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Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Rhode-SaintGenèse, Belgium;
Genetics Institute, Cambridge, MA 02140;
Département de Virologie-Immunologie, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium; and
§
Unité dImmunologie Expérimentale, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium
| Abstract |
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-producing Th1 cells
are not properly activated. We and others have shown that the nature of
the APCs present during the first encounter with the Ag influences the
development of selected Th populations in vivo; dendritic cells (DCs)
seem to be required for the induction of primary, Th1-type responses.
Since carrier priming induces the clonal expansion of specific B cells
that appear to efficiently capture the Ag, we hypothesized that the
hapten-carrier conjugate may be presented by B cells in preimmunized
animals. Therefore, we immunized mice to the conjugate by injecting
syngeneic DCs pulsed in vitro with the Ag. Our data show that an
injection of DCs and IL-12 prevents epitopic suppression, suggesting
that it may result from defective Ag presentation. | Introduction |
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The induction and maintenance of suppression varies according to individual Ig isotype. IgM responses show no evidence of suppression, whereas hapten-specific IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3, and to a lesser extent IgG1, responses are significantly suppressed in carrier-primed animals (3).
The analysis of functional phenotype and lymphokine secretion pattern
has recently led to the identification of two discrete subsets of Th
cells (4) that appear to reciprocally regulate the expression of Ig
isotypes during a humoral response. In particular, the optimal
production of IgG2a is induced by the activation of Th1 cells that
secrete IFN-
(5, 6). It is noteworthy that the anti-hapten
response of mice undergoing carrier-induced suppression resembles the
response mediated by Th2 cells in the absence of Th1 cells.
We and others have shown that the nature of the APC influences the isotype profile of the immune response. There is some evidence that dendritic cells (DCs)3 are required for the optimal activation of Th1 cells, whereas B cells and macrophages may preferentially induce the differentiation of Th2 cells (7, 8, 9, 10). Therefore, we hypothesized that the selective deficiency in the anti-hapten Th1-like response could be due to the presentation of hapten by APCs, which are not competent to induce the development of Th1 cells. Hapten-carrier conjugates would be captured, processed, and presented by B lymphocytes specific to the carrier in preimmunized animals. In naive animals, hapten-carrier would be presented by DCs, which are described as the accessory cells of the primary response.
Based on this assumption, we attempted to overcome carrier-induced immune suppression by immunizing mice with hapten-carrier pulsed on syngeneic DCs. Our data show that coinjecting conjugate-pulsed DCs and IL-12 induces the synthesis of high levels of hapten IgG2a Abs and prevents epitopic suppression.
| Materials and Methods |
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We purchased 6- to 8-wk-old female BALB/c mice (H-2d) and DBA/2 mice (H-2d) from Charles River Wiga (Sulzfeld, Germany). These mice were maintained in our own pathogen-free facility.
Ags, IL, and culture media
The carrier used in this study was keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), which was obtained from Calbiochem-Novabiochem (San Diego, CA). Trinitrophenylated hemocyanin (TNP10-KLH) was prepared as described previously (11). Briefly, TNP coupling was performed by adding 38 µg of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) to 1 mg of KLH in borate-buffered saline. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 2 h at room temperature with stirring. The solution was dialyzed extensively against PBS at 4°C and stored at -20°C. The concentration of TNP-KLH and the degree of substitution were measured by UV absorbance at 280 nM and 340 nM. An average of 10 molecules of TNP for 1 molecule of KLH was determined.
Murine rIL-12 was provided by Genetics Institute (Cambridge, MA).
The culture medium used for the isolation and Ag-pulsing of APCs was RPMI 1640 (Seromed Biochem KG, Berlin, Germany) supplemented with 10% FCS (Byosis S.A., Compiègne, France), penicillin, streptomycin, nonessential amino acids, sodium pyruvate, 2-ME, and L-glutamine (Flow ICN Biomedicals, Buckinghamshire, U.K.).
