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Human Immunology Group, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., San Diego, CA 92121
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Dendritic cells (DC) are professional APC that initiate an immune response (9, 10). Recently, several methods have been developed to generate human DC from PBMC-derived progenitor cells in vitro. These different culture methods yield DC subtypes with heterogeneous morphology, phenotype, and function. However, all these DC subtypes have been shown to be potent stimulators of naive Ag-specific T cells (11, 12, 13). This is due in large part to the fact that DC express class I and II MHC and costimulatory cell surface molecules B7.1 and B7.2 (14, 15). In addition, human DC pulsed with weakly immunogenic TAA are capable of stimulating TAA-specific CTL proliferation and cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo, thus illustrating both their potency as APC and their potential utility as tumor-specific vaccines (16, 17, 18, 19).
DC derived from PBMC and cultured with GM-CSF and IL-4 express both the
high affinity IgG receptor Fc
RI (CD64) and the low affinity IgG
receptor Fc
RII (CD32) at varying levels (11, 20). Both CD64 and CD32
have been shown to mediate Ag uptake by DC (20, 21). Targeting Ag to
Fc
R on human monocytes and DC via Ag-IgG complexes can reduce the
quantity of Ag required for Ag-specific T cell activation (i.e.,
enhance the immunogenicity of an Ag) as much as 1000-fold (22, 23). It
has been previously established that the Fc region of mouse IgG2a binds
human CD64 with greater affinity than any other subtype of mouse Ig
(24). Mouse IgG2a also binds human CD32 (25). Therefore, we
investigated whether Ag can be targeted to Fc
R on in vitro cultured
human DC by pulsing with Ag complexed to an Ag-specific mouse IgG2a.
We report here an immunization protocol that consistently and reproducibly stimulates hu-PBL-SCID mice to produce human IgG specific for the human TAA, prostate specific antigen (PSA). We show that immunizing hu-PBL-SCID mice with autologous DC pulsed with PSA complexed to a mouse IgG2a specific for human PSA (PSA-IgG2a) stimulates high titer, PSA-specific IgG production. In contrast, immunizing hu-PBL-SCID mice with PSA on alum, PSA-pulsed autologous DC, or additional PBMC and PSA-IgG2a stimulates sporadic, low level, or no PSA-specific IgG production. Contrary to expectations, our results also show that B7.1, B7.2, CD40, and MHC class II surface expression is significantly enhanced on soluble Ag-pulsed DC, but only B7.2 expression is significantly enhanced on PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC. Interestingly, high titer, TAA-specific IgG production was specifically stimulated by DC with enhanced B7.2 expression, an immunoregulatory surface molecule associated with enhanced Th2-type immune deviation (26, 27, 28).
| Materials and Methods |
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Blood donors were selected based on health, sex, and age (normal healthy female donors between 1840 yr old). PBMC were obtained by leukopheresis or by venepuncture into heparin-coated tubes. RBC were removed from residual PBMC by hypotonic lysis in 0.13 M NH4Cl before cryopreservation in liquid N2. DC were grown essentially as described by Romani et al., except that Iscoves complete medium (Iscoves modified Dulbeccos medium (Irvine Scientific, Santa Ana, CA) plus sodium pyruvate, minimal essential amino acids, L-glutamine (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), and gentamicin (Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY)) was supplemented with 2% Nutridoma HU (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN) instead of 10% FBS (11). This serum-free medium (IN2) contained <100 µg/ml (final concentration) of mostly human serum proteins. In addition, this medium contained no cytokines, Ig, complement, or other nonspecific mitogens or immunogens heterogeneously present in FBS and human serum. Freshly isolated and thawed PBMC were purified by Histopaque (Sigma) gradient separation, washed, and plated at 5 x 106 cells/ml in IN2 at 37°C for 2 h. Nonadherent cells were gently removed with the medium, additional 37°C IN2 was added, and the cells were incubated at 37°C for 5 additional min. Nonadherent cells were again gently removed, and the residual cells were cultured in IN2 supplemented with 500 U/ml IL-4 and 800 U/ml GM-CSF (Genzyme, Cambridge, MA). Cultures were fed with additional cytokines on day 3. Mouse monoclonal IgG2a specific for PSA (clone 10-P20; Fitzgerald Industries International, Concord, MA) was complexed with >99% pure PSA (Fitzgerald Industries International) at equimolar ratios and dialyzed against 1x HBSS at 4°C overnight (PSA-IgG2a). The DC-enriched cultures were pulsed with 25 µg/ml (final concentration) PSA, PSA-IgG2a in 500 µl of IN2, or an equivalent volume of IN2 on day 6. Unlike macrophages, by day 7 DC are no longer fully adherent cells. Loosely adherent and nonadherent cells were harvested on day 7.
