Laboratory protocols for the identification of Th cell epitopes on self-antigens in mice with systemic autoimmune diseases

Assessing Autophagy in Mouse Models and Patients with Systemic Autoimmune Diseases

Autophagy is a tightly regulated mechanism that allows cells to renew themselves through the lysosomal degradation of proteins, which are misfolded or produced in excess, and of damaged organelles. In the context of immunity, recent research has specially attempted to clarify its roles in infection, inflammation and autoimmunity. Autophagy has emerged as a spotlight in several molecular pathways and trafficking events that participate to innate and adaptive immunity. Deregulation of autophagy has been associated to several autoimmune diseases, in particular to systemic lupus erythematosus. Nowadays, however, experimental data on the implication of autophagy in animal models of autoimmunity or patients remain limited. In our investigations, we use Murphy Roths Large (MRL)/lymphoproliferation (lpr) lupus-prone mice as a mouse model for lupus and secondary Sjögren's syndrome, and, herein, we describe methods applied routinely to analyze different autophagic pathways in different lymphoid organs and tissues (spleen, lymph nodes, salivary glands). We also depict some techniques used to analyze autophagy in lupus patient's blood samples. These methods can be adapted to the analysis of autophagy in other mouse models of autoinflammatory diseases. The understanding of autophagy implication in autoimmune diseases could prove to be very useful for developing novel immunomodulatory strategies. Our attention should be focused on the fact that autophagy processes are interconnected and that distinct pathways can be independently hyper-activated or downregulated in distinct organs and tissues of the same individual.

Generation of self-peptides to treat systemic lupus erythematosus

Synthetic peptides are attracting increasing attention as therapeutics. Despite their potential, however, only a few selected peptides have been able to enter in clinical trials for chronic autoimmune diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in particular. Here, we describe and discuss a series of assays, which may help in characterizing valuable candidate peptides that were applied in our laboratory to develop the lupus P140 peptide program. The different steps of selection include the choice of the initial autoantigen, the design, synthesis and purification of peptides, their preliminary screen by measuring cytokines produced ex vivo by T cells and their binding to major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) molecules, their capacity to lower peripheral cell hyperproliferation in lupus-prone MRL/lpr mice, and, as a final step, their ability to slow down the development of lupus disease in model animals.

Icaritin inhibits T cell activation and prolongs skin allograft survival in mice

Icaritin is a native compound from Epimedium Genus, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine which is effective in treating asthma, autoimmune diseases and viral infections. In the present paper, the immunosuppressive effects of icaritin were found through in vitro and in vivo studies. Icaritin could dose-dependently inhibit murine CD4(+) T cells proliferation stimulated with mitogens or specific antigen ovabumin (OVA). Icaritin at 0.25-25μM could down-regulate T cell activation marker CD25 expression and inhibit IL-2 production. It could also reduce the Th1 cytokine IFN-γ production significantly if the T cells were activated by ConA or anti-CD3; while the inhibition of IL-4 secretion was only seen on anti-CD3 activated T cells treated with low concentrations of icaritin. In vivo study showed that treatment of icaritin at 10mg/kg/day on mice could suppress the immune response with prolonged allograft skin survival. Further study demonstrated that it reduced the alloantigen-induced splenocytes proliferation and Th1/Th2 cytokines. It could also increase NF-AT luciferase activity in Jurkat-NF-AT-luc T cells. The above results suggested that icaritin might be used to treat Th1 dominated immune diseases by interfering T cells activation with mechanism different to CsA.

CD4+ T cells from (New Zealand Black x New Zealand White)F1 lupus mice and normal mice immunized against apoptotic nucleosomes recognize similar Th cell epitopes in the C terminus of histone H3

