The adoptive transfer of T-cell dependent immunity to Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi in CBA/Ca mice is achieved only after superinfection of immune spleen cell donors

The transfer of spleen cells from CBA/Ca mice recovered from a P. c. chabaudi AS primary infection into irradiated syngeneic recipients conferred very poor protection. Neither elimination of Ly2 cells from immune spleen cells nor reinfection of the donors some days before transfer improved protection significantly. Significant protection was transferred with spleen cells from donors which had been infected 7 times prior to cell transfer. Transferred protection was reduced or eliminated by pretreatment of cells with anti-Thy-1 or anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibodies but not with anti-Ly2.     

Cyclophosphamide adjuvant arthritis in Trypanosoma cruzi infected rats with inflammatory cytokine effects

OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether the cyclophosphamide (CYC) induced reestablishment of adjuvant arthritis (AA) in chronically Trypanosoma cruzi infected rats correlates with changes in the secretion of pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines by popliteal lymph node cells. METHODS: Inbred "l" rats infected with T. cruzi 90 days earlier and age matched controls were given CYC (25 mg/kg body weight) or physiologic saline 48 h before arthritis induction. Popliteal lymph node cells were collected at the time of AA induction (48 h after CYC treatment) or during the peak response, to study the concanavalin-A (ConA) or Mycobacterium tuberculosis-driven in vitro proliferation of several cytokines in their culture supernatants. Results. Infected rats given CYC were recovered from the otherwise decreased ConA induced proliferation seen at the time of peak AA. The CYC mediated reestablishment of AA in T. cruzi infected rats coexisted with an increased presence of tumor necrosis factor-a in supernatants from either antigen or ConA stimulated cultures as well as interleukin 12 (IL-12) in the latter case. CYC also lowered to normal the increased IL-10 levels from ConA stimulated cultures that the T. cruzi group displayed at the time of inducing AA. Conclusion. The process by which CYC restores the clinical expression of AA affects the balance between cytokines that influence the regulation of arthritis in favor of the inflammatory component.     

The effect of total or partial T lymphocyte depletion on susceptibility to influenza virus infection and development of antiviral immunity in lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with immune syngeneic bone marrow grafts.

In a previous study, we showed that lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with bone marrow (BM) enriched with spleen cells obtained from A/PR8/34 influenza virus-immune donors had an improved survival rate compared to the survival seen in recipients of naive BM, immune BM or T cell-depleted BM obtained from immune mice. Our purpose was to determine which cell population was responsible for this effect. We therefore compared the resistance to influenza virus of lethally irradiated BALB/c mice reconstituted with BM from immune donors enriched with 20% spleen cells following either incubation with anti-Thy-1, anti-Lyt-2 or anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibodies prior to transplantation, thereby leading to in vivo depletion of antibody-treated lymphocyte subsets. Mice were infected with influenza virus 1 day after BM transplantation. Equal survival rates were observed in recipients of unmanipulated BM and spleen cells obtained from immune donors and recipients of similar inocula treated with monoclonal anti-helper (L3T4) or anti-cytotoxic/suppressor (Lyt-2) antibodies prior to inoculation. The survival rate of all these groups was increased in comparison with mice receiving anti-Thy-1 treated BM and spleen cells, suggesting that both L3T4 and Lyt-2 T cell subsets play a role in protection against virus infections.     

The effect of T lymphocyte depletion on susceptibility to influenza virus infection and development of anti-viral immunity in lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with syngeneic bone marrow grafts