Flow cytometric analysis
The following FITC and phycoerythrin (PE)-labeled mAbs were
used: anti-HLA-DR, -DP, and -DQ (MHC class II); anti-CD1a,
-CD3, -CD11c, -CD16, and -CD32w (Fc
RII); anti-CD33, -CD40,
-CD45RO, and -CD64 (Fc
RI); anti-CD86 (B7.2) and FITC-labeled
isotype controls (PharMingen, San Diego, CA); anti-CD4, -CD14,
and -CD80 (B7.1) and PE-labeled isotype control (Becton Dickinson, San
Jose, CA); anti-ABC (MHC class I; Harlan Bioproducts for Science,
Indianapolis, IN); and goat anti-mouse Ig F(ab')2
(human absorbed) and goat F(ab')2 FITC-labeled isotype
control (Southern Biotechnology Associates, Birmingham, AL).
To characterize the phenotype of serum-free cultured DC, cultures were grown as described above. The cultures were harvested on day 7, washed, and then resuspended in 4°C FACS buffer (1% BSA, 1x PBS, 0.1% sodium azide, and 40 µg/ml human IgG) at 1 x 106 cells/ml. The cells were aliquoted and stained for 45 min with FITC and PE-labeled Ab diluted to the manufacturers recommended concentrations. The cells were washed twice in FACS buffer, and data were acquired on a FACScan (Becton Dickinson). Data were analyzed using LYSIS I (Becton Dickinson) or Fcap List (Soft Flow Hungary, Pecs, Hungary) software. Analysis was performed on large, CD33+ DC cells gated by forward and side scatter.
To detect PSA-IgG2a binding to PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC, cultures were grown from thawed donor 3 PBMC in six-well plates, pulsed with 25 µg/ml PSA-IgG2a or PSA or mock treated on day 6, and harvested on day 7. The day 7 DC were labeled with goat anti-mouse Ig F(ab')2 (human absorbed) and goat F(ab')2 FITC-labeled isotype control, washed, and analyzed as described above.
In experiments comparing the expression of immunoregulatory surface
molecule on Ag-pulsed and naive DC, cultures were grown from three
donors as described above, except these cultures were grown in three
triplicate sets and in six-well plates. On day 6, one set of the three
triplicate cultures generated from donors 1, 2, and 3 was pulsed with
either 25 µg/ml PSA or 25 µg/ml PSA-IgG2a or was mock treated. DC
were harvested on day 7, and the triplicate cultures were pooled before
analysis. The cultures were harvested on day 7, Ab labeled, and
analyzed individually, as described above. Specific reactivity data,
shown as the
mean fluorescence intensity (MFI), were calculated as
follows: MFI of FITC- or PE-labeled specific mAb - MFI of
isotype- and fluorochrome-matched mAb control. Students paired
t test was used to determine the statistical differences
between Ag-stimulated and mock-treated naive DC. A value of
p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
SCID mouse engraftment and immunization
PBMC were obtained from healthy random female donors by leukopheresis. RBC were removed by hypotonic lysis, as described above. Residual PBMC were frozen and stored as described above. Four- to six-week-old male Fox Chase ICR SCID mice (Taconic, Germantown, NY) were kept in ventilated microisolator cages and maintained according to National Institute of Health guidelines described in the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. All engraftments and immunizations were performed i.p.
All mice were reconstituted with 1 x 108 PBMC on day
0 and immunized as shown in Fig. 1
, with
the specific exceptions noted in Results. Human Ig serum
concentrations were determined by ELISA as described below. Students
paired t test was used to determine the statistical
differences between the average IgG serum concentration of group A or B
mice and the average IgG serum concentration of group C mice.
