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CUTTING EDGE |

*
Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102; and
Departamento Biologia Celular, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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-melanocyte stimulating factor (
-MSH)
(3), adrenocorticotropin hormone (4),
-endorphins (5), somatostatin (6),
calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) (7), neuropeptide Y
(NPY) (8), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)
(9), and vasoactive intestinal peptide
(VIP)3
(10, 11, 12, 13). VIP, a 28-aa neuropeptide, affects both innate and acquired immunity (14, 15, 16, 17). Originally considered a negative regulator of several T cell and macrophage functions (16, 18), VIP appears to play a more complex role in immune homeostasis (19). Lately, this pleiotropic peptide was "rediscovered" in the immune system. Both the VIP-ergic innervation (15) and the immune cells (10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24) function as VIP sources. VIP was identified in thymocytes, peripheral macrophages, and lymphocytes (reviewed in Refs. 12, 14), with VIP128 as the predominant secreted form (12). Recently, we reported that antigenic stimulation and inflammatory signals result in an increased VIP release (13). The aim of this study was to investigate the production and secretion of VIP by CD4+ Th1 and Th2 cells, and by CD8+ T1 and T2 cells. Our results show that antigenic stimulation preferentially induces VIP production by Th2 and T2 cells. As far as we know, this is the first report describing the differential production of a neuropeptide by specific T cell subsets.
| Materials and Methods |
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B10.A (I-Ek), AND TCR, and TCR-Cyt-5CC7-I/Rag2 transgenic (Tg) mice (25) were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME), and Taconic Farms (Germantown, NY).
Reagents and Abs
Murine rIL-2, IL-4, IFN-
, and mAbs to murine IL-4 (11B11),
IFN-
(XMG1.2), CD3 (145-2C11), PE-conjugated anti-V
3 (RR4-7),
and PerCP-conjugated CD4 mAbs were purchased from PharMingen (San
Diego, CA); FITC-conjugated goat F(ab')2
anti-mouse IgG, and OVA were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO).
Mouse anti-VIP mAb (Ab 55 raised against VIP) was provided by
Center for Ulcer Research and Education (CURE)/Gastroenteric Biology
Center, Ab/RIA Core. Pigeon cytochrome c fragment (PCCF) was
synthesized and purified by Research Genetics (Huntsville,
AL).
Cell preparations
Purified naive CD4+ T cells (>98% CD4+ by FACS analysis) were isolated by positive immunomagnetic selection (Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA). B10.A T cell-depleted APCs were treated with 50 µg/ml mitomycin C (Sigma) for 30 min at 37°C.
Effector Th1 and Th2 cells from Cyt-5CC7-I/Rag2 and AND TCR mice were
generated as described (26). Naive Tg
CD4+ T cells (3 x 105
cells/ml) were cultured with APC (105 cells/ml)
and PCCF (5 µM) in the presence of IL-2 (50 U/ml). IL-4 (200 U/ml)
plus anti-IFN-
Ab (10 µg/ml), or IFN-
(1000 U/ml) plus
anti-IL-4 Abs (10 µg/ml) were added to induce Th2 and Th1
polarization, respectively. Th1 and Th2 cell lines were established by
regular cycles of stimulation with Ag (PCCF, 5 µg/ml) and APC (3
x 105 cells/ml) of polarized Th1 and Th2
effectors (5 x 105 cells/ml) for 3 days,
followed by propagation in IL-2 (20 U/ml) for 58 days. The Th cell
lines used for adoptive transfer experiments and cell cultures were at
cycles 37 (12 months in culture). Th1 and Th2 cell lines were
characterized through cytokine profiles. Typical results were as
follows: IL-4, 43 ± 3 pg/ml for Th1 and 1234 ± 54 pg/ml for
Th2; IFN-
, 246 ± 23 ng/ml for Th1 and <8 ng/ml for
Th2.
Allogeneic T1 and T2 CTL cell lines were generated as described
(27). Purified B10.A CD8+ T cells
(106 cells/ml) were incubated for 5 days with
BALB/c APCs (3 x 106 cells/ml). To generate
T1 cells, the cultures were treated with IL-2 (20 U/ml), IL-12 (20
U/ml), and anti-IL-4 mAb (2 µg/ml) for 5 days; for generation of
T2, the cultures were treated with IL-2 (20 U/ml), IL-4 (40 U/ml), and
anti-IFN-
(80 µg/ml) for 5 days. The cultures were
supplemented on day 3 with complete medium (RPMI 1640 with 10% FCS)
containing IL-2 (20 U/ml) for T1, and IL-4 (40 U/ml) for T2,
respectively. T1 and T2 cells were harvested on day 5 and characterized
through cytokine profiles.