Lethally irradiated Balb/c mice reconstituted with syngeneic T cell-depleted or syngeneic untreated bone marrow (BM) were able to produce equal levels of hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies at 4 weeks after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in response to nasal infection with A/PR8 influenza virus given 1 week after BMT. Likewise, no differences in mortality rates could be observed following influenza virus infection 1 day after BMT. Antibody production was detected in 10-20% of BMT recipients. All animals responded to a secondary infection given 2 months later by production of secondary IgG-type HI antibodies. Mice reconstituted with BM enriched with spleen cells obtained from immune donors showed an improved survival rate as compared with recipients of na?ve BM, immune BM or T-depleted BM obtained from immune mice. Our results indicate that T cell depletion by itself does not increase susceptibility of syngeneic BMT recipients to virus infection. However, immune spleen cells may play a significant role in conveying protection against influenza virus infections. Although recipients of both immune and na?ve intact BM may mount better anti-influenza titers as compared with T-lymphocyte-depleted BMT recipients, it appears that the proportion of immune donor T cells in the marrow inoculum is insufficient for protection against influenza virus infection. Generation of memory cells to influenza viral antigens in the post-BMT period is not impaired in recipients of T-depleted marrow grafts, suggesting that memory cell precursors are unaffected by the T cell depletion procedure, or else that they were regenerated during the immediate post-BMT period from Thy 1.2-negative precursors.     

Experimental coccidioidomycosis in the immunosuppressed rat.

C. immitis inoculated rats are known to develop infection restricted to lung whereas cyclophosphamide (CY) treatment leads to widespread dissemination with considerable mortality. In this study, an attempt was made to elucidate the mechanisms involved in such behaviour. With this aim, spleen cells were transferred from infected CY-treated to infected untreated rats, achieving significant specific inhibition in footpad swelling to coccidioidin in recipients, attributable to a suppressor T cell subpopulation induced by greater fungal antigen concentration arising from widespread C. immitis dissemination in immunosuppressed animals. NK activity proved similar regardless of CY treatment. Lastly, chronically infected rats presented increased colony forming units count after several weekly doses of CY, as happens in immunosuppressed patients harbouring a previous infection.     

Anti-Thy-1 treated and irradiated spleen cells from (BALB/cXC57Bl/6) F1 mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi can transfer protection into irradiated hosts

The transfer of spleen cells from (BALB/cXC57Bl/6) F1 mice recovered from a Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi AS infection into irradiated syngeneic recipients conferred protection. Neither elimination of Thy-1⁺ cells nor in vitro irradiation of immune cells before transfer affected protection while both anti-Thy-1 treatment and irradiation abolished the appearance of anti-P. c. chabaudi antibodies in the recipients. Superinfection of immune spleen cell donors did not improve their capability to transfer protection which was also unaffected by anti-Thy-1 treatment. The serum of mice after one infection was only marginally protective when transferred into irradiated recipients and a second infection improved the protective activity of serum which was not further improved by six infections. The cotransfer of immune serum and immune cells did not result in any synergistic effect. On the other hand, when P. c. chabaudi AS (BALB/cXC57B1/6)F1 infected mice were challenged with a high dose of Plasmodium yoelii 17XL at crisis, the mice were unable to control the heterologous parasite. When mice were challenged with P. yoelii 17XL several weeks after infection with P.c. chabaudi AS, a good degree of cross-protection was observed.     

Bone marrow as source of cells in reactions of cellular hypersensitivity. III. Adjuvant arthritis in the rat

Adult Lewis rats were thymectomized, irradiated (900 r), and given bone marrow cells from normal (BN × Lewis) F₁ donors. Passive transfer of adjuvant arthritis was carried out with lymph node cells of Lewis donors sensitized 9 days earlier. The recipients showed clinical arthritis starting at 3-8 days and were sacrificed at 9-13 days. Live cell suspensions from affected joints and lymphoid tissues were assayed for F₁ marrow-derived cells by an indirect fluorescence technic. The results suggest that a majority of cells in the joint lesions of adjuvant arthritis are hematogenous and derived from bone marrow precursors.     

