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Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717
| Abstract |
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4
7,
and partly by L-selectin (L-Sel) interactions with peripheral node
addressin coexpressed on some mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule
1. We inquired whether intestinal responses in mice lacking L-Sel would
be enhanced. L-Sel-deficient (L-Sel-/-) mice were orally
immunized with either Salmonella vaccine vector or
Salmonella vector-expressing colonization factor Ag I
(CFA/I) from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. In
L-Sel-/- mice, mucosal IgA anti-CFA/I fimbrial
responses were greatly reduced, and systemic IgG2a anti-CFA/I
fimbrial responses were 26-fold greater compared with C57BL/6
(L-Sel+/+) mice. L-Sel-/- Peyers patch (PP)
CD4+ Th cells revealed IFN-
-dominated responses and an
unprecedented absence of IL-4, whereas the expected mixed Th cell
phenotype developed in L-Sel+/+ mice. PP CD4+
Th cell anti-Salmonella responses were nearly
nonexistent in L-Sel-/- mice immunized with either
Salmonella vaccine. Splenic CD4+ Th cell
anti-Salmonella responses were reduced but did show
cytokine production in Ag restimulation assays. Increased colonization
of PP and spleen was noted only with the Salmonella
vector in L-Sel-/- mice, resulting in increased
splenomegaly, suggesting that the Salmonella-CFA/I
vaccine was not as infectious or that the presence of the fimbriae
improved clearance, possibly because of reduced neutrophil recruitment.
However, sufficient anti-Salmonella immunity was
induced, because Salmonella vector-immunized
L-Sel-/- mice showed complete protection against
wild-type Salmonella challenge, unlike
L-Sel+/+ mice. This evidence shows that L-Sel is important
for development of mucosal immunity, and absence of L-Sel is protective
against salmonellosis. | Introduction |
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Once recognition of the pathogen has occurred in the mucosal inductive
tissue, the preferential return of protective lymphocytes to mucosal
effector tissues is believed to occur via specific molecules referred
to as cell adhesion molecules on lymphocyte cell surfaces. The
conventional belief is that the mucosal and peripheral immune systems
are separate entities with little crossover between them. This theory
is largely supported by earlier observations that peripheral
immunizations failed to adequately stimulate mucosal immune responses
(1, 2). It was only mucosal immunization that would permit
protective immunity. This observed segregation between the mucosal and
peripheral immune systems is more appropriately defined by the
expression of particular integrins (3, 4, 5). These integrins
specifically interact with addressin molecules expressed on the high
endothelial venules (HEV) to allow retention of specific lymphocyte
subsets in either peripheral or mucosal tissues. For example, the HEV
of peripheral lymph nodes express the peripheral node addressin (PNAd)
that allows selective retention of lymphocytes expressing L-selectin
(L-Sel) (6, 7). In contrast, the lymphocyte trafficking to
the PP is dominated by
4
7 interactions with
mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1) expressed on PP
HEV (3, 4), and in vitro assays show that lymphocyte
attachment to PP HEV is blocked by mAbs to
4
or
7 integrins (4, 8). However,
PNAd also is expressed in the PP, but only associated with MAdCAM-1
(4, 9). The presence of PNAd on MAdCAM-1 suggests that
L-Sel does contribute to lymphocyte migration in the PP. In fact,
lymphocyte migration in PP was shown to be partially blocked by a mAb
specific for L-Sel (10) and diminished in PP from
L-Sel-deficient (L-Sel-/-) mice
(11, 12, 13). Thus, PNAd can contribute to trafficking in the
PP via association to its cellular ligand L-Sel. More recently, it was
shown that perhaps the nasal-associated lymphoid tissues exhibited
physical traits resembling more of a peripheral rather than a mucosal
lymphoid tissue (14). Such evidence of crossover in
addressin use suggests that a distinction of action between the
peripheral and mucosal immune systems may require additional
consideration.
Recent work has focused on understanding mucosal immunity resulting
from oral immunization with mucosal adjuvants to promote either
enhanced Th2 cell-dependent (15, 16, 17) or Th1 cell-dependent
(18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23) immunity. The recent development of live vector
delivery systems (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30) that take advantage of the
invasive properties or intracellular requirement of the organism tends
to bias host immunity along Th1 cell-dependent pathways. Only recently
has it been shown that live vector systems can convert from Th1-type to
Th2-type biases by mode of passenger Ag expression (24, 25). In fact, we have recently shown that the extracellular
secretion of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli fimbrial
adhesin, colonization factor Ag I (CFA/I), by an attenuated
Salmonella vaccine vector results in a biphasic Th cell
response that supports elevated levels of specific secretory IgA
(S-IgA) Abs (25). This response is characterized by an
early, rapid induction of IL-4- and IL-5-dependent responses followed
by an incremental induction of Th1 cell (IFN-
)-dependent responses.
The level of Th2-type immunity mimics what can be obtained by mucosally
adjuvanted, soluble protein immunizations. Importantly, both the
mucosal and systemic immune compartments are immunized by
Salmonella vaccine vectors because Salmonella
vectors are particularly adept at targeting mucosal inductive sites
(31, 32, 33). Because of the nature of its pathogenicity, the
Salmonella can ultimately reach the systemic immune
compartment via the mesenteric lymph nodes, resulting in a resolvable
bacteremia (31, 32).
With the recent generation of the L-Sel-/- mouse (11, 34, 35, 36), a number of studies have confirmed the important role L-Sel plays in peripheral lymphoid cell trafficking. Furthermore, a number of immune parameters have been evaluated to assess the role of L-Sel. L-Sel-/- mice show diminished delayed-type hypersensitivity responses (34) and primary Ag-specific T cell proliferative responses (34), but not T cell proliferative responses as a result of mitogen stimulation (37). This failure in Ag-specific T cell proliferative responses was not attributed to defective Ag presentation because this aspect remained functionally intact and capable of presenting Ag to wild-type T cells (35). The lack of L-Sel also had an impact on humoral responses and was dependent on the type of Ag and route of administration. No significant changes in Ab responses to keyhole limpet hemocyanin were evidenced in L-Sel-/- mice when compared with similarly immunized C57BL/6 (L-Sel+/+) mice (34). More pronounced augmentations in serum Ab to T cell-independent type 2 Ag was observed when Ag was given i.p. as opposed to s.c. (37).
Collectively, studies to date have focused on immune deficits derived
subsequent to peripheral immunization in
L-Sel-/- mice. With the noted L-Sel dependency
observed in the nasal-associated lymphoid tissues (14),
coupled with the observations that L-Sel does contribute to lymphocyte
migration in the PP (10, 11, 12, 13), we questioned the relevance
of L-Sel on mucosal immunity. Although past studies have shown limited
changes in Ag-specific responses subsequent to peripheral immunization,
the importance of L-Sel in providing mucosal immunity to an infectious
agent remained undetermined. This was of particular interest because it
was recently shown that L-Sel is preferentially expressed by
CD4+ Th1 cells regulated by IL-12
(38). Here we pose the question of whether a deficiency in
L-Sel impacts mucosal immunity. To address this question, studies were
focused on our Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine showing a biphasic
CD4+ Th cell response with concomitant
stimulation of elevated S-IgA Abs as a means to probe mucosal
responses. Our results from oral immunization of
L-Sel-/- mice with Salmonella-CFA/I
vaccine show diminished mucosal, but not systemic, IgA responses to
CFA/I fimbriae. Such reduction in S-IgA was linked to the remarkable
absence of IL-4-producing CD4+ Th2 cells.
Instead, elevated numbers of IFN-
-producing
CD4+ Th1 cells were induced. Furthermore,
vaccinated mice orally challenged with wild-type Salmonella
were completely protected in contrast to similarly vaccinated
L-Sel+/+ mice. Hence, our data suggest that Th1
cell development is not impaired in the gut-associated lymphoreticular
tissue, but rather Th2 cell development is substantially attenuated in
L-Sel-/- mice.
| Materials and Methods |
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Breeder pairs of homozygous L-Sel-/- mice on a C57BL/6 background were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME) and were bred and maintained at the Montana State University Animal Resource Center (Bozeman, MT). C57BL/6 L-Sel+/+ mice also were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory. All mice were maintained in horizontal laminar flow cabinets, and sterile food and water were provided ad libitum. All animal care and procedures were in accordance with institutional policies for animal health and well-being.
Oral immunization with Salmonella typhimurium
The S. typhimurium-CFA/I vector vaccine, strain H696,
and CFA/I fimbrial expression are maintained by plasmid with a
functional asd gene to complement the lethal chromosomal
asd mutation and stabilize CFA/I expression in
the absence of antibiotic selection (20). As a result,
CFA/I fimbriae are expressed on the S. typhimuriumvector cell surface as functional fimbriae
(39). L-Sel+/+ and
L-Sel-/- mice (10/group) pretreated with an
oral 50%-saturated sodium bicarbonate solution received a single oral
dose of 5 x 109 CFU of the S.
typhimurium-CFA/I construct or the plasmid control strain H647,
which lacks the CFA/I operon. Amount of vaccine administered was
confirmed by plating serial dilutions of the inoculum on Luria-Bertani
agar plates.
Ab ELISA
CFA/I-specific end point titers from dilution of immune sera or
fecal extracts (25) were determined by an ELISA as
described previously with purified CFA/I fimbriae Ag (40).
End point titers were expressed as the reciprocal dilution of the last
sample dilution giving an absorbance
0.1 OD units above the
OD415 of negative controls after a 1-h
incubation.
Lymphoid cell isolation
Groups of mice were euthanized 4 wk subsequent to oral immunization to collect lymphoid tissues. Splenic lymphocytes were isolated by conventional methods (19, 20, 25). PP lymphocytes were isolated as described previously (19, 25). Both procedures yielded >95% viability with trypan blue exclusion. Enriched CD4+ T cell fractions were isolated by a negative selection procedure (25).
Cytokine ELISPOT assays
Cytokine secretion by stimulated lymphocytes was detected by the cytokine-specific ELISPOT assays (19, 25). Splenic and PP CD4+ T cells were cultured at 5 x 106 cells/ml with equal numbers of feeder cells treated with mitomycin C (50 µg/ml; Sigma, St. Louis, MO) in either medium only or medium with 10 µg/ml CFA/I fimbriae or 10 µg/ml of alkaline-treated Salmonella non-LPS extracts (41) for 23 days at 37°C. Subsequently, the cells were analyzed by cytokine-specific ELISPOT assays.
S. typhimurium colonization
L-Sel-/- and L-Sel+/+ mice were orally immunized with the Salmonella-CFA/I construct or the isogenic Salmonella vector. Two weeks subsequent to infection, spleens and PP were removed aseptically and weighed. Tissues were stroke homogenized 10 times in 1.0 ml sterile deionized water for complete cell lysis. Before serial log dilutions, samples were completely mixed by vortexing. Diluted tissue samples were plated onto MacConkeys agar (Difco, Detroit, MI) and incubated overnight at 37°C, and colonies were subsequently counted.
Flow cytometry
To assess splenic neutrophil levels, spleens were homogenized as described previously, and single-cell suspensions of individual whole spleens were immunostained with mAbs to mouse neutrophils, SK208 (kindly provided by Dr. M. A. Jutila, Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University), a rat IgG2a mAb with similar specificity to SK105 (42), or RB68C5 mAbs (43). A cell-culture supernatant for SK208 mAb was reacted with the cells for 30 min on ice, and binding was detected with a 1/500 dilution of PE-conjugated goat anti-rat IgG Ab (Southern Biotechnology Associates, Birmingham, AL). After washing, cells were incubated with 1% rat serum for 20 min to bind free arms of the goat anti-rat IgG Ab. Then cells were incubated with a 1/200 dilution of biotinylated CD11b (Mac-1 chain) mAb (clone M1/70; BD PharMingen, San Diego, CA) for 30 min on ice, and binding was detected with a 1/1000 dilution of streptavidin-Alexa 488 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) for 30 min on ice. Neutrophils were identified as SK208+ and Mac-1+.
To discern differences in B and T lymphocyte levels subsequent to S. typhimurium vaccine immunization, splenic mononuclear cell preparations were obtained subsequent to Ficoll-Hypaque (Lympholyte M; Accurate Chemical, Westbury, NY) gradient centrifugation (25). PP lymphocytes were obtained as described above. Splenic and PP lymphocytes were immunostained either with a 1/200 dilution of FITC-conjugated B220 mAb (clone RA3-6B2; BD PharMingen), FITC-conjugated anti-CD3 mAb, PE-conjugated anti-CD4 mAb (clone RM4-5; BD PharMingen), PE-conjugated anti-CD8 mAb (clone 53-6.7; BD PharMingen), or FITC-conjugated pan NK cell mAb (BD PharMingen) for 30 min on ice. FL1 and FL2 gains and compensations were set by the analysis of single-color FITC or PE. Two-color analyses were performed with a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences, Mountain View, CA), and up to 50,000 events/sample were collected.
Salmonella challenge studies
Wild-type S. typhimurium strain H71 was kindly provided by Dr. D. M. Hone (Institute of Human Virology, Medical Biotechnology Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD). The wild-type S. typhimurium strain was cultured as described previously (44). Groups of L-Sel-/- and L-Sel+/+ mice were given sterile PBS (vehicle) orally or immunized orally with Salmonella vector only. Four weeks subsequent to immunization, mice were pretreated with 50%-saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and then infected with 5 x 107 CFU/0.2 ml H71 strain. Amount of bacteria given was confirmed by plating serial dilutions of bacterial suspensions on LB agar plates. Mice were observed twice daily and extent of survival was recorded for 2 wk.
Statistical analysis
The Student t test was used to evaluate differences between variations in Ab titers, cytokine production levels, tissue weights, and extent of colonization. A paired t test was performed to discern differences in neutrophil recruitment. The Kaplan-Meier method (GraphPad Prism; GraphPad, San Diego, CA) was applied to obtain the survival fractions after infection with a lethal dose of wild-type S. typhimurium. With the Mantel-Haenszel log rank test, the p value for statistical differences between vehicle and immunized mice was discerned at the 95% confidence interval.
| Results |
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L-Sel mediates naive lymphocyte homing to peripheral lymphoid
tissues via its interaction with the HEV-expressing PNAd (6, 7), which results in lymphocyte accumulation in peripheral lymph
nodes. Although lymphocyte homing to PP is largely dependent on
4
7-MAdCAM-1
interactions, PNAd also colocalizes with MAdCAM-1, implicating the
involvement of PNAd-L-Sel to lymphocyte homing in the PP (4, 9, 10). Thus, L-Sel does contribute to lymphocyte trafficking in
the mucosal compartment. To test the role of L-Sel on intestinal
immunity, L-Sel-/- and
L-Sel+/+ mice were orally immunized with either
an attenuated Salmonella construct expressing CFA/I (strain
H696) or the Salmonella vector only (strain H647). Four
weeks subsequent to immunization, coproantibody and serum IgG titers
were measured with a CFA/I-specific ELISA. Surprisingly, it was
observed that the copro-IgA response was substantially diminished when
compared with that obtained for L-Sel+/+ mice
(p
0.003), whereas no significant
differences were observed for serum IgA anti-CFA/I titers (Fig. 1
A). The serum IgG and IgG
subclass responses also varied. Serum IgG anti-CFA/I titers were
4-fold greater for the L-Sel-/- mice
(p
0.003) than those obtained for
L-Sel+/+ mice (Fig. 1
B). This
enhancement in serum IgG titers was attributed primarily to the 26-fold
greater IgG2a anti-CFA/I response (p <
0.001) by the L-Sel-/- vs
L-Sel+/+ mice (Fig. 1
B). Both the IgG1
and IgG2b anti-CFA/I responses were similar for
L-Sel-/- and L-Sel+/+
mice (Fig. 1
B). Thus, these results suggest that there are
diminished mucosal IgA responses associated with L-Sel deficiency
and an augmentation in systemic IgG immunity. Mice immunized
with vector only resulted in no mucosal or serum anti-CFA/I Ab
responses (data not shown), consistent with what has been observed
previously (25).
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To inquire why the mucosal IgA responses were reduced,
CFA/I-specific CD4+ Th cell responses were
evaluated from L-Sel-/- and
L-Sel+/+ mice orally immunized with the
Salmonella-CFA/I construct. To determine whether immune
CD4+ Th cells were induced in the PP, enriched
CD4+ T cells from the PP and spleen were
obtained. These cells were cultured by conventional means
(25) and restimulated in vitro with purified CFA/I
fimbriae. After 23 days of in vitro Ag restimulation,
CD4+ Th cells were analyzed by cytokine ELISPOT
assays to quantify CFA/I-specific cytokine responses (Fig. 2
). Immune
L-Sel-/- PP CD4+ T cells
showed elevated numbers of IFN-
spot-forming cells (SFC),
representing a 5-fold increase when compared with those induced by
CFA/I restimulated L-Sel+/+ PP
CD4+ T cells (p
0.02;
Fig. 2
A). There was an absence of IL-4
(p
0.02) but a substantial increase in the
number of IL-10 SFC (p < 0.001) in
L-Sel-/- mice when compared with PP
L-Sel+/+ CD4+ T cells. This
increase in IL-10 SFC was most likely stimulated by the increased
presence of IFN-
. Such a combination of elevated IFN-
and IL-10,
along with the absence of IL-4, may account for the diminished mucosal
IgA responses. In contrast, the systemic compartment showed no
significant difference in the CD4+ Th cell
cytokine responses when restimulated with CFA/I fimbriae (Fig. 2
B). Because no significant differences were shown by the
CFA/I-restimulated splenic CD4+ T cell cultures,
this evidence suggests that the absence of L-Sel did not impact the
induction of these CD4+ Th cell responses.
Although there are differences in serum IgG2a anti-CFA/I fimbrial
Ab levels, the observed elevation by the immunized
L-Sel-/- mice may be attributed to the
derivation of immune B cells from the mucosal compartment because it is
here that substantial increases in IFN-
-producing cells were
noted.
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To assess CD4+ T cell immunity to
Salmonella Ags, immune PP CD4+ T cells
from L-Sel-/- and
L-Sel+/+ mice were evaluated by cytokine ELISPOT
assays 4 wk after immunization. CD4+ T cells were
restimulated in vitro with intracellular Salmonella Ags
extracted with NaOH (41) from Salmonella H647.
L-Sel+/+ PP CD4+ Th cells
from mice immunized with Salmonella vector (strain H647)
only showed elevations from three experiments (n ±
SEM) in IFN-
(621 ± 61) and IL-6 (1057 ± 316) but also
showed some coinduction of IL-4 (142 ± 43) and IL-10 (94 ±
15) SFC per 1 x 106
CD4+ T cells. These responses were statistically
elevated for each cytokine SFC response when compared with those
obtained in L-Sel-/- mice (Fig. 3
, AD).
Salmonella Ag-restimulated L-Sel-/-
PP CD4+ T cells showed greatly reduced IFN-
(12.5 ± 4.2), IL-6 (10.5 ± 0.71), and no IL-4 or IL-10 SFC
responses (Fig. 3
, AD). This evidence suggests that the
Salmonella vector is not being recognized in the mucosal
compartment of L-Sel-/- mice. To inquire
whether the addition of the immunogenic CFA/I fimbriae to the
Salmonella would improve recognition of
Salmonella Ags, PP CD4+ Th cell
responses from L-Sel+/+ mice were analyzed. They
showed reduced cytokine SFC responses in comparison to the same type of
mice immunized with Salmonella vector only (Fig. 3
, AD). Nonetheless, PP CD4+ Th cell
responses from Salmonella-CFA/I-vaccinated
L-Sel-/- mice on Salmonella
Ag-restimulation showed no IFN-
, IL-6, or IL-10, and minimal IL-4
(2 ± 0.71) SFC per 1 x 106
CD4+ T cells. Thus, the weak mucosal IgA
responses may partly be attributed to the failure by the
Salmonella-CFA/I vector to stimulate PP
CD4+ Th cells in
L-Sel-/- mice.
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To ascertain whether similar attenuations in mucosal
Salmonella-specific CD4+ Th cells
derived from L-Sel-/- vaccinated mice would
hold true for their splenic responses, CD4+ Th
cell anti-Salmonella responses from mice orally
immunized with either Salmonella-CFA/I or
Salmonella vector were assessed. Spleens were harvested from
the same mice described previously. As depicted in Fig. 3
, EH, splenic CD4+ Th cells from
L-Sel+/+ mice immunized with
Salmonella vector showed, subsequent to in vitro
restimulation with Salmonella Ag, elevations in IFN-
(569 ± 130) and IL-6 (1054 ± 24) SFC per 1 x
106 CD4+ T cells, with
detectable increases in IL-4 (8.3 ± 1.1) and IL-10 (14.6 ±
2.1). L-Sel-/- mice orally immunized with the
Salmonella vector did show
4-fold reductions in IFN-
(162 ± 102) and IL-6 (248 ± 129) SFC per 1 x
106 CD4+ T cells (Fig. 3
, EH). Minimal changes were observed in IL-10 SFC, and no
significant difference was noted in IL-4 SFC. This evidence suggests
that at least in the systemic compartment, the Salmonella
vector is being recognized by L-Sel-/-
mice.
Examination of the differences in splenic cytokine SFC responses
against Salmonella Ags by mice orally immunized with
Salmonella-CFA/I showed similar reduction in the magnitude
of cytokine responses in L-Sel-/- mice. The
L-Sel+/+ mice displayed the expected Th responses
dominated by IFN-
and coinduction of IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 (Fig. 3
, EH). Although a mixed Th cell response was observed for
mice orally immunized with Salmonella-CFA/I, the IFN-
SFC
responses were reduced by 3.5-fold, and a significant increase by 66%
in the number of IL-4 SFC responses were observed, whereas IL-6 and
IL-10 SFC responses were significantly reduced (Fig. 3
, EH). Unlike the mucosal compartment, the systemic
compartment retained the ability to recognize the Salmonella
vectors, although there was still an impairment in this recognition
when compared with L-Sel+/+ mice.
The reduced CD4+ Th cell responses to the
Salmonella Ags were not attributed to reduced levels of
CD4+ Th cells in the spleen (Table I
) or PP (Table II
). Mononuclear splenic and PP cell
fractions were obtained from L-Sel-/- and
L-Sel+/+ mice orally immunized 2 wk earlier and
immunostained to analyze differences in stimulation of CD4 and CD8 T
cell fractions. L-Sel-/- mice orally immunized
with the Salmonella vector showed a 50% increase of splenic
CD4+ T cells when compared with naive control,
and more so than that observed for immunized
L-Sel+/+ mice (Table I
). Similar increases also
were obtained for CD8+ T cells. No significant
increases in CD4+ T cells were observed for
either L-Sel-/- and
L-Sel+/+ mice orally immunized with the
Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine (Table I
). No significant
reductions in PP CD4+ T cells for either
Salmonella vector- or Salmonella CFA/I- immunized
L-Sel-/- or L-Sel+/+ mice
(Table II
). A slight reduction in the percentage of
CD8+ T cells in Salmonella
vector-immunized L-Sel-/- mice was observed.
Thus, the noted reduction in responsiveness by
CD4+ Th cells was not attributable to a lack of
CD4+ T cells.
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Tissue weights of PP and spleens were measured from
Salmonella vector-infected and
Salmonella-CFA/I-infected L-Sel+/+ and
L-Sel-/- mice. These evaluations were conducted
to discern whether either Salmonella strain showed increased
infectivity in L-Sel-/- mice. In uninfected
L-Sel-/- mice, the spleens were enlarged by
58% compared with L-Sel+/+ mice
(p < 0.001) when PP were not significantly
different in weights (Fig. 4
). Evaluation
of weights throughout the infection (21 days) with
Salmonella vector (Fig. 4
A) showed significant
increases in the splenic tissues for both
L-Sel-/- and L-Sel+/+
mice and only moderate changes in the
L-Sel-/- PP. Although increases were observed
in the spleen, the L-Sel-/- mice did show the
most dramatic increases by 21 days, with nearly 400% in some
instances, whereas the L-Sel+/+ mice showed, at
most, a 69% increase. The increases of splenic weights for
L-Sel-/- and L-Sel+/+
mice were not as dramatic when orally immunized with the
Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine (Fig. 4
B). The
L-Sel+/+ mice showed only a slight increase on 14
and 21 days postinfection of not >27%. The splenic weights for
L-Sel-/- mice only significantly increased 14
days postinfection, showing a moderate increase of 40%
(p = 0.012). PP from neither the
L-Sel-/- nor L-Sel+/+
mice immunized with Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine showed any
increases in weight (Fig. 4
B). In fact, the
L-Sel+/+ showed a significant reduction by 22%
(p = 0.003) at 14 days postinfection. Thus,
these data suggest that an inflammatory response is greater in the
spleens of the Salmonella vector-infected
L-Sel-/- mice than in the spleens of the
L-Sel+/+ mice. Moreover, the presence of the
CFA/I fimbriae on the Salmonella also reduces these
inflammatory responses. This is particularly striking by the reduced
splenic weights of L-Sel-/- mice when orally
immunized with the Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine and compared
with the same mice immunized with Salmonella vector.
Although not as dramatic, similar comparison was evident in
L-Sel+/+ mice.
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To assess whether the increased splenomegaly caused by vaccination
with the Salmonella vaccines is attributable to increased
colonization, both L-Sel+/+ and
L-Sel-/- mice were orally immunized with
Salmonella vector only. Two weeks after immunization, PP and
spleens were procured and serial dilutions of homogenates were assessed
for extent of colonization on MacConkeys agar.
L-Sel-/- mice orally immunized with the
Salmonella vector did show a significant increase in extent
of colonization by greater than 5-fold (p =
0.008) when compared with similarly immunized
L-Sel+/+ mice (Fig. 5
A). Likewise, the spleens of
L-Sel-/- mice did show a nearly 3-fold increase
(p = 0.026) in the extent of colonization.
Thus, the increased colonization by the Salmonella vector
suggests that L-Sel-/- mice may not be able to
clear the Salmonella infection as rapidly as
L-Sel+/+ mice. Degree of colonization also was
assessed in Salmonella-CFA/I vaccinated mice. There were no
significant differences in the extent of colonization of PP or spleen
by L-Sel-/- mice (Fig. 5
B). This
evidence suggests that the expression of the CFA/I fimbriae reduces the
degree of colonization by both L-Sel+/+ and
L-Sel-/- mice, thereby limiting the degree of
inflammation.
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From the previous studies, it is clear that the adaptive immune
system in the L-Sel-/- mice remained functional
in the systemic compartment as evidenced by the B and
CD4+ T cell responses to the CFA/I fimbriae.
Because increased colonization of the spleen was observed with
L-Sel-/- mice orally immunized with the
Salmonella vector, we questioned whether neutrophil
recruitment may be affected by the absence of L-Sel (45, 46). Whole splenic cell preparations were obtained from
unimmunized, Salmonella vector-immunized, and
Salmonella-CFA/I-immunized L-Sel-/-
mice and L-Sel+/+ mice, and neutrophil population
was defined by immunostaining with Mac-1 and SK208 mAbs. Normal
splenocytes from L-Sel-/- mice showed similar
levels of Mac-1+ SK208+
cells to L-Sel+/+ splenocytes (Fig. 6
, A and B).
However, 2 wk subsequent to oral immunization with
Salmonella vector or Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine, no
recruitment of Mac-1+
SK208+ cells by L-Sel-/-
mice was observed (Fig. 6
, D and F). In contrast,
recruited Mac-1+ SK208+
cells by L-Sel+/+ splenocytes were evidenced
(Fig. 6
, C and E). Thus, these data suggest that
the observed splenomegaly in L-Sel-/- mice
after oral immunization with Salmonella vector might be
attributable to a failure to recruit sufficient neutrophils to resolve
the Salmonella infection. Furthermore, the mechanism by
which Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine is cleared may be less
dependent on neutrophils and more dependent on the adaptive immune
system.
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Although the mucosal compartment was compromised by the lack of
L-Sel, the spleen retained the ability to have
Salmonella-reactive cells. To test whether these cells were
sufficient to provide protective immunity to wild-type
Salmonella challenge, both Salmonella
vector-immunized and unimmunized L-Sel-/- mice
and L-Sel+/+ mice were orally challenged with a
lethal dose of wild-type Salmonella strain H71
(44). Mice that were Salmonella-vaccinated were
given the challenge dose 4 wk after the oral immunization. The
unprotected L-Sel+/+ mice (n = 5)
showed no survival after 13 days, and the unprotected
L-Sel-/- mice (n = 5) showed
60% attrition, although these were not statistically different (Fig. 7
). Vaccinated
L-Sel+/+ mice (n = 7) showed
improved survival to about
43%, and median survival time of 12 days
when compared with vehicle controls, with a median survival time of 9
days (p < 0.026). Vaccinated
L-Sel-/- mice (n = 9) showed
complete protection (p < 0.009), and in fact,
these mice survived well beyond 2 mo after completion of the
experiment, whereas the median survival time for vehicle controls was
13 days. For the vaccinated mice, the absence of L-Sel clearly enhanced
the survival (p < 0.01). Thus, the combination
of adaptive immunity and the attenuated neutrophil response possibly
mediated protection to wild-type Salmonella challenge.
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| Discussion |
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-producing CD4+ T
cells in the PP, but no significant differences in the number of the
same cells in the spleen. The second observation is the absence of
IgA-promoting, IL-4-producing CD4+ Th2 cells in
L-Sel-/- PP. Although our study does show
enhanced CD4+ Th1 cell presence, it seems
unlikely that such elevation in IFN-
-producing cells can solely
diminish IgA-promoting CD4+ Th2 cells. Clearly,
the selective absence of IL-4 does suggest that this cytokine is
required for productive mucosal IgA generation against CFA/I
fimbriae. Our data show that mucosal immunity is interrupted in L-Sel-/- mice, which is attributed to a failure to stimulate CD4+ Th2 cells and surrendering to CD4+ Th1 cell development. Such a discrepancy does not appear to be due to the lack of CD4+ T cells, and the reason for the reversal in Th2 cell bias of the PP (1, 2) remains unclear. Perhaps L-Sel-/- mice have become more predisposed to the proinflammatory pathway. In a recent study, it was shown that in vitro polarized CD4+ Th2 cells lack L-Sel expression, whereas polarized CD4+ Th1 cells show L-Sel expression (38). This L-Sel expression was dependent on IL-12. Whether IL-12 influences expression of L-Sel in vivo and what its importance to CD4+ T cell development is remains to be determined, especially in view of what we observed in L-Sel-/- mice. Future studies will examine whether L-Sel-/- mice are biased in their abilities to produce Th1 cell-promoting cytokines.
Nonetheless, such selective reduction in mucosal IgA did not impact the
ability to generate serum IgG responses. One of the hallmarks of the
Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine, in addition to its ability to
stimulate elevations in mucosal IgA Abs, is the stimulation of
equivalent levels of serum IgG1 and IgG2a anti-CFA/I Ab titers
(25). Although the serum IgG1 and IgG2a anti-CFA/I
titers were similar in L-Sel+/+ mice, there was a
shift in the bias toward IgG2a in L-Sel-/-
mice. Serum IgG2a anti-CFA/I titers were significantly elevated by
26-fold in L-Sel-/- mice, suggesting that a
portion of these Abs may have been mucosally derived. We previously
have found increased numbers of fimbrial-specific IgG-producing cells
in the PP subsequent to oral immunization with Salmonella
vaccines (20, 24). The increased numbers of
IFN-
-producing CD4+ T cells in the PP suggest
that these cells could induce the observed IgG2a generation.
