PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

N Lycke

Publications and source records attributed to N Lycke.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

The adjuvant effect of Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxins is linked to their ADP-ribosyltransferase activity.

This study addressed the question of whether the mucosal adjuvant property of cholera toxin (CT) and the structurally closely related Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin (LT) requires the enterotoxic and adenylate cyclase/cAMP activating property of these molecules. Therefore, we investigated the cytotoxic and adjuvant abilities of the enterotoxins and compared the results with those obtained with the non-toxic CT and LT derivatives; recombinant CTB (rCTB) and a mutated LT (mLT), which had a single amino acid substitution in position 112 (Glu----Lys) of the A subunit. Detailed functional studies revealed that, in contrast to the enterotoxins, both rCTB and mLT lacked ADP-ribosylating and cAMP-stimulating abilities. However, similar membrane ganglioside GM1-receptor binding ability of all the putative adjuvants was demonstrated. When the probe antigen, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), was given perorally together with CT or LT strong gut mucosal anti-KLH immune responses were stimulated, whereas no or very low anti-KLH responses were seen in the groups which received antigen admixed with rCTB or the mLT. Moreover, the specific serum antibody responses to the various immunization protocols closely paralleled the local anti-KLH response in the gut. From these results it appears that the adjuvant mechanism of LT, and probably also of CT, is linked to the ability to ADP-ribosylate and to stimulate cAMP formation. However, this study does not unequivocally rule out other possibilities such as interactions by the A1 fragment of CT or LT with other G-proteins than Gs alpha or events that parallel or precede the effects on the adenylate cyclase/cAMP system. Thus, the levels of ADP-ribosylation and cAMP-induction that are required and the key event or target cell that is responsible for the adjuvant effect of CT and LT remain to be elucidated. Studies are underway to address these issues.

Adjuvants, Immunologic

T and B cell responses to chimeric proteins containing heterologous T helper epitopes inserted at different positions.

The ability of a T helper (Th) epitope to induce help for B cells recognizing different determinants within a multideterminant antigen was investigated. Chimeric fusion proteins, containing inserts of single or multiple copies of the Th epitope ovalbumin 323-339 (ova) at two different positions, were compared with respect to their ability to induce specific antibody production and ova-specific T cell activation. The antibody responses against B cell determinants at the amino and carboxy terminus, respectively was differently influenced by the molecular positioning of the inserted Th determinant. All ova-containing fusion proteins induced antibody production against the B cell determinant at the amino terminal end irrespective of the positioning of ova. In addition, multiple copies of ova in any position led to increased levels of antibody production against this epitope. In contrast, T cell help for antibody production against the determinant at the carboxy terminus was more effective after insertion of multiple copies of ova in a distal than in an adjacent position. Furthermore a fusion protein, containing four copies of ova effectively elicited T cell help for high levels of antibody production against both examined B cell determinants, showing that activated Th cells recognizing a single epitope could simultaneously provide help for distinct sets of B cells specific for widely separated epitopes within a protein. Immunodominant T cell recognition of ova in all chimeric peptides, independently of its position, was demonstrated by lymph node cell (LNC) proliferation of primed BALB/c mice. The level of ova-specific T cell proliferation was similar, irrespective of which chimeric peptide that had been used for priming, and thus did not reveal any differences in T cell priming efficiencies related to the number of ova copies in the fusion proteins. However, when the peptides were presented to a ova-specific T cell line by A20 B lymphoma cells, a close correlation between IL-2 production by the clonal T cells and the number of ova epitopes in the chimeric peptides was observed. Thus, increased cytokine production by ova-specific T cells may be important for the increased level of in vivo antibody production observed in response to multiple copies of ova in the chimeric antigens.

Animals

Mucosal immunity: implications for vaccine development.