The role of OX22− helper T cells in protective immunity to reinfection with Taenia taeniaeformis in rats

Spleen cells (SpC) and mesenteric lymph node cells (MLNC) from F344 donor rats actively immunized by oral inoculation with Taenia taeniaeformis eggs were syngeneically transferred into previously uninfected recipient rats by intravenous injection. Recipient rats were challenged with eggs after cell transfer. The degree of immunity was assessed by counting the number of growing metacestodes (MC) in the liver and compared with that in controls. Transfer of 2 × 10⁸ SpC, obtained from donors immunized for ten or more (but not for three or five) days before cell transfer inhibited the establishment of most of MC. There were approximately 86–88% reductions in MC recoveries. SpC (2 × 10⁸) obtained from donors immunized for ten days inhibited the establishment of most of MC in recipient rats when transferred nought, two, or 24 h (but not 48 h) before egg challenge. Functional cells in the immune SpC were helper T cells W3/25⁺, OX8⁻ and OX22⁻. However, immune MLNC obtained from donors immunized for three to ten days before cell transfer had no effect on transferring immunity.     

Murine CD4 T-cell response to Helicobacter infection: TH1 cells enhance gastritis and TH2 cells reduce bacterial load

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Previous findings suggest that TH1 cellular immune responses contribute to Helicobacter-associated gastritis. To further investigate this issue, interleukin 4 gene targeted mice were infected with Helicobacter felis, and a series of adoptive transfer experiments was performed to evaluate the role of both TH1 and TH2 cells. METHODS: Antigen-specific spleen cells from immunized/challenged or nonimmunized/infected mice or CD4+ T-cell lines were transferred adoptively into naive recipients before live bacterial challenge. RESULTS: Transfer of cells from both groups of donors as well as TH1 or TH2 cell lines exacerbated gastric inflammation in the recipients. No effect on bacterial load was observed in recipients of bulk spleen cells from infected mice or recipients of TH1 cell lines. In contrast, when either a TH2 cell line or bulk cells from immunized challenged mice were transferred adoptively, recipients showed a dramatic reduction in bacterial load. Increased numbers of bacteria were also noted in interleukin 4-deficient mice. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a differential contribution of TH1 and TH2 cell-mediated immune responses in Helicobacter infection: one associated with the pathogenesis of disease (TH1 phenotype) and the other associated with protection from or control of infection (TH2 phenotype). (Gastroenterology 1997 Dec;113(6):1848-57)     

Adoptive transfer of vaccine-induced resistance to Leishmania donovani

BALB/c mice were immunized with three subcutaneous injections combining killed parasites and glucan, or were untreated. Spleen cells were transferred to syngeneic recipients. Mice which received 5 X 10(8) spleen cells from vaccinated donors demonstrated significant protection against Leishmania donovani challenge as compared to untreated mice receiving immune sera, or mice which received untreated spleen cells.     

Specific suppression of delayed hypersensitivity expression to Trypanosoma cruzi in mice

The absence of cutaneous delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) expression was investigated in Trypanosoma cruzi infected mice. Neither spleen cells nor peritoneal exudate cells from infected mice transferred DTH to normal recipients in local or systemic adoptive transfer experiments. Expression of DTH in T. cruzi immunized mice was suppressed specifically by Thy-1 negative spleen cells from acutely and subacutely infected animals. Suppression was observed only upon systemic transfer, but not when infected mice spleen cells were added to DTH effector cells and transferred to normal recipients. These results suggest that cutaneous DTH expression in acutely infected mice, might be blocked by mechanisms other than those described for suppression of lymphocyte proliferation and of DTH induction to T. cruzi.     

The autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction is decreased in Freund's adjuvant–injected rats of arthritis-susceptible and -insusceptible strains

We examined the T–non-T cell autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR) of spleen cells from rats with arthritis induced by Freund's complete adjuvant in an effort to establish an animal model for the study of the relationship between the AMLR and autoimmune disease. We found that the splenic T–non-T AMLR was markedly decreased in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis and that this decrease was mediated by suppressor cells within the nylon-wool–adherent stimulator cell population. However, we also found a similar decrease in the AMLR of arthritis-resistant Fisher 344 rats that received Freund's complete adjuvant but did not develop arthritis. Control animals with local inflammation induced by turpentine, a nonarthritogenic inflammatory substance, had normal AMLR, whereas other controls given Freund's incomplete adjuvant, also a nonarthritogenic substance, had a modest responder cell–mediated decrease in AMLR. These studies help to clarify the relationship between the decreased AMLR and the pathogenesis of adjuvant-induced arthritis by demonstrating that: 1 the acute-phase inflammatory response does not reduce the AMLR; and 2 the decreased AMLR can occur in the absence of overt autoimmune disease. This latter observation calls into question the proposed pathogenetic relationship between the AMLR and autoimmune disease states.     

Transfer of immunity by transfer of bone marrow cells: a requirement for T lymphocytes and sensitivity to cyclophosphamide.

Thymectomized, lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with bone marrow cells (TIR mice) from normal donors succumbed after i.p. challenge with xenogeneic (rat) Yoshida ascites sarcoma (YAS) given 1 month after irradiation and reconstitution. YAS rejection and production of YAS-antibodies was induced in TIR mice by a single i.v. injection of normal syngeneic spleen cells given 1 day after the tumor. Purified splenic T lymphocytes also induced YAS rejection in TIR mice, but splenic B lymphocytes did not affect progressive tumor growth. Tumor was also rejected in TIR mice that had been reconstituted with bone marrow cells from YAS-immune donors. The sera of these TIR mice did not contain tumor antibodies between reconstitution and YAS challenge, but a high YAS-antibody titer was present after YAS challenge and rejection. Immunofluorescence did not reveal any dramatic differences in the spleen and bone marrow content of T and B lymphocytes of TIR mice reconstituted with cells from normal donors and those reconstituted with cells from the YAS-immunized donors. Transfer of YAS-resistance was abolished when the bone marrow cells from immunized donors were treated with Thy 1.2 antiserum and complement, or when bone marrow donors were injected with cyclophosphamide 1 day after immunization. Cyclophosphamide was also shown to induce strong and specific suppression of YAS-antibody production in normal mice.     

Remission induction of adjuvant arthritis in rats by total body irradiation and autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Following the demonstration that adjuvant arthritis in rats can be cured with total body irradiation (TBI) and allogeneic or syngeneic bone marrow, the efficacy of autologous bone marrow was investigated in the experiments reported here. Bone marrow from arthritic rats, harvested at the same time that the recipients were irradiated, and real autologous bone marrow were found to be similarly effective as bone marrow grafts from naive syngeneic donors. Sublethal TBI with lower doses was less effective, but the highest tolerated doses of 8 Gy approached the effect of 9 Gy and bone marrow rescue. In contrast, partial body irradiation of either the affected limbs, or of the whole body except the limbs, resulted in only partial and temporary regression of the arthritis.     

Activation of latent murine cytomegalovirus infection: cocultivation, cell transfer, and the effect of immunosuppression.

No free virus was detectable in any organ of DBA/2 mice greater than or equal to 16 weeks after infection with murine cytomegalovirus. Spleens were free of free lytic virus six weeks after infection. Spleen cells from such mice were shown to be latently infected by three methods. First, virus was recovered by cocultivation of spleen cells for two weeks or longer on either syngeneic or allogeneic (CDI) embryonic fibroblast cultures. Second, virus was recovered from salivary glands of either syngeneic (DBA/2) or allogeneic (C57BL/10) mice that received 10(8) spleen cells. Recovery was enhanced by treatment of allogeneic recipients with cyclophosphamide but not with azathioprine. Third, latently infected mice, after treatment with either cyclophosphamide or azathioprine, developed free murine cytomegalovirus in their salivary glands. The last two findings parallel observations of human cytomegalovirus in immunosuppressed patients and in patients receiving latently infected cells during transplantation. Both cyclophosphamide and azathioprine elevated titers of free lytic virus in the salivary glands.     