We have previously reported that peptide 88-99 of histone H4 represents a minimal T cell epitope recognized by Th cells from nonautoimmune BALB/c (H-2(d/d)) mice immunized with nucleosomes. In this study, we tested a panel of overlapping peptides spanning the whole sequences of H4 and H3 for recognition by CD4(+) T cells from unprimed (New Zealand Black (NZB) x New Zealand White (NZW))F(1) lupus mice (H-2(d/z)). None of the 11 H4 peptides was recognized by CD4(+) T cells from (NZB x NZW)F(1) mice. In contrast, these cells proliferated and secreted IL-2, IL-10, and IFN-gamma upon ex vivo stimulation with H3 peptides representing sequences 53-70, 64-78, and 68-85. Peptides 56-73 and 61-78 induced the production of IFN-gamma and IL-10, respectively, without detectable proliferation, suggesting that they may act as partial agonist of the TCR. Th cells from unprimed BALB/c mice and other lupus-prone mice such as SNF(1) (H-2(d/q)) and MRL/lpr (H-2(k/k)) mice did not recognize any peptides present within the H3 region 53-85. We further demonstrated that immunization of normal BALB/c mice with syngeneic liver nucleosomes and spleen apoptotic cells, but not with nonapoptotic syngeneic cells, induced Th cell responses against several peptides of the H3 region 53-85. Moreover, we found that this conserved region of H3, which is accessible at the surface of nucleosomes, is targeted by Abs from (NZB x NZW)F(1) mice and lupus patients, and contains motifs recognized by several distinct HLA-DR molecules. It might thus be important in the self-tolerance breakdown in lupus.

T cell reactivity against the SmD1(83-119) C terminal peptide in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

BACKGROUND

The SmD1(83-119) peptide is a major target of the B cell response in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the T cell response directed against this peptide, its disease specificity, and possible impact on SLE pathogenesis.

METHODS

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from 28 patients with SLE and 29 healthy and disease controls were stimulated by the SmD1(83-119) and the recombinant (r)SmD1 protein, and [3H]thymidine incorporation was measured. Patients with SLE were simultaneously tested for autoantibodies, disease activity, clinical symptoms, and medical treatments.

RESULTS

T cell reactivity against the SmD1(83-119) peptide was detected in 11/28 (39%) patients with SLE and against the rSmD1 protein in 10/28 (36%) patients. In contrast, only 2/29 (7%) controls exhibited SmD1 reactivity. An analysis of proliferation kinetics showed that SmD1 reactive T cells are activated in vivo, as additionally confirmed by cytometric analysis. Addition of mammalian dsDNA to rSmD1 enhanced the rSmD1-specific T cell response. SmD1(83-119)-specific T cell reactivity was significantly more common in patients with cardiac and pulmonary symptoms. No correlation between T and B cell responses and disease activity was seen.

CONCLUSION

SmD1(83-119) is a major T cell epitope of SmD1, commonly recognised by T cells from patients with SLE and much less commonly found by healthy or disease controls. This strong T cell reactivity as well as the high frequency and specificity of anti-SmD1(83-119) antibodies in SLE suggest a possible role in SLE pathogenesis, at least in a subset of patients.

Isolation and functional analysis of autoreactive T cells from BXSB mice with murine lupus

CD4(+) T helper cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of SLE, although the mechanism is still unclear. The present study was designed to isolate and characterize autoreactive T lymphocytes from BXSB mice, a mouse model for human SLE. Splenocytes from 6-month-old male BXSB mice with murine lupus were repeatedly stimulated in vitro with irradiated syngeneic B cells in the presence of recombinant IL-2, resulting in six autoreactive T-cell lines and two T-cell clones. TCR analysis showed that, one of the T-cell lines, ATL1, was almost clonal, as a Vbeta2.1-Jbeta2, a Valpha5.1-Jalpha15 and a Valpha10.1-Jalpha15 chains were predominantly expressed in this line. The two clones derived from ATL1 turned out to be sister clones, using the TCR Vbeta2.1-Jbeta2 and Valpha10.1-Jalpha15 chains. ATL1 cells proliferated in response to stimulation of syngeneic and H-2-matched allogeneic B cells and secreted IFN-gamma. Monoclonal Ab against CD4 and CD28 inhibited the proliferative response of ATL1 for syngeneic B cells. Interestingly, ATL1 did not respond to BXSB spleen or peritoneal macrophages, suggesting that B cells were able to either express accessory molecules necessary for T-cell triggering or present cryptic epitopes recognized by the autoreactive T cells. Moreover, ATL1 was able to help BXSB, but not C57BL/6, B cells producing IgG and IgM Abs against dsDNA and histone in vitro. Passive transfer of viable ATL1 cells into young female BXSB mice significantly accelerated the production of autoantibodies. Possible mechanisms of interaction between ATL1 and lupus B cells are further discussed.

