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Department of Immunology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Langen, Germany
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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In striking contrast to their Fas resistance, freshly isolated human peripheral blood T cells are readily induced to undergo apoptosis when cultured for 18 h with PMA-treated monocytes and anti-CD3 mAb or PMA (15). This monocyte-dependent cell death (MDCD) was shown to require cell-cell contact between adherent blood monocytes and T cells and could be prevented by mAb against CD11a, CD18, and CD45RA (15, 16). Moreover, MDCD appeared to involve the Fas/Fas-L system, at least under conditions of suboptimal PMA concentrations during the T cell/monocyte coculture (16).
There is increasing evidence that monocytes/macrophages play an important role in the control of T cell and NK cell apoptosis. In additon to the execution of T cell death in the presence of PMA, monocytes induce apoptosis of NK cells through the release of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) (17). Furthermore, when cultured in the presence of M-CSF, monocytes gradually acquire the capacity to induce apoptosis in Ag-reactive T lymphocytes (18). Finally, monocytes are required for the apoptosis of CD4+ T cells induced by CD4 cross-linking, which up-regulates Fas-L expression in monocytes (19).
In this study, we have investigated the capacity of several monocyte/macrophage cell lines to substitute for peripheral blood monocytes in MDCD. We also demonstrate that, in addition to phorbolester PMA, the T cell mitogens PHA and Con A trigger MDCD of freshly isolated T cells. Finally, we show that MDCD triggered by optimal concentrations of PMA is completely inhibited by catalase, thus pointing to a central role of ROI in the execution of MDCD.
| Materials and Methods |
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PBMC were isolated from buffy coats obtained from healthy blood
donors by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation. After washing
twice in PBS, PBMC were resuspended in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10
mM HEPES, 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 U/ml penicillin, 100
µg/ml streptomycin, and 10% heat-inactivated FCS (Biochrom, Berlin,
Germany). T cells were separated from PBMC by E rosette formation with
neuraminidase-treated sheep erythrocytes and Ficoll-Hypaque
centrifugation (20). Monocytes were prepared from nonrosetting
(E-) cells by plastic adherence for 1 h at 37°C in
RPMI 1640/10% FCS. Nonadherent cells were discarded, and adherent
cells were recovered by scrubbing with a rubber policeman. Sheep E were
lysed in NH4Cl solution. The E rosette-forming cells
(E+) were used as responder T cells. In some experiments, T
cells were purified using magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS,
Miltenyi Biotech, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany). E+ cells
were stained with a mixture of mAb specific for CD14, CD16, CD20, CD56
(all from PharMingen, Hamburg, Germany) and HLA-DR (L243, American Type
Culture Collection, Manassas, VA). After two washing steps, the cells
were incubated with goat-anti-mouse IgG-labeled micromagnetic
particles and passed through a MACS column to deplete NK cells and
activated (MHC class II positive) cells, as well as any residual B
cells and monocytes/macrophages. These cell populations are referred to
as purified T cells. They routinely consisted of >98%
CD3+ T cells. CD4+ and CD8+ T cell
subsets were isolated from E-rosetted T cells by negative selection
procedures using the MACS technology. In short, E+ cells
were labeled with mAb against CD16, TCR
, HLA-DR, and CD8 (for
isolation of CD4+ cells) or mAb against CD16, TCR
,
HLA-DR, and CD4 (for isolation of CD8+ cells), followed by
incubation with goat anti-mouse IgG-labeled micromagnetic particles
and passage through MACS columns (21). The resulting cell populations
were >98% CD4+ or CD8+, respectively. Cord
blood mononuclear cells (CBMC) were prepared from heparinized cord
blood obtained immediately after delivery of healthy newborns. CBMC
were subjected to a second Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient, which has
been shown to increase the purity of mononuclear cells considerably
(22). Separation of T and non-T cells was done as described above.
Cell lines
The following monocytic or myelocytic leukemic cell lines were obtained from the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (Braunschweig, Germany): Mono-Mac-6, THP-1, U937, HL-60, and KG-1. In addition, we used the erythroleukemic line K562, as well as Burkitt lymphoma cell lines Daudi, BJAB, Ca-46, and EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) established from the peripheral blood of healthy adult donors.
