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* The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609;
Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; and
Basic Research Program, SAIC Frederick, Inc. and Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick. MD 21702
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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16 days of gestation) that become populated with mature lymphocytes just before birth (1, 2). The lymphocyte-like cells that express CD4 and lack CD3 surface marker were shown to be involved in the early stages of the generation of lymph nodes and PP (1, 3, 4), while B lymphocytes are required for the later stages of lymph nodes (4) and PP organogenesis (2, 5). B cells were shown to regulate the generation of follicular dendritic cells (FDC), maintenance of the normal architecture of T and B cell zones in the spleen (6, 7, 8), and the full development of PP, including propagation of M cells (5). M cells are specialized epithelial cells in the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) and play an important role in transporting foreign Ags to the underlying organized lymphoid tissue, where protective immune responses are initiated (for review, see Refs. 9, 10). At the same time, many pathogens exploit M cells as a route of invasion, including bacterial pathogens (9, 11) and prions (12).
The ability of B cells to promote the generation of FDC and follicle architecture has been attributed to three members of the TNF family of cytokines: surface lymphotoxin (LT), consisting of LT
and LT
, and TNF (6, 7, 8). LT and TNF differ in their effects on the early development of PP. LT
knockout (KO) and LT
KO mice completely lack PP because of defects in anlagen formation (13, 14), while the early stages of PP development do not appear to be impaired in TNF KO mice (15, 16). The effect of tnf-ri gene removal on PP development remains unclear, as conflicting results have been published (15, 16, 17, 18). Although PP in TNF-RI KO mice are reduced in number and size and show abnormal microarchitecture (15), their FAE contains M cells (5).
We have previously shown that mice lacking B cells have intact anlagen, but that their FAE and the number of M cells are significantly reduced. These defects can be restored by bone marrow (BM) transfer from normal mice (5). In vitro studies also provided evidence that mature lymphocytes can deliver signals converting epithelial cells into M cells (19). The exact nature of such signals provided by B cells remains unknown. Clearly, there are late postembryonic events that allow B lymphocytes to send signals to both FAE and stroma to induce full development of PP. Thus, we sought to determine whether TNF/LT family cytokines produced specifically by B cells are the mediators of the molecular conversation between B cells and epithelial cells that lead to development of FAE, M cells, and organized lymphoid follicles.
| Materials and Methods |
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C57BL/6J (B6) wild-type mice, B6.CB17-Prkdcscid/SzJ (B6 scid) mice, C57BL/6J-Igh-6tm1Cgn (Igh6) mice, and C57BL/6J-Rag1tm1Mom (RAG1 KO) mice were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). The following mice with targeted mutations of the genes in the lt/tnf locus were bred and genotyped as previously described: LT
KO (13), LT
KO (20), LT
/TNF double-deficient mice (LT
/TNF KO) (21), and LT
/LT
/TNF triple-deficient mice (TNF/LT KO), in which all three genes were simultaneously deleted (22). B-TNF KO mice and T-TNF KO mice, generated similarly to B-LT
KO and T-LT
KO mice (23) will be described elsewhere (A. V. Tumanov, S. I. Grivennikov, M. Heikenwalder, A. Aguzzi, D. V. Kuprash, and S. Nedospasov, manuscript in preparation). All mice were housed under specific pathogen-free conditions.
Immunohistology
Immunolabeling was performed as described (8) with Abs purchased from BD PharMingen (San Diego, CA) unless otherwise indicated. Briefly, PP were visualized by stereomicroscopy, embedded in tissue-freezing medium, and snap-frozen in 2-methylbutane (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) prechilled by liquid nitrogen. FDC were visualized using anti-CR1 (8C12) and anti-FDC-M1 Abs. We have not seen discordance between the two types of FDC staining in this study. For double CD3/B220 labeling, anti-B220 and biotinylated anti-CD3 were used in combination with secondary HRP-conjugated mouse anti-rat IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, West Grove, PA) and alkaline phosphatase-conjugated streptavidin (Sigma-Aldrich); Vector Red or Vector Blue substrate kits were obtained from Vector Laboratories (Burlingame, CA). Sections were counterstained with Mayers hematoxylin, mounted with glycerol-gelatin, and documented using digital microscopy.
For immunofluorescence, FITC-conjugated anti-B220 and biotin-conjugated anti-CR1 or FITC-conjugated anti-CD3 and biotin-conjugated anti-B220 were used, followed by rhodamine-streptavidin (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories). Fluorescence images were mounted with Vectashield (Vector Laboratories) and documented using a photomicroscope.
Transfer of BM cells
BM cell suspensions were prepared from femurs and tibiae of donor mice. Igh6 mice were lethally irradiated (900 rad) and reconstituted with 4 x 106 donor BM cells on the same day. For mixed BM donor transfers, a 1:1 mixture (total 4 x 106) of BM cells was used and recipients were irradiated with 650 rad. The degree of chimerism was established by staining the recipients splenocytes for the markers of B cells. PP were collected under a stereomicroscope 8 wk later.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
SEM was done essentially as described previously (5). Briefly, intestinal fragments containing PP were cleaned from mucus and fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1% cacodylate buffer overnight at +4°C. Specimens were treated with alternating 1% osmium tetroxide and 1% thiocarbohydrazide (OTOTO method), dehydrated in a graded series of acetone, critical point dried, and sputter coated to produce a 15-nm gold coating. Samples were examined using a Hitachi S-3000N Variable Pressure scanning electron microscope (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) at an accelerating voltage of 20 kV.
In situ hybridization
In situ hybridization on frozen sections was performed as described in Ref. 24 . Frozen 6-µm sections were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde/PBS solution for 10 min at room temperature, washed three times with PBS, and acetylated in 0.25% acetic anhydride for 10 min at room temperature. After three washes in PBS, slides were prehybridized in mRNA hybridization buffer (DakoCytomation, Carpinteria, CA) for 1 h. Hybridization was performed with dioxigenin -labeled antisense RNA (200400 ng/ml) at 72°C prepared and purified using a Boehringer Mannheim T7 kit (Indianapolis, IN) according to the recommended protocol. After overnight hybridization, slides were washed in 0.2x SSC for 34 h at 72°C. Anti-dioxigenin Abs conjugated with alkaline phosphatase were applied after a 1/2000 dilution in buffer B (0.1 M Tris-HCl (pH 7.6) and 0.15 M NaCl) containing 1% heat-inactivated sheep serum and incubated overnight at +4°C. After extensive washing in buffer B (three to five times by 10 min) phosphatase reaction was performed in buffer B containing 50 mM MgCl2 supplemented with 0.34 mg/ml nitroblue tetrazolium, 0.23 mg/ml 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-phosphate, and 0.24 mg/ml levamisole (pH 9.5) for 3 h. All reagents for in situ hybridization, if not indicated otherwise, were purchased from Boehringer Mannheim.
| Results and Discussion |
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To address the issue of the role of TNF/LT subfamily cytokines in the development of FAE and specialized M cells within the FAE, we used a BM transfer approach. Mice from a strain lacking B lymphocytes (Igh6) and having bona fide anlagen, but only rudimentary PP (5, 25) were used as recipients of BM. This approach allows the separation of two important stages in PP development: formation of the anlagen and complete development into a functional organ with lymphoid follicles. BM was derived from normal C57BL/6J (wild type (WT)) donors or from LT
KO, LT
KO, double LT
TNF KO, or triple-deficient LT/TNF KO mice. To ensure that only B cells developing in chimeras would lack the genetically deleted cytokines, BM from cytokine-deficient donors was mixed with BM from TNF/LT-sufficient Igh6 mice so that all other cytokine-sufficient cell types were provided by Igh6 BM.
Clearly, the lack of TNF/LT cytokines did not have much effect on the ability of B cells to stimulate advanced development of PP (Table I). When the numbers of PP that have developed in B cell-deficient recipients after transfer of BM from normal and cytokine-deficient mice were compared, it became obvious that they did not differ: very similar numbers of PP were found in all recipients (Table I). Thus, expression and/or secretion of TNF/LT by B cells were not required for the appearance of the developed PP.
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Upon examination of FAE with SEM, we found that there was no difference in the formation of the domes and generation of M cells between mice that received the mixtures of BM from Igh6 and from WT mice and those that lacked major TNF family members (Fig. 1A). Few (3.8 ± 0.5% in B6
Igh6 domes and 2.9 ± 0.6% in triple LT/TNF KO
Igh6 domes) goblet cells were found in the FAE of all chimeric mice (Fig. 1A), another feature of normal FAE.
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from B cells (B-LT
KO mice) (8). SEM revealed normal distribution and numbers of M cells in the FAE of B-LT
KO mice (Fig. 1B). Taken together, these results clearly demonstrate that none of the three major members of the TNF family cytokines (or their combination) is required for the B lymphocyte-dependent development of FAE and M cells in PP.
It is an open question whether B lymphocytes are necessary to stimulate a differentiation step that leads to M cell generation from a common epithelial precursor of other intestinal epithelial cell types, or whether the predominant role of B cells is in the maintenance of M cell phenotype. The latter option seems to be more plausible since the presence of reduced M cell numbers in B cell-deficient mice (5) and in Rag1 KO mice (26) has been documented. Interestingly, in mice completely lacking T and B lymphocytes (Rag1 KO), residual M cell numbers were further (although very moderately) reduced by treatment with LT
R-Ig fusion protein (26). In that case, LT
could not be produced by T or B lymphocytes and the source of this cytokine needs to be identified. However, generation of M cells can be also induced by microbial infection (27), suggesting intermediation by the innate immune system or direct influence of microbial flora on the epithelium. Thus, it is possible that LT
R signaling may play some role in lymphocyte-independent induction of M cells.
TNF and LT expressed by B cells are required for maintenance of lymphoid follicle architecture in PP
The role for B cell-derived TNF and LT in the maintenance of the splenic structure has been well documented (6, 7, 8, 28). Remarkably, other secondary lymphoid organs were affected differently by such deficiencies: lack of LT
production by B cells had only a moderate effect on the structure of PP and had no effect on the structure of lymph nodes (8). Mice with targeted deletions of TNF and TNF-RI have rudimentary PP that show abnormal microarchitechture with mixed T and B cell zones and the absence of FDC (15, 16).
To determine the role of TNF and LT expressed by B cells in the maintenance of lymphoid follicle structure in the PP of adult mice, we again used a BM transfer approach. We addressed the issue of whether cooperation between TNF and LT produced by BM-derived cells is necessary at all. Igh6 mice were reconstituted with BM from LT
KO, or triple LT/TNF KO mice, after which PP from BM chimeras were examined using immunohistochemical staining of cryostat sections (Fig. 2). Transfer of BM from LT
KO mice lacking LT
in all cell types partially restored FDC development in Igh6 mice (Fig. 2, middle panel), suggesting that LT
R signaling is not completely dispensable. In contrast, transfer of BM from triple LT/TNF KO mice did not result in any FDC development in the PP of recipient mice (Fig. 2, right panel). Thus, we concluded that TNF and LT may cooperate in the maintenance of FDC in the PP of adult mice. However, cells other than B lymphocytes could have been a source of TNF required for FDC development, as all donor cells were LT and TNF deficient in these experiments.
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Thus, LT/TNF cytokines not only participate in the early embryonic organogenesis of PP, but their production by B lymphocytes contributes to the maintenance of normal PP structure in adult mice.
To address the issue of how B cell-derived cytokines influence follicular microarchitecture, we sought to evaluate the influence of LT and TNF deficiencies on the expression of relevant chemokines in the PP. Migration of T and B cells to the secondary lymphoid organs and formation of T and B cell zones in lymphoid follicles is regulated by specific chemokines. In the spleen, expression of these chemokines, B lymphocyte chemoattractant (BLC; CXCL13) and secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine (SLC; CCL21), is strongly dependent on LT and TNF signaling (29, 30). Moreover, it has been suggested that TNF and LT cooperate for the regulation of BLC expression in the spleen (22). Recent studies identified BLC as one of the principal chemokines required for the homing of B cells to the lymphoid follicles in PP (31, 32). To examine whether abnormalities in follicle architecture in the PP of triple LT/TNF
Igh6 reconstituted mice can be attributed to impaired chemokine expression, we analyzed expression of BLC and SLC chemokines in the PP of mice reconstituted with BM from mice deficient in LT and TNF (Fig. 4). SLC expression was clearly detected in the PP of all reconstituted mice (Fig. 4), suggesting that, in contrast to the spleen, LT and TNF do not play a major role in the regulation of SLC expression in PP. PP of LT
KO
Igh6 chimeras displayed reduced expression of BLC (Fig. 4), although compartmentalization of T and B cell areas was not affected, suggesting that the remaining level of BLC expression was capable of supporting proper B cell migration. BLC expression was also not significantly reduced in PP of TNF KO
Igh6 chimeras, and their T and B cell areas were relatively intact, although lacking FDC (Fig. 4). Interestingly, this result clearly shows that BLC can be produced by cells other than FDC.
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or TNF production by BM-derived cells did not affect BLC production enough to influence positioning of T and B cell zones in PP. In contrast, B and T cells were mixed and scattered within the PP of triple LT/TNF KO
Igh6 chimeras. Importantly, BLC expression was clearly down-regulated in the PP of these mice. Our data suggest that similar to the spleen, LT and TNF cooperate in BLC expression essential for correct positioning of T and B cells in the PP. Biochemical inhibition of LT
R and TNFR signaling has been shown to be a promising therapeutic approach in mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease and experimental colitis (33, 34). It remains to be determined whether such effects of LT
R or TNFR blockers are linked to inhibition of BLC function in the areas of local inflammation in the gut where ectopic expression of BLC has been shown (35, 36). This study reveals the distinct contribution of LT/TNF cytokines produced by B lymphocytes to the development of PP and FAE. Although LT/TNF cytokines are critical for FDC generation and maintenance of T and B cell zones, they are dispensable for the formation of FAE and M cells. These results are clearly important for the understanding of lympho-epithelial interactions and for the design and application of mucosal vaccines (37).
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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2 The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. The publisher or recipient acknowledges the right of the U.S. government to retain a nonexclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright covering this article. ![]()
3 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Alexander Chervonsky, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609. E-mail address: avc{at}jax.org ![]()
4 Abbreviations used in this paper used in this paper: PP, Peyers patches; FAE, follicle-associated epithelium; LT, lymphotoxin; FDC, follicular dendritic cell; BM, bone marrow; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; KO, knockout; WT, wild type; BLC, B lymphocyte chemoattractant; SLC, secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine. ![]()
Received for publication December 13, 2003. Accepted for publication April 22, 2004.
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