Similarly, Students paired t test was used to determine
the statistical differences between the average IgG serum concentration
of group D or E and the average IgG serum concentration of group F. A
value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically
significant. Group G mice with IgG serum concentrations less than 10
µg/ml by day 21 were considered improperly reconstituted and were
removed from analysis.
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Human Ig serum concentrations were assayed by quantitative ELISAs. ELISAs were performed in 96-well Immulon 2 U-bottom ELISA plates (Dynatech, Chantilly, VA). Human IgG and IgM ELISA plates were coated with 2 µg/ml polyclonal goat anti-human IgG or goat anti-human IgM (Southern Biotechnology Associates) in 50 mM bicarbonate buffer (pH 9.3) overnight. PSA-specific IgG plates were coated with >99% pure PSA at 4 µg/ml in bicarbonate buffer. PSA-specific IgG was quantitated using a mouse monoclonal IgG1 specific for PSA (clone ERPR8, ICN, Costa Mesa, CA) as a standard. Incubations were performed at room temperature in serially diluted duplicate wells. Binding of Ig was detected by horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated polyclonal goat anti-human IgM-HRP, polyclonal goat anti-human IgG-HRP, or polyclonal goat anti-mouse IgG-HRP secondary Ab (Southern Biotechnology Associates) followed by enzymatic development of o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (OPD; Sigma) substrate. Reactions were quenched with 4 N HCl, and the plates were read on an ELISA plate reader at OD490. The concentration of human Ig in hu-PBL-SCID serum was quantitated by comparison of OD490 values with serially diluted human Ig (Zymed, South San Francisco, CA) standard curves. Data for all ELISAs were acquired on a Thermomax plate reader (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA) and analyzed using SOFTmax 2.35 software (Molecular Devices).
Competition ELISA
Pooled sera from four group C mice were diluted 1/15 (113 µg/ml total IgG final concentration) or 1/20 (85 µg/ml total IgG final concentration) into triplicate wells containing serially diluted concentrations of PSA. Background binding was assayed using control human IgG (Zymed) diluted into triplicate wells (85 µg/ml final concentration) containing serially diluted concentrations of PSA. Soluble PSA inhibition of PSA-specific binding by group C serum IgG and background human IgG binding were detected using polyclonal goat anti-human IgG-HRP and OPD substrate, as described above.
Immunoblot analysis
Prestained m.w. standards and 2.5-µg PSA samples were boiled in 1x nonreducing Laemmli sample buffer for 5 min and then separated by SDS-PAGE using 420% gradient gels (NOVEX, San Diego, CA). Two replica gels were simultaneously transferred onto a single nitrocellulose membrane at 25 V for 2 h in transfer buffer (10 mM Tris-glycine (pH 8.3), 19% methanol, and 0.01% SDS). The blot was blocked in 5% goat serum, 1x PBS, 0.05% Tween-20 (GS-PBST) for 1 h at room temperature and washed briefly in PBST, and the two replica blots were separated. One blot was stained with pooled sera from four group C mice diluted 1/100 (0.92 µg/ml PSA-specific IgG) in GS-PBST for 2 h at room temperature. The other identical blot was incubated in GS-PBST with an equivalent amount (17 µg/ml) of control human IgG. Both blots were washed for 2 h in many changes of PBST. The blots were then incubated for 1 h at room temperature with HRP-conjugated goat anti-human IgG diluted 1/20,000 in GS-PBST followed by overnight washing in PBST. HRP binding was detected by incubation in SuperSignal ULTRA chemiluminescent substrate (Pierce, Rockford, IL) for 5 min and exposure to x-ray film for 30 s.