Cell cultures
Cell cultures were set up in round-bottom 96-well microtiter plates (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark) with 105 responder T cells (E+, purified T cells, CD4+ or CD8+) and 105 adherent cells (monocytes) or E- cells, or 5 x 104 cells of the various cell lines. In experiments where T cell expansion was also measured after 4 days of culture, the accessory cells were irradiated with a cesium source (2000 rad for monocytes/E- cells, 6000 rad for cell lines). The culture medium was RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10 mM HEPES, 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 U/ml penicillin, 100 µg/ml streptomycin, and 10% heat-inactivated pooled human serum obtained from male donors. All cultures were incubated at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air.
Measurement of proliferation
Cell proliferation was measured by [3H]TdR incorporation. Microculture wells were pulsed for 6 h with 1 µCi [3H]TdR per well (sp. act.: 5 Ci/mmol; Amersham, Braunschweig, Germany). Thereafter, wells were harvested onto filtermats, and radioactivity was measured in a surface ß-emission scanner (Trace-96; Berthold, Wildbad, Germany)
Induction of T cell death
The following stimuli were added at the onset of cultures: phorbolester PMA (10 ng/ml; Sigma, Deisenhofen, Germany); PHA (PHA-P; 1 µg/ml; Wellcome, Burgwedel, Germany); Con A (8 µg/ml; Pharmacia, Freiburg, Germany); or PWM (1:1000; Life Technologies, Eggenstein, Germany). In some experiments, the agonistic anti-CD95/Fas mAb 7C11 (23) was added at 1 µg/ml. After 18 to 20 h incubation at 37°C, the absolute number of remaining viable T cells per microculture well was determined.
Measurement of T cell death and T cell expansion
The extent of T cell death was quantified by measuring the absolute number of viable T cells per microculture well with a recently developed flow cytometry method termed "standard cell dilution assay" (SCDA). The cells of interest (here, T cells) were stained with phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated anti-CD3 mAb Leu4 (Becton Dickinson, Heidelberg, Germany). Shortly before flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, a known number of standard cells was added in staining buffer containing 0.2 µg/ml propidium iodide (PI; Serva, Heidelberg, Germany). The standard cells were T lymphocytes that had been labeled with FITC-conjugated anti-HLA class I mAb W6/32 and fixed in 1% paraformaldehyde; therefore, standard cells are FITC+/PI+. From the ratio of viable T cells (PE+/PI-) to standard cells (FITC+/PI+), the absolute number of viable T cells can be easily calculated (24). This method has been successfully applied to the analysis of alloantigen-induced death of human T cells (25, 26). In some experiments, CD4+ and CD8+ cells were simultaneously enumerated by SCDA. To this end, cultured cells were stained with unconjugated anti-CD4 mAb OKT4 plus FITC-conjugated anti-CD8 mAb OKT8, followed by PE-conjugated goat anti-mouse Ig. In these instances, viable CD4+ cells were identified as FITC-PE+PI-, whereas viable CD8+ cells were FITC+PE+PI- and standard cells were FITC+PE-PI+. All FCM analyses were measured on a FACScan flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson) using the Lysis II software. The same method was used to measure the cellular expansion of T lymphocytes after a culture period of 4 days. Further details of the SCDA method have been published (24).
In addition, the translocation of phosphatidylserine from the inner plasma membrane to the cell surface as an early marker of apoptosis was monitored by staining with FITC-annexin V (27). To this end, the annexin V apoptosis kit (R&D Systems, Wiesbaden, Germany) was used, which combines phosphatidylserine labeling with PI staining.
Flow cytometry
The following mAb were used as FITC or PE conjugates or as biotinylated (b) mAb followed by PE-coupled streptavidin (Becton Dickinson) as a second-step reagent for phenotypic characterization of T cells, monocytes, and cell lines: Leu5b-FITC (CD2), Leu4-PE (CD3), Leu3a-PE (CD4), Leu2a-FITC (CD8), LeuM5-PE (CD11c), Leu M3-FITC (CD14), Leu11a-FITC (CD16), Leu M9-PE (CD33), Leu18-FITC (CD45RA), CD45 RO-PE (CD45RO), Leu54-PE (CD54), anti-BB1/B7-PE (CD80), HLA-DR-PE (MHC class II) (all from Becton Dickinson), CD13-PE (CD13) (Immunotech, Hamburg, Germany), CD86b (CD86) (Ancell, Bayport, MN), and CD95b (CD95) (PharMingen). FITC- or PE-conjugated isotype controls were from Becton Dickinson. After two washing steps, the samples were resuspended in PBS with 1% paraformaldehyde. All analyses were measured on a FACScan (Becton Dickinson) on the basis of forward and side scatter properties and fluorescence intensity using the Lysis II software.
