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J D Taurog

Publications and source records attributed to J D Taurog.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Normal luminal bacteria, especially Bacteroides species, mediate chronic colitis, gastritis, and arthritis in HLA-B27/human beta2 microglobulin transgenic rats.

Genetic and environmental factors are important in the pathogenesis of clinical and experimental chronic intestinal inflammation. We investigated the influence of normal luminal bacteria and several groups of selected bacterial strains on spontaneous gastrointestinal and systemic inflammation in HLA-B27 transgenic rats. Rats maintained germfree for 3-9 mo were compared with littermates conventionalized with specific pathogen-free bacteria. Subsequently, germfree transgenic rats were colonized with groups of five to eight bacteria that were either facultative or strictly anaerobic. Transgenic germfree rats had no gastroduodenitis, colitis, or arthritis, but developed epididymitis and dermatitis to the same degree as conventionalized rats. Colonic proinflammatory cytokine expression was increased in transgenic conventionalized rats but was undetectable in germfree and nontransgenic rats. Colitis progressively increased over the first 4 wk of bacterial exposure, then plateaued. Only transgenic rats colonized with defined bacterial cocktails which contained Bacteroides spp. had colitis and gastritis. Normal luminal bacteria predictably and uniformly induce chronic colonic, gastric and systemic inflammation in B27 transgenic F344 rats, but all bacterial species do not have equal activities.

Animals

Rat MHC-linked peptide transporter alleles strongly influence peptide binding by HLA-B27 but not B27-associated inflammatory disease.

Rats transgenic for the human MHC molecule HLA-B27 were used to study the effect of two alleles, cima and cimb, which are associated with peptide transport by the MHC-encoded Tap2 transporter, on the function of HLA-B27 as a restriction element for CTL recognition of the male H-Y minor H Ag and on the multisystem inflammatory disease characteristic of B27 transgenic rats. Anti-H-Y CTL generated in cima B27 transgenic rats lysed male B27 cimb/b targets significantly less well than cima/a or cima/b targets. Addition of exogenous H-Y peptides to male B27 cimb/b targets increased susceptibility to lysis to the level of cima/a targets. Male B27 cimb/b cells were less efficient than cima/a cells in competitively inhibiting CTL lysis of female B27 cima/a targets sensitized with exogenous H-Y peptides. 3H-Labeled peptides eluted from B27 molecules of lymphoblasts from rats of two cimb and three cima RT1 haplotypes showed that the cimb peptide pool favors comparatively longer and/or more hydrophobic peptides. These results indicate that RT1-linked Tap2 polymorphism in the rat strongly influences peptide loading of HLA-B27. Nonetheless, the prevalence and severity of multisystem inflammatory lesions were comparable in backcross rats bearing either cima/b or cimb/b. It thus appears either that binding of specific peptides to B27 is unimportant in the pathogenesis of B27-associated disease or that the critical peptides, unlike H-Y and many others, are not influenced by Tap transporter polymorphism.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem

T cells, but not thymic exposure to HLA-B27, are required for the inflammatory disease of HLA-B27 transgenic rats.

Rats transgenic for the human MHC class I gene HLA-B27 are susceptible to a spontaneous multisystem inflammatory disease that resembles human B27-associated disease. This disease requires a high level of expression of the B27 transgene product in cells of hemopoietic origin and can be adoptively transferred to B27 transgenic or nontransgenic rats by transplantation of bone marrow (BM) or fetal liver (FL) cells. To investigate the role played by T cells and the thymus in the disease process, we produced congenitally athymic rnu/rnu F344 rats carrying the disease-prone B27 transgenic locus of the 33-3 line. Transgenic nude rats were protected from disease manifestations. This protection was abated by reconstitution with T cells from euthymic donors of the 33-3 line, with CD4 T cells being more efficient than CD8 T cells in transferring disease. Lethally irradiated, adult-thymectomized (ATX), nontransgenic recipients reconstituted with intact BM, T cell-depleted BM, FL, or nude BM from syngeneic disease-prone lines all developed disease. Pretreatment of the ATX nontransgenic recipients to deplete T cells enhanced the subsequent transferred disease. The inflammatory disease of B27 transgenic rats is thus T cell-dependent. The relevant T cells do not need to encounter B27 in the thymus, and residual radioresistant and/or extrathymically derived host T cells are sufficient to mediate the adoptively transferred disease. The data are most consistent with a model of B27-mediated disease arising from a failure of tolerance and requiring a population of CD4 T cells.