The mucosal surfaces in e.g. the gastrointestinal, respiratory and urogenital tracts represent a very large exposure area to exogenous agents including microorganisms. Not surprising, therefore, those mucosal tissues are defended by a local immune system with properties and functions that in many respects are separate from the systemic immune system. The intestine is the largest immunological organ in the body. It comprises 70-80% of all immunoglobulin-producing cells and produces more secretory IgA (SIgA) (50-100 mg/kg body weight/day) than the total production of IgG in the body (ca. 30 mg/kg/day). The local immune system of the gut has two main functions: to protect against enteric infections, and to protect against uptake of and/or harmful immune response to undergraded food antigens. The best known entity providing specific immune protection for the gut is the SIgA system. The resistance of SIgA against normal intestinal proteases makes antibodies of this isotype uniquely well suited to protect the intestinal mucosal surface. The main protective function of SIgA antibodies is the "immune exclusion" of bacterial and viral pathogens, bacterial toxins and other potentially harmful molecules. SIgA has also been described to mediate antibody-dependent T cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and to interfere with the utilization of necessary growth factors for bacterial pathogens in the intestinal environment, such as iron. It is now almost axiomatic that in order to be efficacious, vaccines against enteric infection must be able to stimulate the local gut mucosal immune system, and that this goal is usually better achieved by administering the vaccines by the oral route rather than parenterally. Based on the concept of a common mucosal immune system through which activated lymphocytes from the gut can disseminate immunity also to other mucosal and glandular tissues there is currently also much interest in the possibility to develop oral vaccines against e.g. infections in the respiratory and urogenital tracts. It has previously been widely assumed that only live vaccines would efficiently stimulate a gut mucosal immune response. However, an oral cholera vaccine, composed of the nontoxic B subunit of cholera toxin in combination with killed whole cell (WC) cholera vibrios has been shown to stimulate a strong intestinal SIgA antibody response associated with long-lasting protection against cholera. We have used this new cholera subunit vaccine and developed ELISPOT methods for examining at the clonal B and T cell level the dynamics of intestinal and extra-intestinal immune responses in humans after enteric immunizations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals

Cholera toxin stimulates IL-1 production and enhances antigen presentation by macrophages in vitro.

Cholera toxin (CT) is a strong systemic and mucosal adjuvant that greatly enhances IgG and IgA immune responses. We investigated whether CT potentiates Ag presentation by macrophages as a possible mechanism underlying its adjuvant function. This was tested by preculturing APC in CT and analyzing the effect of CT treatment on the capacity to trigger 1) an allogeneic proliferative response of normal mesenteric lymph node T cells (H-2b) to the macrophage cell line P388D1 (H-2d) or 2) an Ag-specific proliferative response of D10.G4.1 clonal T cells in co-culture with normal macrophages and Ag. Pretreatment of APC, normal peritoneal macrophages or the P388D1 cells, with CT strongly enhanced Ag- and allogen-specific T cell proliferation. Also P388D1 APC treated with CT and then formalin-fixed demonstrated enhanced ability to stimulate T cell proliferation as compared to cells not exposed to CT, suggesting that the effect of CT on APC might be to enhance expression of a cell-associated factor. Flow microfluorimetry analysis of P388D1 cells cultured in CT-containing medium failed to detect an increase in class II MHC-Ag expression as compared to that found on cells not cultured in CT. In contrast, both soluble and cell-associated IL-1 formation was increased several-fold by CT, but with different CT dose requirements. A total of 10 to 100 times more CT were required for elevating the soluble IL-1 as compared to the cell associated IL-1, which was increased by as little as 1 ng/ml of CT. The soluble and cell-associated IL-1 activity induced by CT was abrogated by a polyclonal antiserum to IL-1-alpha. Similarly, the potentiating effect of CT on the ability of P388D1 APC to trigger alloreactive T cell proliferation was also blocked completely by the addition of the anti-IL-1-alpha antibody to the test system. This is the first study to demonstrate that CT potentiates Ag presentation. The mechanism for this effect probably involves induction of IL-1 production and in particular of a cell-associated form of IL-1 (IL-1-alpha). Potentiation of APC function might be important for the adjuvant action of CT on the immune response in vivo.

Animals

The adjuvant action of cholera toxin is associated with an increased intestinal permeability for luminal antigens.