IgG4-specific ELISA
ELISAs were performed in 96-well Immulon 2 U-bottom ELISA plates (Dynatech Laboratories). Equal volumes of day 25 sera from the four best responding mice in groups AC and day 28 sera from all four mice in groups DF were pooled before analysis. Human IgG4 ELISA plates were coated with 1 µg/ml monoclonal mouse anti-human IgG4 (clone G17-4; PharMingen) in 50 mM bicarbonate buffer (pH 9.3) overnight. Incubations were performed at room temperature in serially diluted duplicate (groups AC) or triplicate (groups DF) wells. Binding of IgG4 was detected by mouse monoclonal anti-human IgG-HRP (clone G18-145; PharMingen) followed by enzymatic development of OPD substrate. Reactions were quenched with 4 N HCl, and the plates were read on a ELISA plate reader at OD490. The concentrations of human IgG4 in pooled hu-PBL-SCID sera were quantitated by comparison of OD490 values with serially diluted human myeloma generated IgG4 (The Binding Site, San Diego, CA) standard curves, respectively.
| Results |
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Human DC were generated from PBMC using low protein, serum-free
medium (IN2) supplemented with GM-CSF and IL-4 as described in
Materials and Methods. The developmental characteristics of
cultures generated in IN2 were similar to what was described by Romani
et al. and others for DC generation in medium containing serum
(11, 12, 13). Briefly, the cells selected for adherence to plastic began
aggregating into large clusters on day 2. These clusters increased in
size and became decreasingly adherent until day 7, when most of the
cells with dendritic morphology were loosely adherent or nonadherent to
the culture flask. Cultures generated from 10 individual PBMC donors
were between 5085% (typically 75%) large MHC class
I+/MHC class
II+/CD11chigh/CD32+/CD33+/CD40+/CD45RO+/B7.1+/B7.2+
cells with dendritic morphology (Fig. 2
).
The remaining cells were mostly T cells and some B cells. DC generated
from different donors were heterogeneous for CD1a, CD4, CD14, and CD64
expression (results not shown).
|
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Similar to what has been previously reported for other weakly
immunogenic neo-Ag, our preliminary experiments confirmed that
immunization of hu-PBL-SCID mice with PSA on adjuvant did
not stimulate detectable PSA-specific human IgG responses (data not
shown) (1, 29). This suggested that successful generation of
PSA-specific IgG responses required an immunization protocol that
enhanced the immunogenicity of PSA. We therefore analyzed whether
PSA-specific IgG responses could be generated by 1) targeting PSA to
Fc
R on endogenous APC by immunization of hu-SCID mice
with PSA-IgG2a, 2) targeting PSA directly to autologous DC by pulsing
in vitro cultured DC with soluble PSA, or 3) combining these
immunogenicity enhancing strategies. To test these possibilities, three
groups of hu-PBL-SCID mice (eight mice per group) were
engrafted with 1 x 108 donor 1 PBMC on day 0 (Fig. 1
). Autologous DC cultures were simultaneously initiated on day 0,
pulsed with either PSA or PSA-IgG2a on day 6, and harvested on day 7 as
described in Materials and Methods. Group A mice were
immunized with 7 x 106 thawed autologous PBMC on day
7; 25 µg of PSA-IgG2a on days 0, 7 and 14; and 25 µg of PSA on day
21. Group B mice were immunized with 7 x 106
PSA-pulsed DC cultures on day 7 and 25 µg of PSA weekly starting on
day 0. Group C mice were immunized with 7.5 x 106
PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC cultures on day 7; 25 µg of PSA-IgG2a on days 0,
7, and 14; and 25 µg PSA on day 21. Serum was collected on days 14,
25, and 28. DC cultures generated from donor 1 were 65%
CD1alow/CD14low/CD32+/CD64low
DC (Fig. 2
). Mice in all three groups had similar total and
PSA-specific IgM serum concentrations on day 14 (Fig. 4
, A and B). In
contrast, on day 28 PSA-specific IgG concentrations in group A, B, and
C sera averaged 2.3, 2.2, and 70.8 µg/ml, respectively (Fig. 4
C). Therefore, on day 28 the average PSA-specific IgG
concentration in group C serum was approximately 31.5-fold greater than
the average PSA-specific IgG concentrations in control mice. On day 28,
the average IgG concentrations in group A, B, and C sera were 0.3, 0.6,
and 1.5 mg/ml, respectively (Fig. 4
D). Therefore, the
percentage of PSA-specific IgG in group A, B, and C sera averaged 0.5,
0.6, and 4.2%, respectively (Fig. 4
E). In summary, group C
mice averaged both significantly higher PSA-specific IgG serum
concentrations (31.5-fold; p = 2.5 x
10-6) and percent PSA-specific IgG serum concentrations
(9.7-fold; p = 0.0002) than either control group.