Animals

Experimental spondyloarthropathy in HLA-B27 transgenic rats.

Rats of the LEW, F344, and PVG strains bearing high copy numbers of transgenes for HLA-B27 and human beta 2-microglobulin develop a multisystem disorder, many features of which resemble aspects of the human spondyloarthropathies, most dramatically axial and peripheral arthropathy. The disease is not seen in rats with comparable expression of HLA-B7, and so is relatively specific for HLA-B27. It requires T cells and another bone marrow derived cell, as well as an intact gut flora. Characteristic cytokine profiles distinguish the inflammatory infiltrates in the gut and the joint, and the earliest T cell infiltrates at these sites are polyclonal. Polymorphism at the Tap-2 peptide transporter locus has no significant effect on disease, whereas the DA strain background abrogates disease. The molecular role of the B27 molecule in disease remains to be elucidated, but there is good reason to believe that it will eventually yield to continued investigation of this animal model.

Animals

Human HLA-B27 gene enhances susceptibility of rats to oral infection by Listeria monocytogenes.

Germfree rats transgenic for the human genes HLA-B27 and beta 2-microglobulin were colonized with hemolysin-positive (Hly+) or hemolysin-negative (Hly-) strains of Listeria monocytogenes. HLA-B27 rats were very susceptible to infection with Hly+ L monocytogenes none survived beyond 6 days. Conversely, nontransgenic control rats survived alimentary tract colonization with the Hly+ strain, and both transgenic and nontransgenic rats survived colonization with the Hly- strain of L monocytogenes. After colonization with Hly+ L monocytogenes, both transgenic and nontransgenic rats developed severe bowel inflammation which consisted histologically of microab scesses, granulomatous lesions, and ulcers; however, whereas the transgenic rats died within 6 days, only very mild intestinal lesions were seen in nontransgenic rats 10 to 42 days after colonization. Liver and splenic lesions were small and transient in nontransgenic rats. Transgenic and nontransgenic control rats infected with Hly- Listeria developed mild transient diarrhea but showed no histological changes in the intestine. This study thus documents an association between a particular bacterial product (hemolysin produced by L monocytogenes) and the induction of severe inflammatory disease and death in rats expressing HLA-B27 and beta 2-microglobulin.

Administration, Oral

Characterization of psoriasiform and alopecic skin lesions in HLA-B27 transgenic rats.

We have previously reported a multisystem inflammatory disease in transgenic rat lines with high expression of HLA-B*2705 and human beta 2 microglobulin. Skin disease in these rats includes two predominant lesions: 1) marked psoriasiform dermatitis of the tail and digits; and 2) progressive alopecia of face, neck, trunk, and extremities. Here we present the results of a systematic survey of these lesions. Tail and digit skin showed psoriasiform hyperplasia of the epidermis associated with parakeratosis, with marked dermal and epidermal inflammation. The alopecic skin showed perifollicular and follicular mononuclear infiltration and increased numbers of atrophic follicles. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that B27 expression was prominent on keratinocytes in hyperplastic epidermis where lymphocytic infiltrates were prominent, but was absent in the absence of inflammation. In alopecic lesions, B27 was strongly expressed on follicular epithelium and dermal hair papillae associated with mononuclear infiltrates. T cells, both CD8 and CD4, were most prominent in inflammatory lesions and rat MHC-II expression on keratinocytes, and follicular epithelium was dramatically increased. This study suggests that T cell-mediated immune mechanisms participate in development of cutaneous lesions in HLA-B27 transgenic rats.