Memory cell generation ablated by soluble protein antigen by means of effects on T- and B-lymphocyte compartments.

Adult C57BL/6 mice were injected with 100 micrograms of soluble, freshly deaggregated human serum albumin (HSA) to produce partial immunologic tolerance. Uninjected normal control (N) mice contain only approximately 100 B cells in their spleens with the capacity to (i) be activated in vitro into clonal proliferation by Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide plus interleukins 2, 4, and 5, (ii) form IgG1 as well as IgM antibody, and (iii) display specificity for HSA when only IgG1 is allowed to score in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Such N mice generate approximately 50,000 clonable anti-HSA IgG1 antibody-forming cell precursors in their spleens after T-dependent immunization with HSA absorbed onto alum and given with Bordetella pertussis adjuvant. Mice preinjected with soluble HSA (TOL) generate far fewer anti-HSA IgG1 antibody-forming cell precursors, termed anti-HSA memory cells. Splenocytes were transferred from N or TOL mice into lethally irradiated syngeneic recipients together with syngeneic bone marrow. Whereas N splenocytes generated plentiful memory cells within 2 weeks in antigenically challenged recipients, TOL splenocytes did not. Work with Ly-5 congenic mice ruled out memory cell generation from either the host or the bone marrow inoculum within this limited time. N T cells plus TOL B cells showed consistently lowered memory cell generation. TOL T cells plus N B cells showed an even greater lowering of adoptive memory cell generation. Thus the lowered response capacity of TOL mice resided in the T- and B-cell compartments. Attempts to show a suppressor component within the T-cell population were inconclusive, but a profound defect in capacity to respond to HSA in vitro was exhibited by the CD4+ T cells of TOL mice. B lymphocytes were harvested from T-dependently immunized mice 5 days after challenge, incubated with soluble HSA for 18 hr, and then adoptively transferred together with N T cells. The recently activated B cells were not rendered tolerant by this manipulation. The results argue for a major T-cell component in the process whereby soluble protein antigens ablate affinity maturation and memory cell generation.     

Modulation of tumor incidence by oncofetal products in a syngeneic hepatoma cell-spleen cell model

An experimental model is described for analysis of cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the modulation of tumorigenicity by syngeneic lymphoid cells and oncofetal products in vivo. The effect of mouse amniotic fluid (AF) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) from this fluid and from serum, free or bound to estrogens, upon the growth of a syngeneic hepatoma was examined in mice transferred with syngeneic spleen cells from hepatoma-bearing donors. Intraperitoneal transfer of spleen cells from hepatoma-bearing into normal syngeneic mice, either tended to stimulate or to inhibit tumor growth in the latter depending on the length of time elapsed between tumor-transplantation in the spleen-cell donor and their sacrifice for spleen excision. For example, only the spleen cells obtained on day 14 and 21 following tumor transplantation protected the recipients from tumor growth. When these protective cells were mixed with hepatoma cells from a low incidence line, and the mixture injected subcutaneously, tumor incidence increased (tumor-promotion effect) rather than the contrary. AF was immunosuppressive inasmuch as it amplified the tumor-promotion effect of the spleen cells. On the other hand, purified AFP from sera of hepatoma bearing mice abolished this tumor-promotion effect.     

Therapeutic vaccination against adjuvant arthritis using autoimmune T cells treated with hydrostatic pressure.