|
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To confirm the reproducibility of this immunization protocol, group G
mice were generated from random donor 4 and immunized as described for
group F mice, except group G mice were immunized with 3.5 x
106 PSA-IgG2a pulsed DC cultures on day 7. Group G mice
were bled on days 14 and 21. Of the three donors tested, donor 4 PBMC
produced both the highest PSA-specific IgG serum concentrations and the
highest percent PSA-specific IgG serum concentrations. On day 14,
PSA-specific IgG concentrations ranged between 1.117.8 µg/ml (Fig. 6
A). PSA-specific IgG serum
concentrations increased dramatically in some mice. By day 21,
PSA-specific IgG serum concentrations ranged between 4.2196.5
µg/ml. In addition, group G mice produced between 1.959.4%
PSA-specific IgG by day 21 (Fig. 6
B).
|
Analysis of hu-PBL-SCID serum IgG for PSA specificity
To confirm that hu-PBL-SCID serum IgG was specific for
PSA, pooled group C serum IgG (92 µg/ml PSA-specific IgG) was
compared with mouse A.1 serum IgG (<1 µg/ml PSA-specific IgG) and
purified polyclonal control IgG in a PSA-specific ELISA. Group C serum
IgG bound PSA 10 times greater than background binding generated by
equivalent concentrations of either mouse A.1 serum IgG or control
human IgG (Fig. 7
A). The
specificity of group C serum IgG for PSA was further confirmed using
soluble PSA as a competitor for group C serum IgG binding to PSA
immobilized on a surface. Soluble PSA inhibited group C serum IgG
binding in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 7
B). Also, 20
µg/ml of soluble PSA reduced pooled group C serum IgG binding to
background titers.
|
Immunoblot analysis of pooled group C sera was performed to
determine whether PSA-specific IgG recognized conformational epitopes
on PSA. Replica blots were generated from 2.5 µg of PSA following
SDS-PAGE under nonreducing conditions, as described in Materials
and Methods. Group C serum IgG bound most strongly to a 37-kDa PSA
isoform and to a 25-kDa fragment (Fig. 8
A). Group C serum IgG also
bound to the other PSA isoforms and fragments between 1234 kDa, but
with less intensity. No human IgG binding to PSA was observed on blots
probed with control IgG (Fig. 8
B). Group C serum IgG also
bound PSA on immunoblots generated from SDS-PAGE under reducing
conditions, but with reduced intensity (data not shown). Apparently, Ab
generated from donor 1 responded most intensely to an epitope(s) that
is associated with secondary structures formed by one of the several
cysteine disulfide bonds present in PSA (30).
|
IgG4 isotype-specific ELISA were performed on pooled sera from
groups AF to determine whether enhanced Th2 cell activation (e.g.,
IL-4 production) may have influenced PSA-specific IgG production in
group C and F mice (31, 32). On day 25, the concentration of IgG4 in
pooled group C serum was 4.5- and 6.5-fold greater than the
concentrations of IgG4 in pooled sera from groups A and B, respectively
(Fig. 9
A). Group C mice also
produced up to 3-fold more IgG4 relative to total IgG than control mice
(Fig. 9B
). Similarly, the concentration of IgG4 in day 28 pooled group
F sera was 3.3- and 2.5-fold greater than the concentrations of IgG4 in
pooled sera from groups D and E, respectively (Fig. 9
C).
Group F mice also produced up to 3.1-fold more IgG4 relative to total
IgG compared with control mice (Fig. 9
D). Thus, enhanced
PSA-specific IgG production occurred in hu-PBL-SCID mice
with enhanced IgG4 production.