Purification and pulsing of DCs
Spleens were digested with collagenase (CLSIII; Worthington
Biochemical, Freehold, NJ) and separated into low- and high-density
fractions on a BSA gradient (Bovuminar Cohn fraction V powder; Armour
Pharmaceutical, Tarrytown, NY) according to a procedure described by
Crowley et al. (12). For DC pulsing, the adherent cells of the
low-density fraction were cultured overnight in complete medium
containing 100 µg/ml of TNP10-KLH. Nonadherent cells
contained at
90% of DCs after overnight culture (as assessed by
morphology and specific staining using the anti-CD11c mAb, N418).
TNP10-KLH-pulsed DCs were washed in RPMI 1640 and
administered at a dose of 3 x 105 cells in a volume
of 200 µl.
Immunization protocols
KLH priming: Mice received an i.p. injection of 100 µg of KLH adsorbed onto 1 mg of Al(OH)3 adjuvant (alum) on day -14.
TNP-KLH priming: The mice were injected i.p. on day 0 with 100 µg of TNP10-KLH adsorbed onto 1 mg of Al(OH)3 or injected i.v. with 3 x 105 conjugate-pulsed DCs (see above) and 5 µg TNP-10KLH 5 days later.
Treatment with IL-12: Some groups of mice received four daily i.p. injections of 0.2 µg rIL-12 on days 0, 1, 2, and 3, beginning at the same time as the injection of TNP-KLH.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
Mice were bled at 21 days after primary immunization with
TNP-KLH. Each mouse was bled and analyzed individually. The serum
levels of Ag-specific Abs were determined by ELISA according to
standard procedures using polyclonal goat anti-mouse Ig reagent
(Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals, Mannheim, Germany) or
isotype-specific rat mAbs. Anti-TNP and anti-KLH Abs were titrated
using TNP12 human
-globulin (5 µg/ml) or KLH (5
µg/ml). Ab concentrations were calculated based on a linear
regression analysis of the ODs. The results are expressed as micrograms
per milliliter and were determined using the midpoint of the titration
curves relative to an internal standard run in each assay. The
concentration of the Abs of all isotypes, as well as of the IgG1 or
IgG2a isotypes, was calculated in the reference relative to the binding
of purified IgG1 or IgG2a mAbs on TNP-or rat-anti-
-coated plates
and was revealed by rabbit anti-mouse, rat anti-mouse IgG1, or
rat anti-mouse IgG2a, respectively. All sera were tested on days 14
and 21 of the primary response and on day 8 of the secondary response
with similar differences between the groups (data not shown).
Statistical analysis
The data were analyzed for significance using the ANOVA test.
| Results |
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We have shown previously that syngeneic DCs that have been pulsed
in vitro with protein Ag induce a strong humoral response in syngeneic
mice which is characterized by high levels of IgG2a Abs (7, 8). In
preliminary experiments designed to determine whether conjugate-pulsed
DCs would induce a humoral response to both hapten and carrier, we
analyzed the immune response of mice that were primed by an injection
of DCs that had been pulsed in vitro with TNP10-KLH,
as previously described. Some DC-primed animals were injected i.v. with
5 µg TNP10-KLH in saline at 5 days after DC injection to
sensitize B lymphocytes that were specific for native (unprocessed) Ag.
Control groups included mice injected with soluble conjugate only and
untreated animals. The data in Figure 1
show that all groups secreted high levels of Abs specific for KLH (Fig. 1
A), although the level of Abs was significantly
lower in mice injected with conjugate-pulsed DCs alone. By contrast,
the humoral response that was specific for hapten varied among the
groups, and the highest levels of Abs were induced by administrating
conjugate-pulsed DCs and soluble Ag (Fig. 1
B). Thus,
an injection of conjugate-pulsed DCs and soluble Ag activates a humoral
response that is specific for hapten and carrier.
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Next, we tested whether targeting the hapten-carrier conjugate on
DCs would prevent epitopic suppression. Carrier-primed DBA/2 mice were
immunized either with TNP-KLH in alum or with a single injection of
hapten-carrier pulsed on DCs, followed by an i.v. Ag boost 5 days
later. Some groups received four daily injections of 0.2 µg IL-12,
which has been shown to promote Th1 development (13, 14, 15). All mice were
bled at 21 days after the initiation of treatment, and levels of
specific Abs were measured in individual sera. The data in Figure 2
show that, as expected, the production
of the TNP-specific IgG2a Abs elicited by TNP-KLH in alum was
suppressed by preexisting immunity to KLH (Fig. 2
A).