Alopecia

High prevalence of colorectal cancer in HLA-B27 transgenic F344 rats with chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Transgenic rats expressing the human major histocompatibility class I molecule HLA-B27 develop a spontaneous multisystem disease that includes a chronic colitis resembling ulcerative colitis. The availability of this phenotype in B27 transgenic rats of 2 different inbred strains provided the opportunity to inquire whether colorectal neoplasia, which occurs with increased frequency in humans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), would develop in either or both rat genetic backgrounds. METHODS: Clinical and histologic evaluation of B27 transgenic rats with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on the F344 and LEW inbred backgrounds. RESULTS: In B27 transgenic rats on an inbred F344 background, hyperplastic lesions evolved in the setting of chronic colitis, with a high frequency of colorectal polyp formation and frequent histologic progression from adenoma to adenocarcinoma. In contrast, no neoplasia occurred in B27 transgenic rats on an inbred LEW background, despite similar colitis. CONCLUSION: A high incidence of spontaneous colorectal neoplasia occurs in a line of B27 F344 rats that shares some features of both sporadic and inflammatory bowel disease-associated human colorectal cancer. This represents a novel example of spontaneous colorectal neoplasia in rodents that is not based on germline modification of one or more already-identified cancer-related genes.

Animals

The germfree state prevents development of gut and joint inflammatory disease in HLA-B27 transgenic rats.

A number of inflammatory disease states occur with greatly increased frequency in individuals inheriting the human major histocompatibility complex class I allele HLA-B27. In a minority of cases, namely those with B27-associated reactive arthritis, there is good evidence that the disease state is triggered by infection with an enteric or genitourinary bacterial pathogen. For the majority of B27-associated disease, no definite pathogenetic role for bacteria has been established. However, in these latter cases intestinal inflammation can often be demonstrated, and it sometimes occupies a major part of the clinical picture. Rats transgenic for B27 are known to develop a disorder resembling B27-associated human disease, with prominent intestinal, joint, skin, and male genital inflammatory lesions. We report here that B27 transgenic rats raised in a germfree environment do not develop inflammatory intestinal or peripheral joint disease, whereas the skin and genital inflammatory lesions are unaffected by the germfree state. These findings support the concept that gut and joint inflammation are pathogenetically closely related, and they provide direct evidence that the commensal gut flora play an important role in the pathogenesis of B27-associated gut and joint inflammation.

Animals

Transfer of the inflammatory disease of HLA-B27 transgenic rats by bone marrow engraftment.

We have previously produced lines of rats transgenic for HLA-B27 and human beta 2-microglobulin (h beta 2m) that develop a progressive inflammatory disease sharing many clinical and histologic features with the B27-associated human spondyloarthropathies, including gut and male genital inflammation, arthritis, and psoriasiform skin lesions. Other transgenic lines that express lower levels of B27 and h beta 2m remain healthy. To investigate the cellular basis for the multisystem inflammatory disease in these rats, we transferred lymphoid cell populations from disease-prone transgenic lines to irradiated disease-resistant transgenic and nontransgenic recipients. In recipients of cells from two different disease-prone lines, successful transfer required engraftment of bone marrow cells. Transfer of disease with fetal liver cells suggested that neither mature effector cells nor active disease in the donors was necessary for induction of disease in the recipients. Remission of the spontaneous disease in irradiated transgenic rats was induced by engraftment of nontransgenic bone marrow. These results suggest that the expression of HLA-B27 in bone marrow-derived cells alone is sufficient for the development of B27-associated disease, and that disease transfer requires engraftment of a bone marrow precursor cell for which mature cells in spleen or in lymph node cannot substitute.

Animals

Susceptibility to inflammatory disease in HLA-B27 transgenic rat lines correlates with the level of B27 expression.