|
PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC, PSA-pulsed DC, and mock-treated DC were
analyzed by flow cytometry to determine whether altered
immunoregulatory surface molecule expression could have contributed to
the distinct PSA-specific IgG stimulatory capabilities of
PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC. Briefly, three sets of triplicate cultures were
generated from three donors in three separate experiments. One set of
triplicate cultures generated from each donor was pulsed with PSA,
another set was pulsed with PSA-IgG2a, and the final set was mock
treated on day 6. Identical triplicate cultures were pooled and
analyzed on day 7. The results showed that MHC class II, CD40, B7.1,
and B7.2 surface expression was enhanced on PSA-pulsed DC relative to
that on mock-treated DC for all donors tested (Table I
). When results for the three donors
were averaged, MHC class II surface expression was enhanced 2-fold
(p = 0.004). In addition, the average surface
expression of B7.1, B7.2, and CD40 was enhanced 4.4-fold
(p = 0.02), 2.1-fold (p
= 0.0004), and 2.7-fold (p = 0.04),
respectively. Contrary to expectations, little or no enhancement of
B7.1, CD40, and MHC class II surface expression occurred when DC
cultures were pulsed with PSA-IgG2a (p
0.12). Interestingly, the average B7.2 expression was enhanced 1.4-fold
on PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC compared with B7.2 expression on mock-treated DC
(p = 0.02). Thus, PSA-specific IgG production
was associated with DC that only had significantly enhanced B7.2
surface expression and not with DC that had significantly enhanced
surface expression of B7.1, B7.2, CD40, and MHC class II molecules.
|
| Discussion |
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|
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We suggest that one factor in the successful stimulation of PSA-specific IgG production was the intentional use of female donors. Previous in vitro experiments comparing male and female splenocyte cultures revealed that only female cells were capable of producing PSA-specific IgG (36). We had suggested that this was due to the fact that males are naturally tolerized to PSA, while females are not. In fact, PSA-specific IgG titers have been documented in a few normal females (37). Thus, PSA-specific IgG production by female leukocytes is more akin to a neo-Ag response than to a self-Ag response. It would be interesting to use this model to determine whether tolerance to self-Ag expressed during ontogeny is different from tolerance to self-Ag expressed following puberty.
Previous reports have established that murine IgG2a binds to human
Fc
R via the Fc region of the IgG2a heavy chain (24, 25). We showed
here that PSA-IgG2a bound to human DC. Therefore, PSA-specific IgG
production by hu-PBL-SCID mice was probably facilitated by
targeting PSA to Fc
R on human DC by the Fc region of PSA-IgG2a. This
is supported by the results reported by Ingmar et al., who showed that
human Fc
RI transgenic mice immunized with a human Fc
RI-specific
mAb containing antigenic determinants had greatly enhanced target
Ag-specific IgG responses compared with those of littermate controls
(38).
It is interesting to consider how targeting PSA to Fc
R on human DC
may have enhanced PSA-specific humoral responses. It is known that
complexing Ag to an Ag-specific mAb decreases the quantity of Ag
required for human APC to elicit half-maximal proliferation responses
from Ag-specific T cells up to 1000-fold (23, 39). It has been
suggested that increased immunogenicity is due to efficient Ag capture
by Fc
R and consequential enhanced Ag presentation by MHC molecules
(39). It has also been previously established by ourselves and others
that Th cell help is required for Ag-specific Ab production in similar
hu-SCID models (2, 8, 40). Therefore, PSA-specific IgG
production may have been due in part to an increased immunogenicity of
PSA, i.e., a greater frequency of PSA-specific Th cell activation. As a
result, the minimum amount of PSA-specific Th cell help needed by
PSA-specific B cells may have been consistently achieved in mice
immunized with PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC, but not in control mice. However,
it is well established that there is sufficient TAA capture and
presentation by soluble TAA-pulsed DC to activate T cells and stimulate
TAA-specific Th1-type and/or CTL responses (i.e., cellular immunity) in
vitro and in vivo (12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 41, 42, 43). Thus, these studies suggest
that additional factors other than enhanced PSA presentation may have
also contributed to enhanced PSA-specific humoral responses by our
PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC immunized mice.
We showed here that stimulating naive DC cultures with either soluble
Ag or Ag-mAb complexes induced DC with significantly distinct
phenotypes. B7.1, B7.2, CD40, and MHC class II surface expression was
significantly enhanced on soluble PSA-pulsed DC relative to that on
mock-treated naive DC. In addition, enhancement of B7.1 and CD40
surface expression was neither a donor-specific nor a PSA-specific
occurrence. Similar results were obtained when donor 5 DC were pulsed
either with the recall Ag, tetanus toxoid, or with the neo-Ag, horse
ferritin (data not shown). Apparently, stimulation by soluble Ag leads
to a surface molecule expression pattern that is associated with
activation (14, 44, 45). It has recently been shown that human and
murine DC express and use mannose/fucose receptors for absorptive
endocytosis and presentation of neo-glycoproteins to T cells (46, 47, 48).