It is worth noting that the group of animals injected with Ag-pulsed
DCs secreted significant levels of IgG2a specific for hapten when
preimmunized against the carrier, albeit at lower levels than those
produced by unprimed mice (Fig. 2
B). An injection of
IL-12 resulted in a similar increase in TNP-specific IgG2a Abs in mice
injected with TNP-KLH in alum, regardless of whether they had been
preimmunized against the carrier (Fig. 2
C);
therefore, IL-12 did not abrogate the suppression. Interestingly, an
injection of conjugate-pulsed DCs and IL-12 completely prevented the
epitopic suppression and resulted in the production of comparable
amounts of TNP-specific Abs of IgG2a isotype in unprimed or
carrier-primed mice (Fig. 2
D).
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| Discussion |
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The selective deficiency in the TNP-specific IgG2a response suggests
that IFN-
-producing cells (Th1 cells) may not be properly activated
in carrier-primed animals. All attempts to compare the Th1- and
Th2-type cytokines that are produced following hapten restimulation in
vitro by cells from control and suppressed mice were inconclusive,
probably because of the coexistence of carrier- and hapten-specific Th
cells (see below).
We hypothesized that epitopic suppression may result from defective hapten presentation by carrier-specific B lymphocytes that would efficiently capture the TNP-KLH conjugate (17, 18) and favor the development of Th2 cells. Therefore, we immunized mice by an injection of DCs that had been pulsed extracorporeally with the conjugate. The data clearly show that priming with DCs and daily injections of IL-12 prevented the suppression. Although the injection of conjugate pulsed on DCs or the administration of conjugate in alum with IL-12 induced increased levels of TNP-specific IgG2a Abs, it did not prevent epitopic suppression. Thus, the induction of an optimal Th1-type response is not sufficient to bypass the suppression. Our results support the hypothesis that epitopic suppression may involve a defective hapten presentation, as targeting the conjugate on DCs is required to prevent the suppression. The requirement for exogenous IL-12 may be related to the consumption of IL-12 by carrier-specific T cells that are present in the same environment or to the very low amounts of IL-12p70 (the bioactive form) secreted by DCs (19). Interestingly, activated B cells have been shown to down-regulate the expression of CD40 ligand/CD154 by CD4+ T cells (20). Since IL-12 secretion is strongly enhanced in DCs upon interaction with CD40 ligand-expressing T cells (19), the inhibition of CD40 ligand/CD154 expression on T cells by KLH-specific B cells in carrier-primed animals would lead to the secretion of lower levels of IL-12 as compared with mice that were not primed to the carrier.
Hapten-specific suppression has been shown to strongly affect the IgG2a
response and mildly affect the IgG1 response. Similarly, our data show
a significant decrease in the production of TNP-specific IgG1 Abs in
groups injected with TNP-KLH in alum and preimmunized with KLH (Fig. 3
, group A). There is evidence that the synthesis of IgG1 could result
from the activation of either Th1 or Th2 cells, as the IgG1 response to
T cell-dependent Ag remained significant in the absence of IL-4 (21, 22). Therefore, as the synthesis of IgG2a strictly depends upon Th1
cells, whereas the production of IgG1 depends upon the activation of
either Th cell population, a selective deficiency in Th1 cells would
result in a strong decrease in IgG2a and only a mild decrease in IgG1
production.
Of note, several reports have shown that immunization with the hapten-carrier conjugate in the presence of pertussis toxin or Bordetella pertussis LPS prevented epitopic suppression (23). Since bacteria and derivatives have been shown to induce the maturation of DCs in vitro and in vivo (24, 25) as well the migration of DCs to T cell areas (25), it is tempting to speculate that heat-killed bacteria or bacterial components favor the presentation of hapten-carrier by fully competent, mature DCs.