Alternatively, these IgG2a Abs could be peripherally derived subsequent
to systemic exposure to the Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine.
Previous studies examining peripheral immunization of
L-Sel-/- mice showed increases in all IgG
subclass responses (37), whereas, in our study, only IgG2a
Abs were increased. Such evidence suggests that in the absence of
L-Sel, the route of immunization plays a role in determining the type
of Ab responses generated. Indeed, L-Sel does have an important role in
subsequent ability to provoke mucosal IgA Ab responses, more so perhaps
than previously expected. In contrast, the spleen did not show a
significant difference in the development of CD4+
Th cell immunity to CFA/I fimbriae.
A number of factors support the notion that the Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine does not necessarily follow conventional pathways for its clearance. As such, the ability of this vaccine to colonize the PP and spleen is reduced when compared with the extent of colonization evident with the Salmonella vector. No significant differences in CFU levels in PP or spleen were observed for Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine irrespective of the absence or presence of L-Sel. In contrast, the Salmonella vector clearly showed enhanced colonization of the PP and spleen in L-Sel-/- mice. This increased colonization is partly attributable to the failure to recruit neutrophils, which is also L-Sel dependent (45, 46). However, although the observed biphasic CD4+ Th cell responses induced by Salmonella-CFA/I suggest that clearance of this intracellular pathogen does retain a cell-mediated immune component to resolve the Salmonella infection (25), the failure to see increased colonization by the Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine may be attributed to either the expressed fimbriae interfering with the infection process, or it may be cleared more rapidly, perhaps via opsonization.
The observed failure to recruit neutrophils did not appear to be as
evident for CD4+ T cells. In fact, increased
numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T
cells were observed for L-Sel-/- mice. However,
this recruitment of CD4+ Th cells had little
impact on development of anti-Salmonella immunity. The
levels of splenic IFN-
, IL-6, and IL-10 were reduced after
restimulation with intracellular non-LPS Salmonella Ags.
This was even more evident in the PP where the levels of IFN-
, IL-4,
IL-6, and IL-10 were abrogated in the L-Sel-/-
mice. Such evidence gives the appearance that the Salmonella
vector is stealth in L-Sel-/- mice.
Furthermore, the presence of the CFA/I fimbriae did not significantly
enhance the immunogenicity to intracellular Salmonella Ags
by the mucosal or systemic compartments in
L-Sel-/- mice.
The resistance to wild-type S. typhimurium challenge was particularly striking in that the L-Sel-/- mice were completely protected. It has been shown previously that these mice are resistant to endotoxin shock (45, 46), which may account for their improved survival vs the survival of vehicle-immunized mice. This resistance may be in part credited to the ability of LPS to bind L-Sel (50). This binding was shown to be inhibited by anti-L-Sel mAbs and LPS-evoked superoxide production. Such a feature also may account for the increased colonization by Salmonella vector in L-Sel-/- mice because neutrophils were not recruited. The Salmonella-CFA/I vaccine also was protective in L-Sel-/- mice (data not shown). Thus, the ability to improve survival in L-Sel-/- mice was still retained even though the CFA/I fimbriae were expressed.
In summary, the results from this study support the notion that L-Sel
is important for the development of intestinal immunity. The reduction
in S-IgA in a system normally producing high CFA/I-specific S-IgA
responses is striking, and may be linked to the absence of
CFA/I-specific CD4+ Th2 cells producing IL-4.
This slighted reduction in IL-4 in favor of increased IFN-
also is
intriguing. Aside from passenger Ag immunity, there was an absence of
mucosal Th cell immunity to the Salmonella vaccine vector
either in the absence or presence of the CFA/I fimbriae. Notably, the
spleen retained the ability to support Th cell responses to CFA/I
fimbriae and to the Salmonella vaccine vector. Future
studies will attempt to ascertain why the preferential proinflammatory
bias is observed in L-Sel-/- mice.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. David Pascual, Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3610. E-mail address: dpascual{at}montana.edu ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: PP, Peyers patches; HEV, high endothelial venules; PNAd, peripheral node addressin; MAdCAM-1, mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1; L-Sel, L-selectin; CFA/I, colonization factor Ag I; S-IgA, secretory IgA; SFC, spot-forming cells. ![]()
Received for publication February 6, 2001. Accepted for publication April 18, 2001.
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