The LTR72 mutant of heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli enhances the ability of peptide antigens to elicit CD4(+) T cells and secrete gamma interferon after coapplication onto bare skin

Application of antigens with an adjuvant onto bare skin is a needle-free and pain-free immunization procedure that delivers antigens to the immunocompetent cells of the epidermis. We tested here the immunogenicity and adjuvanticity of two mutants of heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of Escherichia coli, LTK63 and LTR72. Both mutants were shown to be immunogenic, inducing serum and mucosal antibody responses. The application of LTK63 and LTR72 to bare skin induced significant protection against intraperitoneal challenge with a lethal dose of LT. In addition, both LT mutants enhanced the capacity of peptides TT:830-843 and HA:307-319 (representing T-helper epitopes from tetanus toxin and influenza virus hemagglutinin, respectively) to elicit antigen-specific CD4(+) T cells after coapplication onto bare skin. However, only mutant LTR72 was capable of stimulating the secretion of high levels of gamma interferon. These findings demonstrate that successful skin immunization protocols require the selection of the right adjuvant in order to induce the appropriate type of antigen-specific immune responses in a selective and reliable way. Moreover, the use of adjuvants such the LTK63 and LTR72 mutants, with no or low residual toxicity, holds a lot of promise for the future application of vaccines to the bare skin of humans.

Immunization onto bare skin with synthetic peptides: immunomodulation with a CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotide and effective priming of influenza virus-specific CD4+ T cells

Exploiting the immune system of the skin for vaccine administration offers an attractive alternative to the currently used invasive immunization procedures. In this study we report that a synthetic peptide representing a T-helper (Th) epitope from influenza virus haemagglutinin (aa 307--319) can be an effective immunogen when coapplied with cholera toxin (CT) onto bare skin. Proliferation of both peptide- and influenza virus-specific CD4+ T cells was measured in lymphocyte cultures from spleens and regional lymph nodes. The presence of the CpG oligodeoxynucleotide 1826 in the peptide/CT formulation, enhanced the proliferation of peptide- and virus-specific T cells as measured by the conventional [(3)H]thymidine uptake and interleukin (IL)-2 assays. Furthermore, the bias towards Th2-type of responses stimulated by CT was shifted towards Th1 as demonstrated (i) by the increase of interferon-gamma and decrease of IL-4 cytokine levels measured in culture supernatants, (ii) by the predominance of IG2a anti-CT antibodies in the serum, and (iii) by the down-regulation of total serum IgE antibody levels. These findings demonstrate the potential of the bare skin as a non-invasive route for administration of small molecular size peptide antigens. Furthermore, with the selection and combination of the appropriate type of adjuvants, immune responses can be modulated towards the desired type of Th phenotype.

Murine models of systemic lupus erythematosus: B and T cell responses to spliceosomal ribonucleoproteins in MRL/Fas(lpr) and (NZB x NZW)F(1) lupus mice

(NZB x NZW)F(1) and MRL/Fas(lpr) lupus mice present a similar phenotype with a spectrum of autoantibodies associated with very severe nephritis. It is thought, however, that in contrast to other lupus-prone mice such as MRL/Fas(lpr) mice, (NZB x NZW)F(1) mice do not generate autoantibodies to ribonucleoproteins (RNP) Sm/RNP. In this study, we demonstrate that contrary to previous reports, the autoimmune response directed against Sm/RNP antigens also occurs in NZB x NZW mice. CD4(+) T cells from unprimed 10-week-old NZB x NZW mice proliferate and secrete IL-2 in response to peptide 131-151 of the U1-70K protein, which is known to contain a T(h) epitope recognized by CD4(+) T cells from MRL/Fas(lpr) mice. Peptide 131-151, which was found to bind I-A(k) and I-E(k) class II MHC molecules, also bound both I-A(d) and I-E(d) molecules. This result led us to also re-evaluate longitudinally the anti-Sm/RNP antibody response in NZB x NZW mice. We found that 25-week-old mice do produce antibodies reacting with several small nuclear and heterogeneous nuclear (hn) RNP proteins, such as SmD1, U1-70K and hnRNP A2/B1 proteins. The fine specificity of these antibodies was studied with overlapping synthetic peptides. The same antigenically positive and negative peptides were characterized in MRL/Fas(lpr) and NZB x NZW mice in the three proteins. This new finding can help to understand the mechanisms involved in the development of the anti-Sm/RNP antibody response and, particularly, the role played by non-MHC genes in this autoimmune response.