Reagents
Catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) from bovine liver was from Sigma.
Herbimycin A was purchased from Calbiochem (Bad Soden, Germany) and
dissolved in DMSO. It was used at 1.5 µM. The inhibitors of ICE-like
proteases Ac-YVAD-CMK and ZVAD-FMK (Bachem, Heidelberg, Germany) were
dissolved in DMSO at 100 mM. In all instances, the final concentration
of DMSO in cell cultures did not exceed 0.1%. Additionally, the
following compounds (all from Sigma) were used: superoxide-dismutase
(2200 U/ml), mannitol (50 µM-50 mM), deferoxamine (10100 µM),
N-acetylcysteine (120 mM), and aurintricarboxylic acid
(ATA; 100 µM1 mM). Sodium azide was obtained from Serva and was
used at 10 µM40 µM. Mannitol, deferoxamine, and sodium azide were
dissolved in H2O, whereas ATA was dissolved in 1 M
NH4OH. Anti-Fas mAb M3 and M33 (28) and the Fas-Fc fusion
protein including the extracellular domain of the Fas molecule were
kindly provided by Immunex (Seattle, WA). Cocultures of E+
cells and monocytes were preincubated with inhibitors for 60 min at
37°C before PMA or PHA were added. The following recombinant human
cytokines were used at 1 to 10 ng/ml: IL-2 (sp. act., 3 x
106 U/mg; EuroCetus, Frankfurt, Germany), IL-4 (sp. act.,
1.8 x 106 U/mg; Immunex), IL-10 (sp. act., 5 x
105 U/mg; PharMingen), IL-12 (sp. act., 1.5 x
108 U/mg; Hoffmann-La Roche, Nutley, NJ) and IFN-
(sp.act., 105 U/mg, PharmaBiotech, Hannover, Germany).
Statistical analysis
Students t test was used to analyze statistical significance of the results.
| Results |
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As reported by Wu et al. (15), freshly isolated T cells undergo
apoptosis when stimulated for 18 h with PMA or anti-CD3 mAb in
the presence of PMA-treated monocytes. In a first series of
experiments, we asked whether T cell mitogens such as PHA, Con A, and
PWM also trigger cell death in freshly isolated peripheral blood T
cells. We used unfractionated PBMC as responder cells to avoid a
possible impact of T cell separation procedures. Death and cellular
expansion of T cells were quantified by measuring the absolute number
of viable CD3+ cells by SCDA as described in
Materials and Methods. We used the mitogens at previously
determined optimal mitogenic concentrations (PHA: 1 µg/ml; Con A: 8
µg/ml; PWM: 1:1000), which yielded the typical time course kinetic of
[3H]TdR incorporation, with PHA and Con A peaking at day
3 and PWM peaking at day 5 (Fig. 1
a). In parallel, the absolute
number of viable CD3+ cells was measured by SCDA after 4
days of culture (Fig. 1
b). As expected, the mitogens PHA and
Con A induced strong T cell expansion, while PWM was less efficient
(consistent with the delayed kinetic of [3H]TdR
incorporation). Surprisingly, the incubation of PBMC with PHA or Con A
for 18 h induced significant T cell death, as evidenced by the
reduction of viable CD3+ T cell numbers to 71 ± 18%
and 74 ± 13%, respectively, of the medium control (Fig. 1
c). While PMA was even more efficient in triggering T cell
death (reduction of viable T cells to 55 ± 14% at day 1;
n = 3), PWM was ineffective (reduction of viable T
cells to 92% ± 6% of medium control; Fig. 1
c). Similar
experiments, without concomitant measurement of [3H]TdR
incorporation, were performed with 17 additional donors, and comparable
results were yielded (reduction of viable CD3+ cells in
comparsion to medium control, measured by SCDA at day 1: PMA, 48
± 16%, p < 0.001; PHA, 75 ± 9%, p
= 0.01; Con A, 73 ± 12%, p = 0.01; PWM, 94
± 7%, p = 0.1).
