RGS molecule expression in murine B lymphocytes and ability to down-regulate chemotaxis to lymphoid chemokines. (33/850)

Ag-mediated changes in B lymphocyte migration are important for normal immune function, yet the mechanisms by which these changes occur are poorly defined. Because chemokines direct many lymphocyte movements, molecules that regulate signaling by G protein-coupled chemokine receptors are likely to participate in Ag receptor-induced changes in cell migration. In this study, we have investigated the expression pattern and activity in murine B cells of members of the regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) family of molecules. We present the sequence of mouse RGS1 and describe a novel short isoform of RGS3 that we term RGS3s. Following in vivo activation by Ag, B cells rapidly up-regulate expression of RGS1 and RGS2 while simultaneously decreasing expression of RGS3 and RGS14. Anergic hen egg lysozyme autoantigen-binding B cells are also shown to have slightly elevated RGS1 and RGS2 expression. CD40 signaling, by contrast, fails to cause rapid up-regulation of RGS1 or RGS2. Using a transient transfection approach in a mature B cell line, 2PK3, we demonstrate that RGS1 and RGS3s are effective inhibitors of chemotaxis toward the lymphoid tissue chemokines stromal cell-derived factor-1, B lymphocyte chemoattractant, and EBV-induced molecule 1 ligand chemokine, whereas RGS2 has a minimal effect on migration to these chemokines. Together these findings support the conclusion that Ag-mediated changes in RGS molecule expression are part of the mechanism by which Ag receptor signaling regulates B cell migration within lymphoid tissues. The findings also suggest important roles for additional G protein-mediated events in B cell activation and tolerance.  (+info)

Inhibition of functional T cell priming and contact hypersensitivity responses by treatment with anti-secondary lymphoid chemokine antibody during hapten sensitization. (34/850)

Recent studies have suggested a pivotal role for secondary lymphoid chemokine (SLC) in directing dendritic cell trafficking from peripheral to lymphoid tissues. As an extension of these studies, we examined the consequences of anti-SLC Ab treatment during Ag priming on T cell function in an inflammatory response. We used a model of T cell-mediated inflammation, contact hypersensitivity (CHS), where priming of the effector T cells is dependent upon epidermal dendritic cell, Langerhans cells, and migration from the hapten sensitization site in the skin to draining lymph nodes. A single injection of anti-SLC Ab given at the time of sensitization with FITC inhibited Langerhans cell migration into draining lymph nodes for at least 3 days. The CHS response to hapten challenge was inhibited by anti-SLC Ab treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Despite the inhibition of CHS, T cells producing IFN-gamma following in vitro stimulation with anti-CD3 mAb or with hapten-labeled cells were present in the skin-draining lymph nodes of mice treated with anti-SLC Ab during hapten sensitization. These T cells were unable, however, to passively transfer CHS to naive recipients. Animals treated with anti-SLC Ab during hapten sensitization were not tolerant to subsequent sensitization and challenge with the hapten. In addition, anti-SLC Ab did not inhibit CHS responses when given at the time of hapten challenge. These results indicate an important role for SLC during sensitization for CHS and suggest a strategy to circumvent functional T cell priming for inflammatory responses through administration of an Ab inhibiting dendritic cell trafficking.  (+info)

Expression of IFN-inducible T cell alpha chemoattractant by human endothelial cells is cyclosporin A-resistant and promotes T cell adhesion: implications for cyclosporin A-resistant immune inflammation. (35/850)

IFN-inducible T cell alpha chemoattractant (I-TAC) is a recently discovered member of the CXC chemokine family. It is a potent T cell chemoattractant expressed by IFN-gamma-treated astrocytes, monocytes, keratinocytes, bronchial epithelial cells, and neutrophils. In this study, we show that I-TAC is also expressed by IFN-gamma-treated endothelial cells (EC), both at the mRNA and protein levels. Induction of the I-TAC message is rapid and sustained over 24 h. TNF-alpha does not induce I-TAC mRNA alone, but does act synergistically with IFN-gamma. Blocking Abs to I-TAC, or to its receptor, CXCR3, reduce T cell adhesion to EC monolayers demonstrating that the expressed protein is functional. Finally, the expression of I-TAC by EC is resistant to the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A, suggesting that I-TAC may contribute to the chronic immune inflammation characteristic of graft arteriosclerosis.  (+info)

Cell-mediated immunity to hepatitis B surface antigen in blood donors with persistent antigenaemia. (36/850)

Cellular immunity to the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and a liver-specific lipoprotein was studied, using the leucocyte migration test, in 38 asymptomatic blood donors found to have HBsAg in the serum. Sensitization to HBsAg was found in 26% and was related to the presence of liver damage, being detected in 47% of those with elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase but in only 13% with normal enzyme levels. The frequency of sensitization to this antigen in those with chronic persistent or chronic aggressive hepatitis on biopsy was also higher than in those with unrelated or minimal changes. The findings using the liver-specific lipoprotein as antigen were similar and there was a correlation between the results obtained with this and the hapatitis B surface antigen. This study supports the hypothesis that a T-lymphocyte response to hepatitis B virus antigen can initiate an autoimmune reaction to antigens such as liver-specific lipoprotein on the hepatocyte surface, and that this reaction may be of importance in the production of chronic liver damage. In the absence of the T-cell response, the autoimmune reaction cannot occur and the virus is able to establish a harmless symbiotic union with the host.  (+info)