An ideal treatment for autoimmune diseases would be a nontoxic means of specifically neutralizing the autoreactive lymphocytes responsible for the disease. This goal has been realized in experimental autoimmunity models by immunizing rats or mice against their own autoimmune cells such that the animals generate an immune response specifically repressive to the disease-producing lymphocytes. This maneuver, termed lymphocyte vaccination, was demonstrated to be effective using some, but not all, autoimmune helper T-lymphocyte lines. We now report that T lymphocytes, otherwise incapable of triggering an immune response, can be transformed into effective immunogens by treating the cells in vitro with hydrostatic pressure. Clone A2b, as effector clone that recognized cartilage proteoglycan and caused adjuvant arthritis in Lewis rats, is such a cell. Untreated A2b could not trigger an immune response, but inoculating rats with pressure-treated A2b induced early remission of established adjuvant arthritis as well as resistance to subsequent disease. Specific resistance to arthritis was associated with anti-idiotypic T-cell reactivity to clone A2b and could be transferred from vaccinated rats to naive recipients using donor lymphoid cells. Aggregation of T-lymphocyte membrane components appeared to be important for an immune response because the effects of hydrostatic pressure could be reproduced by treatment of A2b with chemical cross-linkers or with agents disrupting the cytoskeleton. Populations of lymph node cells from antigen-primed rats, when treated with hydrostatic pressure, could also induce suppression of disease. Thus, effective vaccines can be developed without having to isolate the autoimmune T lymphocytes as lines or clones. These results demonstrate that effector T lymphocytes suitably treated may serve as agents for specifically controlling the immune system.     

Comparative study of adjuvant induced arthritis in susceptible and resistant strains of rats. III. Analysis of lymphocyte subpopulations.

The subpopulations of lymphocytes (W3/25+ and OX8+) in the blood, spleen and lymph nodes were analyzed comparatively in rats susceptible (Holtzman) and resistant (Buffalo) to the development of adjuvant induced arthritis (AIA). In naive rats, it was found that the ratio (T helper/T suppressor) was significantly higher in Holtzman compared to Buffalo rats suggesting that the susceptible rats possess less suppressor cells than the resistant. Following induction of AIA (7 and 14 days) the ratio T helper/T suppressor was not significantly different in either strain. When the resistant strain was treated with 25 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide, the T suppressor cells were significantly reduced and this was followed by a strong potentiation of the AIA. Our data suggest that susceptibility to AIA is related to alterations in the T suppressor cell subset.     

Tissue targeting of anti‐RNP autoimmunity: Effects of T cells and myeloid dendritic cells in a murine model

Objective

To explore the role of immune cells in anti‐RNP autoimmunity in a murine model of pneumonitis or glomerulonephritis, using adoptive transfer techniques.

Methods

Donor mice were immunized with 50 μg of U1–70‐kd small nuclear RNP fusion protein and 50 μg of U1 RNA adjuvant. Whole splenocytes as well as CD4+ cell and dendritic cell (DC) subsets from the immunized mice were infused into naive syngeneic recipients. Anti‐RNP and T cell responses were assessed by immunoblotting, enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometry. Development of renal or lung disease was assessed by histology and urinalysis.

Results

Unfractionated splenocytes from donor mice without proteinuria induced predominantly lung disease in recipients (8 [57%] of 14 versus 2 [14%] of 14 developing renal disease; P = 0.046). However, infusion of CD4+ cells from donors without proteinuria induced renal disease more frequently than lung disease (7 [70%] of 10 versus 2 [20%] of 10; P = 0.01); adoptive transfer of RNP+CD4+ T cells from short‐term culture yielded similar results (renal disease in 8 [73%] of 11 recipients versus lung disease in 3 [27%] of 11). Cotransfer of splenic myeloid DCs and CD4+ T cells from immunized donors prevented induction of renal disease in all 5 recipients (P = 0.026 versus recipients of fresh CD4+ cells alone), although lung disease was still observed in 1 of 5 mice. Transfer of myeloid DCs alone from immunized donors induced lung disease in 3 (60%) of 5 recipients, without evidence of nephritis. Cotransfer of splenocytes from mice with and those without nephritis led to renal disease in 4 of 5 recipients, without evidence of lung disease.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that RNP+CD4+ T cells are sufficient to induce anti‐RNP autoimmunity, tissue targeting in anti‐RNP autoimmunity can be deviated to either a renal or pulmonary phenotype depending on the presence of accessory cells such as myeloid DCs, and DC subsets can play a role in both propagation of autoimmunity and end‐organ targeting.