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Next we investigated whether monocytes can be replaced by
established monocytic/myelocytic cell lines in their accessory function
in MDCD. To this end, 105 E+ cells were
cocultured with PMA or PHA in the presence of 105
irradiated adherent cells or 5 x 104 irradiated cell
line cells, and viable CD3+ T cells were enumerated after 1
day (for estimation of cell death) and 4 days (for estimation of
CD3+ cell expansion). We tested myeolocytic cell lines
(HL-60, KG-1), monocytic cell lines (Mono-Mac-6, THP-1, U937),
erythroleukemic K562 cells, Burkitts lymphoma (Ca-46, BJAB, Daudi)
and EBV-transformed LCL. As reported in Table I
, these cell lines varied in their
expression of CD11c, CD13, CD14, CD33, CD80, CD86, and MHC class II.
CD14 and CD11c were expressed on adherent cells but were not detectable
on any of the cell lines. CD54 was expressed neither on monocytes nor
on cell lines (not shown). None of the tested cell lines could
effectively substitute for peripheral blood adherent cells in the
induction of MDCD by PMA or PHA, with the exception of THP-1 which was
moderately effective with PMA (Fig. 4
a). As illustrated in Figure 4
b, however, all cell lines were potent accessory cells for
the PHA-stimulated expansion of CD3+ T cells as measured by
SCDA after 4 days, suggesting that cell death-inducing and cell
expansion-stimulating activities are separable functions of accessory
cells.
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CD4+ and CD8+ T cells purified by negative
selection procedures were separately tested for their susceptibility to
PMA- and PHA-triggered MDCD. As shown in Figure 5
, CD4+ and CD8+
T cells were equally sensitive and did not differ in their
susceptibility from unseparated E+ cells. Again, PMA
induced more intense death than PHA in both CD4+ and
CD8+ subsets. Similar results were obtained when the
PHA-triggered MDCD was analyzed in unfractionated PBMC responder cells
by simultaneous enumeration of viable CD4+ and
CD8+ cells in individual microcultures (not shown).
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We tested a variety of reagents and cytokines for their effects on
MDCD. For these experiments, optimal conditions for the induction of
MDCD were applied (i.e., 105 E+ or purified T
cells cocultured with 105 adherent cells and 10 ng/ml PMA
or 1 µg/ml PHA). Under these conditions, none of the tested cytokines
at 1 to 10 ng/ml (IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, and IFN-
) had any effect
(not shown). Similarly, MDCD was not significantly modulated by peptide
inhibitors of ICE-like proteases, Ac-YVAD-CMK and ZVAD-FMK (1100
µM; not shown). Moreover, MDCD was prevented neither by the
antagonistic anti-Fas/CD95 mAb M3 (28) nor by the Fas-Fc fusion
protein (115 µg/ml; not shown); these reagents partially inhibited
the Fas/Fas-L-dependent lysis of Fas+ Jurkat cells by
Fas-L-expressing T cell clones (H.-H. Oberg et al.; unpublished
observations). Preincubation of T cells for 1 h with the PKC
inhibitor herbimycin A reduced the PMA-stimulated MDCD in a
dose-dependent manner, with optimal effects at 1.5 µM (Fig. 7
). This effect, however, was
statistically not significant. The effect of herbimycin A on the
PHA-induced MDCD was even more variable (not shown). Interestingly, the
PMA-triggered MDCD was completely abrogated by the
H2O2 scavenger catalase. As shown in Figure 8
a, catalase prevented MDCD in
the presence of PMA in a dose-dependent manner, with significant
inhibition occurring at concentrations of >10 U/ml
(p < 0.001). The prevention of T cell death in
PMA-supplemented cultures by catalase had a dramatic effect on the
mitogenic activity of PMA. In the absence of a Ca2+
ionophore, PMA is a poor T cell mitogen (Refs. 29 and 30; see also Fig. 1
a) As illustrated in Figure 8
b, the presence of
catalase in cocultures of T cells with monocytes and PMA not only
completely prevented MDCD at day 1, but also allowed a strong T cell
expansion to take place in these cultures, as measured by SCDA after 4
days.