To investigate the role of the class I MHC molecule HLA-B27 in the spondyloarthropathies, we produced rats transgenic for HLA-B27 and human beta 2-microglobulin. Of five lines bearing > 1 copy of each transgene and showing hemizygous expression of both transgenes, two (lines 21-4H and 33-3) developed spontaneous inflammatory disease that closely resembled B27-associated human disease. Two lines, 21-4L and 25-6, remained healthy even when homozygous for the transgene locus, whereas the 21-3 line, bearing the third highest transgene copy number, developed disease similar to that of the 21-4H and 33-3 lines only when homozygous for the transgene locus. The disease-prone lines showed higher expression of B27--thymic mRNA in utero, splenic mRNA by 5 days of age, and splenic cell surface protein by the time of disease onset--than the disease-resistant lines. Disease susceptibility thus appeared to correlate with gene copy number and the quantity of B27 in lymphoid cells. The increase in the amount of B27 protein did not appear to be simply a consequence of the inflammatory disease because 1) there was no similar change in endogenous RT1 class I expression; 2) no alteration of B27 expression occurred in 21-4H rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis; 3) in rats with inflammatory disease transgenic for HLA-A2 and the 21-4H transgene locus, A2 expression was the same as in healthy rats transgenic for A2 but not B27; and 4) the transgenes in disease-prone and disease-resistant lines were equally susceptible to induction by IFN-gamma. Immunocytochemistry of the distal colon, an early site of inflammation, showed that the B27 Ag is expressed at high levels in cells of the lamina propria, but not at all in colonic epithelial cells. Taken together, the data suggest that the B27 transgene is expressed in a copy number dependent, position-independent manner in lymphoid tissue and that disease results from the expression of B27 above a critical threshold level.

Animals

Characteristics of anti-type II collagen antibody binding to articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggested that it was possible to characterize the intact surface of articular cartilage by probing it with antibodies against matrix macromolecules. The present studies were undertaken to investigate type II collagen (CII) epitope availability on the intact surface of articular cartilage. METHODS: Normal bovine, rabbit, and human cartilage specimens were used to measure binding of anti-CII antibodies to the articular and cut surfaces of cartilage. Antisera were raised against the material obtained after brief extraction of the cartilage surface with 4M guanidine solution. RESULTS: Anti-CII did not bind to the intact surface of rabbit articular cartilage when compared with control rat sera, but did bind significantly to the cut surface. With normal human articular cartilage, the cut surfaces bound approximately 4 times as much anti-CII antibody as the intact articular surfaces. These findings suggested that the CII epitopes are normally protected by the superficial cartilage layer. In experiments carried out to characterize this layer, binding of anti-CII antibodies was unchanged after exhaustive washing of bovine or rabbit cartilage with phosphate buffered saline or 1M NaCl solution, whereas it was significantly increased after brief exposure to 4M guanidine solution or after incubation with neutrophil elastase. No restoration of the protection of CII epitopes in guanidine-treated cartilage could be achieved by incubation with undiluted normal bovine synovial fluid; however, 8-day culture of elastase-treated cartilage explants resulted in partial restoration of protection of the CII epitopes. Rat and rabbit antisera raised against the cartilage surface material extracted with 4M guanidine contained antibodies that bound to the cartilage surface. By Western blotting, rat antibodies identified 50-65-kd protein bands present in the guanidine extract, but not present either in the material obtained from brief digestion of cartilage with neutrophil elastase or in synovial fluid. The rabbit antisera identified a broad 70-95-kd band. Exposure of elastase-treated cartilage to the guanidine-extracted material resulted in a partial decrease of anti-CII antibody binding. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CII on intact cartilage is protected from antibody binding, and that the protective material is at least partly proteinaceous in nature, is unlikely to be derived from synovial fluid, is noncovalently bound to the underlying intercellular matrix, and is synthesized by resident chondrocytes. Further characterization of the protective material may provide important information on the mechanisms of early cartilage damage in inflammatory arthritis.

Animals

Sharing of an HLA-B27-restricted H-Y antigen between rat and mouse.