This study addresses the question of whether cholera toxin (CT) increases gut permeability for molecules greater than 3000 Da and whether such an effect is associated with an adjuvant function by CT on the gut immune response. We found that CT after oral administration gives rise to strikingly increased gut permeability for Dextran (Mw 3000) concomitantly with a strong enhancing effect on the anti-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) specific immune response in the lamina propria after oral immunization with KLH plus Dextran and CT. In contrast, the B-subunit of the holotoxin, which lacks the adenylate cyclase/cAMP-activating property of CT, failed to increase gut permeability as well as local anti-KLH immune responses. These results might suggest a causal linkage between the ability of CT to increase gut permeability and its adjuvant property on gut mucosal immune responses. In addition this finding supports the notion that the adenylate cyclase/cAMP system plays a regulatory role in gut permeability and is important in enhancing mucosal immune responses. Based on previous studies and the present data we propose that the mechanism for CT's adjuvant function on mucosal immune responses is by affecting antigen-presenting cells, T and B cells in the gut to give a net enhancing effect on the stimulation of local immunity, and that the CT-induced increase in gut permeability might be part of the adjuvant mechanism by facilitating luminal antigens to access the gut mucosal immune system.

Adenylyl Cyclases

Host defense against cholera toxin is strongly CD4+ T cell dependent.

This study investigates the role of CD4+ T cells in host defense against cholera enterotoxin-induced diarrhea. Antitoxin immunoglobulin A formation and gut protection against cholera toxin (CT) following oral immunizations with CT were evaluated in normal mice and mice that had been depleted of CD4+ T cells by in vivo treatment with specific anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies. Flow cytometer analysis demonstrated that anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody effectively eliminated CD4+ T cells in the spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, and Peyer's patches. In contrast, lamina propria lymphocytes demonstrated only some decrease in CD4+ T-cell numbers following antibody treatment. However, CD4 expression of individual lamina propria lymphocytes was strongly down-regulated. Depletion of CD4+ T cells performed prior to oral immunization with CT completely inhibited the ability to respond to CT. No antitoxin production, as detected at the single-cell level by the ELISPOT technique, was found in the spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, or Peyer's patches, nor did we observe serum antitoxin responses in these mice. Control mice demonstrated strong antitoxin responses in all locations following oral immunization with CT. Anti-CD4 antibody treatment also effectively inhibited the antitoxin immunoglobulin A response in the lamina propria to CT as well as blocked the ability to develop gut protection against CT challenge of ligated intestinal loops after oral CT immunization. Thus, in vivo CD4+ T-cell depletion rendered these mice unable to develop protective immunity in the gut following oral immunization with CT. Moreover, CD4+ T-cell depletion effectively inhibited the antitoxin immune response in the gut lamina propria, mesenteric lymph nodes, Peyer's patches, and spleen when performed prior to both priming and booster immunizations with CT. This study clearly demonstrates the requirement of functional CD4+ T cells in the gut immune system for the development of host defense against CT-induced disease. Our data also reinforce the concept of a strong association between gut protection against CT and local production of neutralizing immunoglobulin A antitoxin.

Animals

Cholera toxin acts synergistically with IL-4 to promote IgG1 switch differentiation.