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| Discussion |
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In agreement with the results of Wu et al. (15), we observed that purified CD4+ and CD8+ subsets were equally susceptible to MDCD triggered by PMA. Furthermore, PHA also induced MDCD in both subsets to a comparable degree (albeit generally lower than MDCD stimulated by PMA). Moreover, our experiments with cord blood T cells revealed that the susceptibility to MDCD is not limited to peripheral blood T cells of adults (comprising a mixture of CD45RO+ and CD45RA+ cells). We found that cord blood T cells (consisting exclusively of CD45RA+ cells) were equally sensitive to PMA-stimulated MDCD, provided that E- cells from adult donors were used as a source of monocytes. E- cells derived from CBMC were less efficient, both in the autologous and in the allogeneic situation with cord blood or adults peripheral blood T cells as responders. Together, these results indicate that the sensitivity to MDCD is not restricted to a particular T cell subpopulation but appears to be a general feature of freshly isolated T cells from adult peripheral blood, as well as from cord blood.
The execution of MDCD is primarily regulated by the number and source
of monocytes. Titration experiments performed by Wu et al. (15, 31) and
us (not shown) indicate that strongest MDCD occurs at a T cell:monocyte
ratio of 1:1. As discussed above, E- cells prepared from
CBMC were less efficient accessory cells for the induction of MDCD than
were adherent cells prepared from PBMC, possibly due to their lower
content of monocytes (as defined by staining with CD14 and CD11c mAb).
Further studies are required, however, to positively identify the
monocyte/macrophage subset among cord blood (and peripheral blood)
adherent cells that provides the most potent accessory function in
MDCD. As a first approach, we have analyzed the capacity of various
established myelo-monocytic cell lines to mediate MDCD. None of the
tested cell lines could adequately substitute for peripheral blood
adherent cells in the induction of MDCD by PMA or PHA, with the
exception of the monocytic cell line THP-1 (32), which was moderately
effective with PMA but not with PHA (Fig. 4
a). It is
interesting to note that MDCD could not be triggered by Mono-Mac-6,
which is considered to represent a cell line of mature monocyte
phenotype (33). The analyzed cell lines differed in the expression of
CD13, CD33, CD86, and HLA-DR, indicating that none of these markers on
monocytes/macrophages correlates directly with the ability to mediate
MDCD. Strikingly, however, the cell lines failed to express CD11c and
CD14, both of which are strongly expressed on peripheral blood adherent
cells (Table I
). While the cell lines failed to mediate MDCD, they all
provided potent costimulation for the PHA-stimulated expansion of
CD3+ T cells as measured after 4 days. Together, these
results indicate that the cell death-inducing function and the
costimulatory function of a given accessory cell are separable
activities, with only the latter being provided by established cell
lines of mono-myelocytic origin.
The effector mechanisms of MDCD of freshly isolated T cells have not been identified. A possible candidate is a Fas/Fas-L interaction. Although freshly isolated T cells are resistant to treatment with anti-Fas/CD95 mAb (and remain so for several days after in vitro activation even though Fas expression is rapidly up-regulated; 11 , Wu and coworkers obtained evidence for an involvement of the Fas/Fas-L system in MDCD. In their experiments, the neutralizing anti-Fas mAb DX2 and Fas-Fc fusion protein, comprising the extracellular domain of Fas linked to the Fc region of human IgG1, completely inhibited the PMA-triggered MDCD of peripheral blood T cells (16). In striking contrast, we did not observe reproducible inhibitory effects of comparable Fas-blocking reagents, i.e., neutralizing anti-Fas mAb M3 (28) and Fas-Fc fusion protein in our experiments. It should be noted, however, that these reagents only partially inhibited the cell death of Fas+ Jurkat cells triggered by Fas-L+ human T cell clones. It should be also noted that different read-outs for cell death were used in the two studies. While Wu and coworkers used a colorimetric method for the determination of metabolic activity (which correlates with the number of viable cells over a certain range), we measured the absolute number of viable CD3+ T cells following the induction of MDCD. The role of the Fas/Fas-L system in the execution of MDCD is not clear. In the experiments reported by Wu et al., Fas-L was induced in T cells but not in macrophages (16). Macrophages, however, are capable of expressing Fas-L after appropriate activation by, e.g., cross-linking of cell surface CD4 molecules (19) or infection with HIV-1 (34). Furthermore, Kiener et al. have recently shown that human monocytes contain high levels of intracellular Fas-L, which is rapidly released in an active, soluble form upon stimulation of monocytes with PHA, superantigens, or immune complexes (35). Therefore, cell surface expression of Fas-L on macrophages might provide one of several mechanisms by which macrophages can potentially kill other cells through the induction of apoptosis (36). Freshly isolated T cells, however, are resistant to Fas-dependent apoptosis and remain so for several days, even after appropriate in vitro activation (11), due to the lack of caspase 8 recruitment and the expression of caspase 8/FLICE-inhibitory proteins (13, 14). Our results are compatible with the Fas resistance of freshly isolated T cells. Moreover, there are experimental systems where MDCD can proceed clearly without involvement of Fas, e.g. the apoptosis imposed by M-CSF-differentiated macrophages on Ag-reactive T cells (18). However, recent evidence indicates that membrane Fas-L kills peripheral blood T cells (37). While our failure to inhibit MDCD by neutralizing anti-Fas mAb or Fas-Fc fusion protein suggests that the Fas system plays a minor role when using optimal PMA concentrations, we cannot exclude a role of membrane Fas-L when suboptimal PMA concentrations are used.
Cytokines, including IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, or IFN-
, did not
prevent MDCD in our experiments. Similarly, preincubation of T cells
with peptide inhibitors ZVAD-FMK and Ac-YVAD-CMK (1100 µM) did not
significantly inhibit MDCD. Although these peptides are potent
inhibitors of anti-Fas mAb-induced liver cell apoptosis in vivo
(38), their protective effect on T cell apoptosis is known to depend on
the kind of apoptosis-inducing stimulus (39, 40).
While all the above mentioned reagents failed to prevent MDCD, we
observed a strong and dose-dependent complete inhibition of T cell
death during coculture with monocytes and 10 ng/ml PMA by catalase, a
scavenger of H2O2 (41). Oxidative stress has
been recognized as a potent effector mechanism of apoptosis,
mediated by reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) such as
O2-, OH·, and
H2O2 (42). Accordingly, antioxidants prevent
apoptosis in various systems (42, 43). ROI have been implicated in Fas-
and p53-dependent apoptosis (44, 45, 46, 47) and have been identified as
monocyte-derived effector molecules of NK cell apoptosis (17). Kono and
coworkers (48) have reported that H2O2 produced
by tumor-derived macrophages, or LPS- or PMA-stimulated monocytes from
healthy donors, can induce down-regulation of CD3
, CD3
, and
CD16
and inhibit tumor-specific CTL and NK cell activity. This
inhibitory effect of activated monocytes could be prevented by
catalase. Our results show that the non-thiol antioxidant catalase
totally inhibits MDCD of freshly isolated T cells under conditions of
optimal PMA concentrations. Thiol antioxidants, such as
N-acetylcysteine, have been found to completely block the
mitogen-induced death of T cell hybridomas (49) and the Fas- and
CD2-dependent apoptosis of activated T cells (50). In contrast,
N-acetylcysteine did not have a significant effect in our
experiments. Similarly, superoxide dismutase (a scavenger of superoxide
anion), hydroxyl radical scavenger such as deferoxamine and mannitol,
sodium azide (a myeloperoxidase inhibitor), or the endonuclease
inhibitor aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) did not prevent the PMA- or
PHA-triggered MDCD of freshly isolated T cells (not shown). In striking
contrast to the effect on PMA-induced MDCD, the PHA-mediated MDCD was
not reproducibly prevented by catalase, suggesting that different
mechanisms regulate the induction of MDCD by PMA or PHA. Similarly, the
moderate MDCD triggered by PMA in the presence of THP-1 cells (Fig. 4
a) was not inhibited by catalase. The complete prevention
of PMA-induced MDCD by catalase in the presence of peripheral blood
adherent cells indicates that H2O2 is
critically involved in the execution of cell death in this situation.
In agreement with the studies of Hansson et al. (17), we observed that
exogenous H2O2, at concentrations exceeding 10
µM, induced cell death in freshly isolated T cells in the absence of
monocytes. The extent of T cell death induced by
H2O2 was further increased in the presence of
PMA and was completely reversed by catalase (not shown). To investigate
whether soluble factors (including H2O2) were
involved in MDCD, we have performed experiments with supernatants of
PMA- or PHA-stimulated monocytes cocultured with or without T cells for
116 h. Such supernatants, collected every hour for 1 to 8 h, and
after 16 h, failed to induce T cell death (not shown). The lack of
evidence for the involvement of soluble factor(s) in MDCD is in line
with the results of Wu et al., who have shown in double chamber
experiments that MDCD requires cell-cell contact or close proximity
between monocytes and T cells (15, 31). It is possible that the labile
H2O2 is effective only for a short period of
time and over a short distance. This would explain why cell-cell
contact is required and supernatants are ineffective. We have not
identified the cellular source of H2O2 and are
thus unable to comment on whether ROI were generated by monocytes (17)
or T cells (46), or both. Interestingly, the prevention of T cell death
by catalase in PMA-stimulated cocultures of T cells and monocytes had a
dramatic effect on the mitogenicity of PMA (Fig. 8
b).
Protein kinase C activation by PMA in the absence of Ca2+
influx (as induced by ionomycin) is a poor mitogenic signal for human T
cells (29, 30), due to the concomitant induction of apoptosis. When
catalase was added to inhibit MDCD, strong T cell expansion occurred in
cocultures of T cells with monocytes and PMA. These results suggest
that the pleiotropic effects (growth inhibition or stimulation) that
PMA exerts on different target cells may result from the balance of ROI
generation and antioxidative defense mechanisms (51, 52).
To some extent, MDCD was also inhibited by protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin A, suggesting that src-related protein tyrosine kinases are involved in the initiation of MDCD. While the precise role of src-related protein kinases in MDCD is unknown, it is interesting to note that herbimycin A inhibited apoptosis of human NK cells triggered by exposure to exogenous H2O2 (17). In our experiments, T cell death induced by exogenous H2O2 was moderately inhibited by herbimycin A (not shown). Further studies are required to define the consequence of PTK inhibition for MDCD at the molecular level.
In conclusion, our results demonstrate that induction of MDCD of freshly isolated peripheral blood and cord blood cells is a characteristic feature of certain T cell mitogens, as well as of phorbolester PMA. In the latter situation, the complete inhibition by catalase indicates that H2O2 plays a pivotal role in this process.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
2 Abbreviations used in this paper: Fas-L, Fas ligand; CBMC, cord blood mononuclear cells; MDCD, monocyte dependent T cell death; PI, propidium iodide; ROI, reactive oxygen intermediates; SCDA, standard cell dilution assay; ICE, IL-1ß-converting enzyme; FLICE, IAAD-like ICE; MACS, magnetic activated cell sorting; SCDA, standard cell dilution assay; PE, phycoerythrin. ![]()
Received for publication June 16, 1997. Accepted for publication April 3, 1998.
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9-expressing 
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M. Chiravuri, T. Schmitz, K. Yardley, R. Underwood, Y. Dayal, and B. T. Huber A Novel Apoptotic Pathway in Quiescent Lymphocytes Identified by Inhibition of a Post-Proline Cleaving Aminodipeptidase: A Candidate Target Protease, Quiescent Cell Proline Dipeptidase J. Immunol., September 15, 1999; 163(6): 3092 - 3099. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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S. Horiguchi, M. Petersson, T. Nakazawa, M. Kanda, A. H. Zea, A. C. Ochoa, and R. Kiessling Primary Chemically Induced Tumors Induce Profound Immunosuppression Concomitant with Apoptosis and Alterations in Signal Transduction in T Cells and NK Cells Cancer Res., June 1, 1999; 59(12): 2950 - 2956. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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T. Mitchell, J. Kappler, and P. Marrack Bystander Virus Infection Prolongs Activated T Cell Survival J. Immunol., April 15, 1999; 162(8): 4527 - 4535. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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