Perhaps Ag binding to glycosylated protein receptors on DC and/or
endocytosis of glycosylated Ag by surface membrane receptors produced
activation enhancing signaling events that led to the distinct
phenotypic changes we characterized. Regardless, our data raise the
possibility that these distinct DC had different effects on Th effector
cell maturation, and that the DC phenotype induced by PSA-IgG2a pulsing
may have contributed to the enhanced PSA-specific humoral immune
responses. This idea is supported by recent reports that show that APC
with different immunoregulatory molecule surface expression levels,
particularly different B7.1 and B7.2 levels, stimulate distinct Th cell
effector functions (28, 49, 50). Analysis of IL-4, IL-2, and INF-
serum concentrations was considered as a means to determine relative
differences in Th1 or Th2 activation, but previous attempts to identify
these cytokines in sera generated from similar SCID models were
inconclusive (P. Brams, unpublished observations). Rather, we showed
here that PSA-IgG2a DC-immunized mice produced up to 3.1-fold more IgG4
relative to total IgG compared with control mice. This observation
strongly suggests Th2 activation was enhanced in group C and F mice
because IgG4 production is specifically associated with B cell
stimulation by the Th2-derived cytokine, IL-4 (31, 32, 51).
Unfortunately, we could not detect any PSA-specific IgG4 (data not
shown). This result was not unexpected, since the sensitivity of our
isotype-specific assays is greatly reduced compared with polyclonal
targeting of both IgG heavy and light chains. Regardless, when DC
phenotype and relative IgG4 expression data are evaluated together, it
suggests a model with greatly enhanced B7.1 costimulation by
PSA-pulsed, DC-polarized, PSA-specific Th cells to a Th1 phenotype
through DC/T cell feedback maturation and differentiation (28, 52, 53, 54, 55).
Without sufficient additional Th2 activation, little or no PSA-specific
IgG1 was produced by group B and E mice (51). In contrast,
PSA-IgG2a-pulsed DC only had significantly enhanced B7.2 surface
expression compared with naive DC. This suggests the inverse of the
same model, where significantly more B7.2 may have mediated
PSA-specific IgG1 production by directing more frequent Th2 activation
than in control mice (28, 49). Increased Th2 activation may have
subsequently stimulated enhanced PSA-specific IgG1 production by direct
Th2 cytokine stimulation of B cells and through Th2 cytokine-modified
Th1 help (51, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60). We plan to investigate whether Th1/Th2 deviation
can be influenced by an Ag-Ab complex pulsed vs Ag-pulsed DC in vitro,
where both cytokine production and costimulatory surface molecule
expression by the responding T cells can be fully analyzed.
In summary, our results showed that DC pulsed with Fc
R-binding
PSA-mAb complexes consistently and reproducibly stimulated PSA-specific
IgG responses in hu-PBL-SCID mice, but DC pulsed with PSA
did not. Interestingly, functional IgG responses were associated with
immunizing DC that had enhanced B7.2 surface expression but with B7.1,
MHC class II, and CD40 surface expression levels comparable to those of
naive DC. Furthermore, as we previously shown that Ag-specific IgG
responses can be immortalized from hu-SCID mice with
Ag-specific IgG titers, our results open the possibility that this
immunization strategy may be useful for generating human mAb to human
TAA and other weakly immunogenic Ag (2).
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. M. A. Coccia, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 11011 Torreyana Rd., San Diego, CA 92121. ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: hu, human; SPL, spleen cells; TAA, tumor-associated Ag; DC, dendritic cell(s); GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage CSF; PSA, prostate specific Ag; IN2, Iscoves complete medium and 2% Nutridoma HU; PE, phycoerythrin; MFI, mean fluorescence intensity; HRP, horseradish peroxidase; OPD, o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride; PBST, PBS and 0.05% Tween; GS-PBST, 5% goat serum and PBST. ![]()
Received for publication April 7, 1998. Accepted for publication July 14, 1998.
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