The purpose of this work was twofold: 1) to learn whether rats transgenic for HLA-B27 and the human beta 2-microglobulin gene HB2M can mount B27-restricted cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to the male H-Y antigen, and 2) to learn whether such CTLs would recognize both rat and mouse H-Y in the context of HLA-B27. Female rats of the B27/HB2M transgenic line 21-4L were primed in vivo with cells from males of the same line. CTL effectors were generated from lymph node cells of these females following culture with irradiated antigen-presenting cells from either male 21-4L rats or male mice of the B27/HB2M transgenic 56-3 line. The CTLs showed male-specific, B27-specific lysis of both rat and mouse targets. Lysis of B27 targets was inhibitable by monoclonal antibodies specific for B27 or rat CD8. Specific lysis of male B27 rat and mouse targets was inhibitable equally by either rat or mouse male B27 cold targets, but not significantly by female or nontransgenic cold targets. The B27-restricted CTLs neither recognized nor were inhibited by B27+ or B27- male or female human targets. These results demonstrate that CD8+, B27-restricted, anti-H-Y CTLs recognize an evolutionarily conserved H-Y peptide antigen in both rats and mice. In addition, they establish the transgenic rat as a model system for examining the T-cell response to antigen presented by class I HLA molecules.

Animals

Residues in pockets B and F of HLA-B27 are critical in the presentation of an influenza A virus nucleoprotein peptide and influence the stability of peptide - MHC complexes.

Six pockets, designated A through F, which extend from the peptide binding site of class I HLA molecules, have been postulated to play an important role in determining peptide binding specificity. HLA-B27 mutant molecules with single amino acid substitutions at residues 9his-->phe, 24thr-->ser, 45glu-->thr, and 67cys-->ala in pocket B; 114his-->asn in pocket D; and 116asp-->phe in pocket F have been generated and characterized for their capacity to present an influenza A nucleoprotein peptide (NP 383-391) for cytotoxic T lymphocyte recognition. We report here that substitutions in residues 45, 67, and 116 affect presentation of NP 383-391 when peptide is processed and loaded during viral infection. Using 125I-labeled NP peptide, we demonstrate that substitutions in residues 67 and 116 alter the stability of NP-HLA-B27 complexes. A substitution at position 9 of the NP peptide complements the mutation introduced at residue 116, suggesting that the NP peptide binds with its carboxy terminal amino acid in pocket F. These findings indicate that polymorphic residues within pockets B and F of HLA-B27 play a crucial role in peptide binding and stability of peptide-MHC class I complexes. Furthermore, our results suggest that substitutions at allele-specific residues within pockets B and F alter the stability of NP-HLA-B27 complexes resulting in the diminution or abrogation of NP presentation during viral infection.

Adult

In vitro mutagenesis of HLA-B27: single and multiple amino acid substitutions at consensus B27 sites identify distinct monoclonal antibody-defined epitopes.

The consensus HLA-B27 sequence includes a unique constellation of amino acid residues along the peptide-binding cleft. To investigate the potential role of this region in the antigenic structure of HLA-B27, a panel of transfected cell lines was produced expressing 24 mutant B27 molecules with single or multiple substitutions within this constellation of residues. The cells were analyzed by flow cytometry with a panel of four anti-B27 mAb: ME1, GSP5.3, GS145.2, and B27M2. Previous studies have suggested that position 67 exerts a conformational effect on the ME1, GSP5.3, and GS145.2 epitopes. This was further supported in these studies by the observation that additional substitutions at the flanking residues 63 and 70 could reverse the disruption of these mAb epitopes by large residues at 67. Substitutions at positions 69-71 disrupted the binding of ME1 and GSP5.3, apparently by a direct effect. Individual substitutions at either of the two positions bearing residues unique to B27, 70 and 97, had no significant influence on the binding of any of the four mAb. The region of amino acid positions 63-71 in HLA-B27 thus appears to participate in the formation of at least three distinct epitopes shared by B27 and B7, identified by ME1, GSP5.3, and GS145.2.

Amino Acid Sequence

The Second International Simmons Center Conference on HLA-B27-Related Disorders.

The Second International Simmons Center Conference on HLA-B27-Related Disorders presented a number of new observations related to the molecular biology of the HLA-B27 molecule, its functional biology as a peptide-binding molecule, and the clinical implications of the association of B27 with the spondylarthropathies, as well as new clinical information concerning these diseases. As a result of the rapid developments in these fields, new insights into the pathogenesis of the B27-related spondylarthropathies will emerge.

Animals