expression was determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. DC function was assessed by the ability to stimulate or inhibit T cells in vitro. RESULTS: Although monotherapy with LF or mAb failed to induce tolerance, combination therapy resulted in long-lasting acceptance of allogeneic hearts (>200 days) and secondary donor skin grafts (>100 days). DC from tolerant recipients possessed lower major histocompatibility complex class II and CD40 expression, and were poorer co-stimulators for T-cell proliferation than control DC. Furthermore, DC from tolerant mice induced Th2 differentiation, suppressed overall T-cell proliferation, and were poor presenters of T cells specific for antigen to pigeon cytochrome c 81-104. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of LF and anti-CD45RB mAb induced stable tolerance. The synergy of these two approaches appears to be mediated through formation of tolerogenic DC and T-regulatory cells.

Inhibitory feedback loop between tolerogenic dendritic cells and regulatory T cells in transplant tolerance.

An active role of T regulatory cells (Treg) and tolerogenic dendritic cells (Tol-DC) is believed important for the induction and maintenance of transplantation tolerance. However, interactions between these cells remain unclear. We induced donor-specific tolerance in a fully MHC-mismatched murine model of cardiac transplantation by simultaneously targeting T cell and DC function using anti-CD45RB mAb and LF 15-0195, a novel analog of the antirejection drug 15-deoxyspergualin, respectively. Increases in splenic Treg and Tol-DC were observed in tolerant recipients as assessed by an increase in CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells and DC with immature phenotype. Both these cell types exerted suppressive effects in MLR. Tol-DC purified from tolerant recipients incubated with naive T cells induced the generation/expansion of CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg. Furthermore, incubation of Treg isolated from tolerant recipients with DC progenitors resulted in the generation of DC with Tol-DC phenotype. Treg and Tol-DC generated in vitro were functional based on their suppressive activity in vitro. These results are consistent with the notion that tolerance induction is associated with a self-maintaining regulatory loop in which Tol-DC induce the generation of Treg from naive T cells and Treg programs the generation of Tol-DC from DC progenitors.