Previously, we reported that cholera toxin (CT) causes LPS-stimulated membrane (m)IgM+ B cells to undergo increased switch differentiation to IgG- and IgA-producing B cells. In this study we determined whether this effect is specific for one or several of the IgG subclasses and whether B cells exposed to CT respond differently to IL-4, a lymphokine with switching capabilities. In initial studies we found that in LPS-stimulated, mIgM+ B cell cultures, CT eightfold enhanced the formation of IgG1-producing B cells, whereas it only weakly enhanced, one- to twofold, the formation of IgG3-producing B cells. In addition, CT synergistically enhanced the induction of IgG1-producing B cells by IL-4, even at plateau concentrations of IL-4. In contrast, IgM and IgG3 responses were suppressed in the CT plus IL-4-containing cultures as compared to those containing only LPS or LPS and CT. Furthermore, CT plus IL-4 had no enhancing effect on the formation of cells producing IgA; on the contrary, the presence of IL-4 led to a reversal of the stimulatory effect of CT on the IgA response. In further studies, we found that CT affected B cell differentiation at the gene level, before final gene recombination has occurred. Thus, CT together with LPS induced faint but detectable germline gamma 1 RNA transcripts not seen with cells cultured in LPS alone. However, more strikingly, CT enhanced by several-fold expression of germline gamma 1 RNA transcripts in LPS-stimulated B cell cultures containing optimal IgG1-inducing concentrations of IL-4. In addition, despite its weakly positive effect on IgG3 production. CT inhibited expression of germline gamma 3 RNA transcripts in cultures containing LPS and caused a further decrease in such transcripts in cultures containing LPS and IL-4. Finally, we found that CT enhanced the in vivo IgG1 but not the IgG3 or IgM anti-DNP serum antibody response of mice immunized with DNP-LPS. Taken together, these studies suggest that CT more strongly promotes B cell differentiation to IgG1 than to any other IgG subclass in LPS-stimulated cultures. CT acts alone or in synergy with IL-4, early in B cell differentiation to promote IgG1 expression in LPS-stimulated B cell cultures, probably by inducing early steps in the switch to this isotype such as the production of germline gamma 1 RNA transcripts.

Animals

Cholera toxin promotes B cell isotype differentiation.

Cholera toxin (CT) is a powerful oral immunogen and adjuvant that elicits strong IgG and IgA antibody responses. In our study we investigated whether this property of CT was associated with an effect on B cell isotype differentiation. Initially, we determined the effect of CT on normal LPS-induced Peyer's patch B cells and found that whereas CT is strongly inhibitory of IgM production, it increases by approximately three-fold the number and frequency of IgG- and IgA-producing cells. Subsequently, using cell sorting technology, we demonstrated that CT acts on membrane (m)IgM+, mIgG/mIgA- B cells rather than mIgG/mIgA+ B cells. In addition, we showed that CT does not cause selective inhibition of mIgM, or enhancement of mIgG/mIgA B cell proliferation. In parallel studies we determined the effect of CT on the differentiation of a clonal B cell population, CH12.LX cells, i.e., a population comprised mainly of mIgM+ cells (98%) admixed with a small subpopulation of mIgA+ cells (2%). Here we found that CT (in the absence of LPS) causes a rapid decrease (24 h) in the intensity of mIgM expression as well as a marked increase in the size of the subpopulation expressing mIgA. In addition, we found that CT (in the presence of LPS), inhibits CH12.LX IgM production while increasing the absolute number and frequency of IgA-producing cells. In contrast, CT inhibits IgA production by CH12.LX.A2 cells, a subclone of CH12.LX cells that bears only IgA. Finally, we demonstrated that CT is equally inhibitory of the proliferation of CH12.LX cells and CH12.LX.A2 cells. Taken together, these effects of CT on normal B cells and a clonal B cell line indicate that CT induces substantial numbers of mIgM+ cells to undergo isotype differentiation into mIgG+ or mIgA+ B cells. In a final series of studies we showed that the effect of CT on isotype differentiation was mimicked by the B subunit of CT, i.e., the subunit that does not activate intracellular adenylate cyclase; thus the induction of isotype differentiation by CT is not mediated by a perturbation in cAMP level.

Adjuvants, Immunologic

Cellular basis of immunomodulation by cholera toxin in vitro with possible association to the adjuvant function in vivo.

Cholera toxin (CT) is a potent oral immunogen that also acts as a strong mucosal adjuvant for immune responses to related as well as unrelated Ag. To elucidate the immunomodulating effects of CT at the cellular level we have examined interactions of CT with APC and with B and T lymphocytes in vitro. CT markedly stimulated the production of IL-1 from APC (mouse peritoneal macrophages or macrophage cell line P388D1) but did not induce Ia-Ag and had marginal, if any, effect in potentiating Ia Ag expression stimulated by rIFN-gamma on these cells. CT had differential effect on T cell proliferation in vitro, usually strongly inhibitory but on Con A-stimulated spleen cells during prolonged (greater than or equal to 5 days) culture or when added on day 4 or later to these cultures up to a two- to three-fold enhancement of proliferation was seen. CT-induced inhibition of T cell proliferation was associated with decreased production of IL-2 and anergy to exogenously added IL-2 despite apparently normal expression of IL-2R. Similar to what was found with T cells LPS-stimulated spleen B cells demonstrated both inhibition and enhancement of proliferation in the presence of CT: in high concentrations (greater than or equal to 10(-8) M) and early in culture (day 3) CT had a strong inhibitory effect on the proliferation of B cells, whereas later (day 6) and/or at lower CT concentrations (10(-9) to 10(-11) M) the proliferation was increased up to 10-fold. The net effect of CT treatment on Ig-production by LPS-stimulated spleen B cells was seen as an enhanced level of IgA and IgG but not IgM in culture supernatants. The differential effects of CT on the cells of the immune system observed in vitro may, singly or in combination, explain the immunostimulatory function of CT.