Cell cultures
TCR Tg Th1 or Th2 cells (5 x 105 cells/ml) were incubated with B10.A APC (3 x 105 cells/ml) and PCCF (5 µM, specific Ag), or OVA (5 µM, unrelated Ag). T1 and T2 effector cells (3 x 105 cells/ml) were stimulated with anti-CD3 mAbs (5 µg/ml).
Adoptive transfer of Tg Th cell lines
On day -1, TCR Tg Th1 or Th2 cell lines (3 x
106 cells) were inoculated i.v. into B10.A
recipients. On day 0 and +2, 500 µg PCCF in balanced salt solution
was injected i.p. On days 3 and 7, spleen T cells were isolated and
examined by flow cytometry for the percentage of Tg T cells by staining
with PE-conjugated anti-V
3 and PerCP-conjugated CD4 mAbs, and
for expression of VIP by staining with the anti-VIP mAb CURE-55,
followed by FITC-conjugated goat F(ab')2
anti-mouse IgG. On days 3, 5, and 7, VIP levels in serum were
determined by ELISA.
FACS analysis
Cells (1 x 106) were harvested in
ice-cold RPMI 1640 complete medium, washed twice, incubated with
PE-conjugated anti-V
3 and PerCP-conjugated anti-CD4 mAbs
(2.5 µg/ml) at 4°C for 1 h. After washing and fixing with 1%
paraformaldehyde for 1 h at 4°C, the cells were incubated with
mouse anti-VIP mAb (2 µg/ml) and stained with FITC-conjugated
goat F(ab')2 anti-mouse IgG (2.5 µg/ml) for
45 min at 4°C. The specificity of the anti-VIP mAb has been
previously characterized by neutralization with excess VIP (10 mM for
12 h at 4°C) (13). Stained lymphocytes were
analyzed in a FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, Palo Alto,
CA). Fluorescence data were expressed as mean channel fluorescence and
as a percentage of positive cells after subtraction of background
isotype-matched values.
ELISA for VIP
VIP concentrations in culture supernatants and in serum of adoptively transferred mice were determined by using a specific competitive ELISA as previously described (13).
RNA extraction and Northern blot
Northern blot analysis was performed according to standard methods. Total RNA was extracted from 107 Th1, Th2, T1, and T2 cells. The probes for murine VIP were generated by RT-PCR using the primers: 5'-CAGCAG TAGCATCTCGGAAGA-3' and 5'-CACAACACATTTTATTTGG-3'. Signal quantitation was performed in a PhosphorImager SI (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA).
Western blot
Cell lysates were prepared from 5 x 106 cells, subjected to reducing SDS-PAGE (12.5%), followed by treatment with rabbit anti-mouse VIP Ab (Sigma) (1:1000) and peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG (Sigma) (1:5000). The membranes were developed by chemiluminescence.
HPLC and RIA
VIP was extracted and purified from Th1 and Th2 cell suspensions and culture supernatants using Sep-Pak C18 cartridges (Waters, Milford, MA) and chromatographed by HPLC using a reverse-phase radial Novapak C18 column (Waters) as previously described (28). The VIP immunoreactivity in the HPLC fractions was determined by using RIA (Incstar, Stillwater, MN) (28). The sensitivity of the VIP RIA is 2 pmol/L (0.2 fmol/assay), with an intra-assay variation lower than 5% and an interassay variation lower than 8%. The cross-reactivity of the Ab with other neuropeptides was <0.1%.
| Results and Discussion |
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Upon antigenic stimulation, CD4+ Th cells
differentiate into two types of effector cells, with different cytokine
profiles and functions. Th1 cells secrete IL-2, IFN-
, and TNF-
,
critical for the generation of cellular immune responses. Th2 cells
produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10, which play an important role in Ab
production and down-regulate the cellular immune responses. We have
previously demonstrated that VIP is produced by
CD4+ T lymphocytes following stimulation through
the TCR/CD3 complex (11, 12, 13). To investigate whether VIP
is differentially expressed and produced in the two Th subsets,
we generated Ag-specific Th1 and Th2 cell lines from
TCR-Cyt-5CC7-I/Rag2 Tg mice. The Tg T cells recognize a fragment of the
PCCF in the context of I-Ea/k and can be
identified with anti-idiotypic Abs against V
3 and V
11
(25).
Two types of preproVIP mRNA can be generated, with immune cells
expressing predominantly the 1-kb preproVIP mRNA (12). We
designed primers that amplify 317 bp, encompassing the VIP coding
region. Following Ag stimulation, Th2, but not Th1, cells express VIP
mRNA (Fig. 1
A). Similar
results were observed at protein level. Western blots indicate that
Th2, but not Th1, cells produce VIP following Ag stimulation in a
time-dependent manner (Fig. 1
B). To quantify intracellular
and secreted VIP, we used FACS analysis and ELISA. After treatment with
PCCF, Th2, but not Th1, cells contain intracellular VIP. Treatment with
an unrelated Ag (OVA) did not induce VIP (Fig. 1
C). The
stimulated Th2 cells also secrete VIP in a time- and Ag dose-dependent
manner (Fig. 1
D). Similar to Th2, freshly isolated naive
CD4+ Tg T cells secrete VIP (Fig. 1
D).
Similar results were obtained for Th1 and Th2 cell lines derived from
AND TCR Tg mice. The four Th1 cell lines secrete on average 0.57
± 0.05 ng VIP/ml, and the five Th2 cell lines secrete 5.89 ±
0.43 ng VIP/ml. In addition, Ag-stimulated D10.G4.1 cells (Th2) secrete
4.88 ± 0.43 ng VIP/ml.
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Naive CD8+ T cells cultured in vitro with
Ag, APCs, and exogenous cytokines differentiate into T1 and T2 cells.
We stimulated CD8+ T cells from B10.A mice with
BALB/c APCs in the presence of IL-2, IL-12, and anti-IL-4 for T1
polarization, and with IL-2, IL-4, and anti-IFN-
for T2
polarization. After 5 days, the
H-2k-anti-H-2d
CD8+ effectors were restimulated with
anti-CD3 mAbs and assayed for their ability to produce and secrete
VIP. Similar to the Th subsets, T2, but not T1, cells express VIP mRNA
and protein (Fig. 3
, A and
B), and secrete VIP in a time-dependent manner (Fig. 3
C, left panels). The amounts of secreted VIP increase with
the degree of TCR-stimulation (Fig. 3
C, right panels).
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To investigate whether VIP production by type 2 T cells occurs in
vivo, TCR Tg Th1 or Th2 cells were adoptively transferred into
syngeneic, non-Tg hosts. The adoptive hosts were inoculated with PCCF
or OVA. Several days later, serum VIP levels were determined by ELISA,
and VIP expression in splenic CD4+
V
3+ and V
3- T cells
was determined by flow cytometry. Administration of PCCF resulted in
increased serum VIP levels in hosts transferred with Th2, but not Th1,
cells (Fig. 4
A). The highest
VIP levels were observed 3 days after Ag administration. Spleen cells
were harvested from hosts receiving either Th1 or Th2 cells 3 days
after Ag administration. We selected CD4+
V
3+ T cells (adoptively transferred Tg cells)
and V
3- (host T cells) and analyzed the
content of intracellular VIP by flow cytometry. There was no increase
in VIP in spleen cells obtained from hosts receiving Th1 cells, whether
unimmunized (medium) or immunized (PCCF or OVA) (Fig. 4
B, left
panels). In contrast, V
3+ cells from
hosts that received Th2 cells and were immunized with the specific Ag
(PCCF) expressed high levels of intracellular VIP (Fig. 4
B, right
panels) (92 ± 4% VIP+ cells with a
mean fluorescence intensity of 62 ± 3). No such increase was
observed in the V
3- population (22 ±
2% VIP+ cells with a mean fluorescence intensity
of 12 ± 1). Also, V
3+ cells from
unimmunized hosts (medium) or from hosts injected with the unrelated Ag
(OVA) did not exhibit an increase in VIP. Analysis of spleen cells 7
days after Ag stimulation showed nonsignificant numbers of
V
3+ cells, suggesting massive Ag-induced
clonal deletion by apoptosis (data not shown).
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The difference in the ability of Th1/T1 and Th2/T2 cells to produce VIP is also reflected in their response to VIP. We have reported previously that VIP inhibits Th1, while stimulating Th2 differentiation in vivo (29), presumably through specific effects on B7.1/B7.2 expression (29) and through the inhibition of IL-12 production (30). In addition, we observed recently that VIP preferentially protects CD4+ Th2, but not Th1, cells from clonal deletion following antigenic stimulation (our unpublished data).
Because some cytokines act in an antagonistic manner, Th1 and Th2 cells can regulate each others development and function. For example, several Th2-derived cytokines inhibit Th1 differentiation. VIP appears to act in a similar manner. Because VIP is preferentially produced by type 2 T cells upon antigenic stimulation, and exerts a Th2-type function inhibiting cell-mediated immunity and favoring Th2 vs Th1 differentiation, could VIP be viewed as a type 2 cytokine?
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Doina Ganea, Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102. ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: VIP, vasoactive intestinal peptide; PCCF, pigeon cytochrome c fragment; Tg, transgenic. ![]()
Received for publication September 26, 2000. Accepted for publication January 2, 2001.
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