Effects of cytotoxic immunosuppressants on tuberculin-sensitive lymphocytes in guinea pigs. (37/850)

The immunosuppressive activities of two phase-specific drugs, 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and methotrexate, and a cycle-specific agent, cyclophosphamide, were evaluated on the lymphocytic component of established tuberculin hypersensitivity in guinea pigs. In these animals, purified protein derivative (PPD)-sensitive lymphocytes are in an intermitotic phase of their proliferative cycle. Neither phase-specific drug significantly altered either the number or functional activities of these lymphocytes. By two in vitro criteria, PPD-induced lymphoproliferation and elaboration of migration inhibition factor (MIF), the responses of lymph node cells were equivalent to sensitized controls. In addition, these agents did not deplete pools of T lymphocytes, impair responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), nor inhibit cutaneous reactivity if employed before sensitization. In contrast, cyclophosphamide showed broader immunosuppressive effects including significant toxicities for intermitotic lymphocytes. This drug depleted pools of T cells and markedly impaired the in vitro proliferative responses of residual lymphocytes. The latter occurred with both PHA and PPD. Suppression of PHA reactivity was a dose-dependent phenomenon but was evident even with small quantities of this alkylating agent. The suppression of antigen-induced responses was independent of the proliferative status of target lymphocytes in vivo, after a single large dose, it persisted for more than 3 wk. In total, these results indicate that the effective use of cytotoxic drugs as immunosuppressants must include consideration of both the cycle specificities of the agent and the proliferative activities of the target lymphoid population.  (+info)

Differential ability of exogenous chemotactic agents to disrupt transendothelial migration of flowing neutrophils. (38/850)

Neutrophils migrate through endothelium using an ordered sequence of adhesive interactions and activating signals. To investigate the consequences of disruption of this sequence, we characterized adhesion and migration of neutrophils perfused over HUVEC that had been treated with TNF-alpha for 4 h and evaluated changes caused by exogenously added chemotactic agents. When HUVEC were treated with 2 U/ml TNF, flowing neutrophils adhered, with the majority rolling and relatively few migrating through the monolayer. If fMLP, IL-8, zymosan-activated plasma (a source of activated complement factor C5a), epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating peptide (ENA-78), or growth-regulating oncogene, GRO-alpha, was perfused over these neutrophils, they stopped rolling and rapidly migrated over the monolayer, but did not penetrate it. When HUVEC were treated with 100 U/ml TNF, the majority of adherent neutrophils transmigrated. If neutrophils were treated with fMLP, IL-8, C5a, ENA-78, or GRO-alpha just before perfusion over this HUVEC, transmigration, but not adhesion, was abolished. However, when platelet-activating factor was used to activate neutrophils, migration through HUVEC treated with 100 U/ml TNF was not impaired, and migration through HUVEC treated with 2 U/ml TNF was actually increased. Transmigration required ligation of CXC chemokine receptor-2 on neutrophils, and differential desensitization of this receptor (e.g., by fMLP but not platelet-activating factor) may explain the pattern of disruption of migration. Thus, transmigration may require presentation of the correct activators in the correct sequence, and inappropriate activation (e.g., by systemic activators) could cause pathological accumulation of neutrophils in the vessel lumen.  (+info)

Thyrogastric autoimmune disease. Studies on the cell-mediated immune system and histocompatibility antigens. (39/850)

Cell-mediated immune responses were studied in autoimmune diseases of thyrogastric type, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and autoimmune pernicious anaemia-type gastritis. Specific cell-mediated immunity was investigated by the leucocyte migration inhibition procedure, and general cell-mediated immunity (T-cell performance) was studied by standard in vivo and in vitro tests. In thyrogastric autoimmune diseases inhibition of migration of leucocytes was induced by thyroglobulin and gastric parietal cell microsomes; under conditions of presumably low cellular sensitization, stimulation of migration was observed. There was no depression of general cell-mediated immunity, in contrast to what occurs in systemic lupus erythematosus and related autoimmune diseases. A weak association of autoimmune gastritis with HL-A3 and HL-A7 (P LESS THAN 0.05) lost significance when an appropriate correction was applied; this weakness with HL-A clearly does not explain the strong genetic component in thyroid and gastric autoimmunity.  (+info)

TNF-alpha-induced secretion of C-C chemokines modulates C-C chemokine receptor 5 expression on peripheral blood lymphocytes. (40/850)

Peripheral blood lymphocytes express CCR5, a chemokine receptor for immune cell migration and calcium signaling that serves as an important coreceptor for the HIV. After in vitro stimulation, CCR5 expression is dramatically increased on mature T lymphocytes, especially on the CD45RO+ memory subset. In this study, we report that TNF-alpha delays the surface expression of CCR5 on PBLs after activation and diminishes CCR5 irrespective of its initial level. Functional loss of CCR5 is reflected in a decreased capability of the treated cells to migrate and signal calcium after MIP-1beta stimulation. The effect is mediated via the p80 type II TNF receptor (TNFR2), which induces NF-kappaB among other factors, leading to an enhanced secretion of the chemokines macrophage-inflammatory protein-1alpha, macrophage-inflammatory protein-1beta, and RANTES. Expression of these chemokines directly down-regulates CCR5. These findings reveal a new regulatory mechanism utilized by activated peripheral T cells to modulate their chemotaxis and potentially other functions mediated by CCR5, including the infection of T lymphocytes by macrophage-tropic HIV strains.  (+info)