Several observations may be compatible with the role of carrier-specific B cells in inducing the preferential development of Th2 cells in carrier-primed animals: 1) priming hapten-specific B cells before carrier/hapten-carrier immunization abrogates the suppression (16); 2) epitopic suppression does not require carrier-primed CD4+ or CD8+ cells for its expression (26); 3) carrier- (diphtheria or tetanus toxoid) induced suppression can be circumvented by the use of peptide as carrier (27, 28); 4) the increase in epitope density of hapten-carrier conjugates decreases their ability to induce epitopic suppression (16); and 5) KLH priming of mice subsequently immunized with TNP-KLH does not interfere with the development of normal numbers of TNP-specific memory B cells (29).
Several reports indicate that B cells may favor the differentiation of
Th2 cells. Th2 clones were found to proliferate preferentially in vitro
in response to Ag presented by B cells (9). Ag-primed lymph node cells
have been shown to produce more IL-4 when Ag is presented by B cells
than when it is presented by splenic adherent cells (30). Polyclonal
activation of the murine immune system in vivo by Abs to mouse IgD has
been shown to stimulate T cells to secrete IL-4 (31, 32). More
recently, Macaulay and coworkers have clearly shown that B cells
activated by IgR-mediated endocytosis of Ag induced both naive and
Ag-primed CD4+ T cells to produce high levels of IL-4 (33).
In contrast, splenic adherent cells induced the production of very low
levels of IL-4 but much higher levels of IFN-
(33).
The most effective inducer of Th cell differentiation appears to be the local cytokine environment. In particular, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 appear to induce the polarization of naive CD4+ T cells to effector Th2 cells (34, 35, 36, 37, 38). IL-6 and IL-10 are produced by a wide spectrum of cells, including macrophages and B and T lymphocytes. IL-4 is secreted by mast cells, basophils, NK1.1+ cells, and T lymphocytes. Therefore, it is possible that some of these cytokines are produced during priming to KLH and cause TNP-specific naive T cells to differentiate to Th2 cells.
An alternative explanation may involve hapten-specific suppressor cells. However, no evidence has been found for suppressor cells, as the IgG response is not inhibited by the coculture of TNP-specific B cells from control mice with TNP-specific B cells from suppressed mice (29).
The phenomenon of carrier-induced epitopic suppression raises the
question of the specificity of the Th cells that induce Ab secretion by
hapten-specific B cells. Indeed, the production of carrier- and
hapten-specific IgG2a Abs appears inversely regulated, as
carrier-primed mice produce increased levels of IgG2a specific to the
carrier but decreased levels of hapten-specific IgG2a Abs (Fig. 3
and
data not shown). There is some evidence that the CD4+ T
cell responses mainly reflect the recognition of the hapten determinant
alone, and that the carrier may allow the correct positioning of TNP
molecules (39, 40). Therefore, although carrier-specific Th cells have
been shown to enhance the hapten-specific immune response (2), a
distinct Th population may activate the differentiation of B cells
producing anti-hapten Abs.
In conclusion, our data suggest that the phenomenon of carrier-induced epitopic suppression may result from deficient hapten presentation, possibly by carrier-specific B cells. Indeed, targeting the conjugate on DCs, which have been shown to optimally sensitize Th1 cells, prevents suppression in the presence of IL-12 and leads to the production of hapten-specific IgG2a Abs near control level. Additional experiments involving immunization to hapten-carrier in the absence of carrier-specific B cells will be required to directly assess the role of these cells in the phenomenon of carrier-induced, hapten-specific suppression.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Muriel Moser, Rue des Chevaux 67, 1640 Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Belgium. E-mail address: ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: DC, dendritic cell; TNP, trinitrophenol; KLH, keyhole limpet hemocyanin; alum, Al(OH)3 adjuvant. ![]()
Received for publication October 16, 1998. Accepted for publication March 20, 1998.
| References |
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and B cell stimulatory factor-1 reciprocally regulate Ig isotype production. Science 236:944.This article has been cited by other articles:
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S G Hannesdottir, X Han, T Lund, M Singh, R van der Zee, I M Roitt, and P J Delves Changes in the reproductive system of male mice immunized with a GnRH-analogue conjugated to mycobacterial hsp70 Reproduction, September 1, 2004; 128(3): 365 - 371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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