Adjuvants, Immunologic

Adoptive transfer of gut mucosal antitoxin memory by isolated B cells 1 year after oral immunization with cholera toxin.

A protocol was elaborated for the adoptive transfer of lymphocytes from mice which were orally immunized with cholera toxin (CT) to enable the study of long-term gut mucosal immunological memory at the single-cell level. Mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells were transferred 1 year after priming immunizations, and recipient animals were challenged perorally on days 1 and 2 with CT before sacrifice on day 6 to 7 following transfer of cells. Strong antitoxin ELISPOT spot-forming cell (SFC) responses were recorded in spleens, MLN, and laminae propriae (LP) of recipient mice. In contrast, no SFC were found in Peyer's patches. The magnitude of the response equaled that of the acute response seen after optimal oral CT immunization and was directly dependent on the number of transferred cells. The memory antitoxin response in MLN and LP required oral challenge with CT as opposed to the spleen SFC response, which could also be triggered by intravenous challenge with antigen. Spleen cells from mice immunized perorally with CT were as effective as MLN cells in transferring immunological memory detectable in the gut immune system. Irrespective of the tissue source of transferring immunological memory detectable in the gut immune system. Irrespective of the tissue source of the memory cells, the isotype distribution of the antitoxin SFC response in recipient mice was similar with predominantly immunoglobulin A (96%) in LP and immunoglobulin G (66%) in MLN and spleen. Transfer of antitoxic memory was completely abrogated by treatment of the cells with J11d monoclonal antibody and complement prior to their injection into recipient mice by was unaffected by treatment with anti-Thy-1.2 antibody and complement, suggesting that long-term gut mucosal memory is carried by B cells. Antitoxin B memory cells might help explain the long-term protection against recurrent disease seen in convalescents from cholera in cholera-endemic areas.

Administration, Oral

Role of local IgA antitoxin-producing cells for intestinal protection against cholera toxin challenge.

We examined in mice, perorally immunized with cholera toxin (CT) or cholera B subunit (CTB), the association between protection against intestinal toxin challenge and frequency and function of gut mucosal IgA antitoxin-forming cells. The in vitro production of IgA antitoxin by isolated cells and the toxin-neutralizing ability of culture supernatants were determined. Repeated oral immunizations with CT gave rise to high numbers of IgA antitoxin 'spot-forming' cells (SFC) in the lamina propria as well as to protection against challenge with CT in ligated intestinal loops. In contrast, mice immunized with purified CTB, gave poor IgA antitoxin SFC responses in the lamina propria and little or no protection. When a small amount of CT was used to adjuvant the response to CTB, many IgA antitoxin SFC were found; however, protection in intestinal loops remained poor. This discrepancy was explained by the predominant localization of antitoxin SFC in the proximal small intestine following oral CTB/CT-adjuvant immunization, whereas relatively few SFC were found further down in the intestine where the loop-protection test was performed. Thus, when lamina propria plasma cells were isolated from challenged loops and cultured in vitro, they released only low titers of IgA antitoxin and CT-neutralizing antibodies in culture supernatants; this was in contrast to cells from optimally immunized mice which gave supernatants with high IgA antitoxin and toxin-neutralizing antibody titers. Increasing the dose of CT, added as adjuvant to the CTB, resulted in better protection and higher numbers of IgA antitoxin SFC in more distal parts of the intestine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals