Brigitte Blanchard

Specific high-affinity binding of 125I-labeled mouse interferon to interferon resistant embryonal carcinoma cells in vitro

Abstract Multipotential mouse embryonal carcinoma cells are resistant to several biologic effects of mouse interferon: inhibition of viral multiplication and inhibition of cell division. Nevertheless using 125 I-labeled highly purified mouse interferon we have shown that these embryonal carcinoma cells express specific interferon receptors in similar number and of the same affinity as interferon sensitive differentiated embryonal carcinoma cells. Thus, mechanisms of interferon resistance are probably multiple: some cells are resistant because they lack specific binding sites for interferon (interferon resistant mouse L1210 cells) and other cells, as shown herein, are resistant to some of the effects of interferon despite binding of interferon to specific receptor sites. Furthermore, these binding sites may be considered functional, since interferon does induce an increase in 2-5A synthetase in these cells.

High-affinity binding of 125I-labeled mouse interferon to a specific cell surface receptor. IV. Mouse gamma interferon and cholera toxin do not compete for the common receptor site of alpha / beta interferon

Abstract The initial step in interferon action consists of the binding to a specific high-affinity cell surface receptor. Mouse α and β interferon have been shown to share a common receptor. We now present evidence that mouse γ interferon does not compete for this receptor on mouse L 1210 and L 929 cells. Cholera toxin which binds specifically to the membrane monosialoganglioside G M1 , and has been shown to inhibit interferon action, does not inhibit the specific binding of labeled mouse α/β interferon to L 1210 or L 929 cells. Conversely, mouse α/β interferon does not inhibit the specific binding of radioactive cholera toxin to L 929 cells. L 1210S cells which have a specific receptor for α/β interferon do not have a specific binding site for cholera toxin. We conclude from these studies that there is no evidence to indicate that cholera toxin and mouse α/β interferon share a common receptor.

Constitutive expression of specific interferon isotypes in peripheral blood leukocytes from normal individuals and in promonocytic U937 cells

Constitutive expression of IFN‐α5 and IFN‐β was detected in different lymphoid cells including peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal individuals following amplification of IFN mRNA by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing of the amplified product. The activated form of the interferon‐induced transcription factor complex ISGF3 was also dectected in nuclear extracts from uninduced cells. Culture supernatants from uninduced U937 cells were also found to activate an ISRE cloned upstream of the luciferase reporter gene, indicating the presence of endogenous IFN activity equivalent to approximately 0.3 to 0.5 IU/mL. This endogenous IFN was also shown to play a role in mamtaining the basal level of expression of the major histocompatibility class I genes in lymphoid cells. These results suggest that IFN‐α5 and IFN‐β are produced at low levels in normal tissues and play an important role in the regulation of cell function and in the maintenance of homeostasis.

p53-dependent stimulation of redox-related genes in the lymphoid organs of γ-irradiated mice—identification of Haeme-oxygenase 1 as a direct p53 target gene

Recent data showed that p53 stimulates the expression of genes encoding not only pro- but also antioxidant enzymes. It was suggested that antioxidant genes could be induced under physiologic levels of stress while the prooxidant ones respond to higher level of stress. Results presented in this article illustrate an additional degree of complexity. We show that the expression of Haeme-oxygenase 1 (HO-1), a stress-inducible gene that codes for an enzyme having antioxidant properties, is stimulated in a p53-dependent manner in the thymus and spleen of irradiated mice. We prove that HO-1 is a direct p53 target gene by showing that the p53RE identified within human and mouse genes is specifically bound by p53. The threshold of irradiation dose required to induce a significant response of HO-1 in the lymphoid organs of the irradiated mice is higher than that for Waf1/p21 that encodes an universal inhibitor of cell cycle. Moreover, induction of HO-1 occurs later than that of Waf1/p21. Finally, the higher stimulation of HO-1 is reached when Waf1/p21 stimulation starts to decrease.

Genes for Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor are Expressed at Markedly Reduced Levels in the Livers of Patients with Severe Liver Disease

The genes for interferon (IFN) alpha, IFN gamma, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF alpha were transcribed at readily detectable levels both in liver biopsies from individuals with normal liver function and in samples of normal viable liver taken for transplantation. These results provided evidence for the concept that such multifunctional cytokines play a role in homeostasis in normal human tissues. In normal human liver, in situ hybridization studies showed that, in the absence of a detectable inflammatory response, both hepatocytes and mononuclear cells exhibited a similar degree of expression of IL-6 mRNA in keeping with the finding that IL-6 is produced by cells of different lineages. The levels of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF mRNA were found to be markedly reduced in extracts of the livers of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and other forms of autoimmune liver disease at a time when extensive liver lesions were apparent, compared to the levels of expression of these cytokines in the livers of normal individuals. The reduced expression of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF mRNAs appeared to be a specific effect and not due to a general reduction in RNA synthesis as the IFN alpha, IFN gamma and actin mRNAs were expressed at similar levels in both normal and diseased livers. The levels of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF mRNAs were also reduced in samples of liver from a patient with a drug induced fulminant hepatitis suggesting that this specific pattern of altered cytokine gene expression was characteristic of the advanced stage of severe liver disease.

One-step assay for quantification of neutralizing antibodies to biopharmaceuticals

Assessment of immunogenicity is an important part of biopharmaceutical drug safety evaluation and a prerequisite for the development of less immunogenic and safer biopharmaceuticals since anti-drug antibodies can impair the activity and compromise the safety of biopharmaceuticals. Although regulatory authorities recommend cell-based assays for detection of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), such assays are difficult to standardize, and ill adapted to high-throughput analysis. These limitations have been overcome by the development of a unique one-step cell-based assay that allows both drug activity and drug NAbs to be quantified rapidly and with a high degree of precision simply be adding reporter cells to a sample. The reporter cells have been engineered to express firefly luciferase (FL) under the control of a drug-responsive promoter, and to express the drug of interest, the production of which is normalized relative to the expression of Renilla luciferase (RL) transcribed from a common doxycycline-inducible promoter. Residual drug levels present in a sample are first quantified by determination of FL expression, autocrine drug synthesis is then induced, and NAb activity is quantified from the difference in the ratio of FL/RL expression in the presence or absence of the sample. Since assay results are normalized relative to the expression of an internal standard, results are independent of cell number or differences in cell viability thus affording a high degree of assay precision and reducing serum matrix effects to a minimum. This unique assay platform is ideally suited for high-throughput analysis, is applicable to most biopharmaceuticals, and will facilitate standardization and comparison of immunogenicity data. The performance of the one-step assay is illustrated for interferon alpha2 (IFNalpha2) used widely to treated chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection and neoplastic disease.

Role of the type I interferons in allograft rejection.

Type I interferons are potent immuno‐modulatory cytokines that enhance expression of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens, T‐cell cytotoxicity, and natural killer (NK) cell activity, all of which are implicated in graft rejection. A monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against the extracellular domain of the human interferon α (IFN‐α) receptor (IFN‐αR), which inhibits both the binding and biological activity of all the type I IFNs tested, exerted a dose‐dependent inhibition of the mixed lymphocyte reaction and induced permanent survival of skin allografts in MHC‐divergent Cynomologus monkeys treated with a subeffective dose of cyclosporin A. Marked differences were observed in the composition of T lymphocyte sub‐populations in anti‐IFN‐αR mAb‐treated animals relative to the various control groups. Skin biopsies from animals treated with anti‐IFN‐R Mab + cyclosporin A revealed very low levels of MHC class I and class II antigen expression and the absence of histological signs of rejection, whereas skin biopsies from control animals exhibited high levels of MHC antigen expression and the histological signs of acute rejection, including a pronounced lymphocytic infiltrate, edema, and necrosis. No monkey antibodies (IgG) to the mouse anti‐human IFN‐αR mAb were detected in the serum of any of the animals treated with the anti‐IFN‐αR mAb either alone or together with cyclosporin A. Treatment of lethally irradiated Cynomologus monkeys with the anti‐IFN‐αR mAb together with a subeffective dose of cyclosporin A was also found to markedly enhance the survival of animals grafted with allogeneic bone marrow cells from donors differing in both MHC class I and class II antigens. These results show that selective and lasting immunosuppression can be obtained by the short‐term administration of an IFN‐α antagonist together with a subeffective dose of cyclosporin A, and may have important implications for the therapy of human allograft rejection.

GAAP‐1: a transcriptional activator of p53 and IRF‐1 possesses pro‐apoptotic activity

The mechanisms that regulate the transcription of the tumour suppressor genes p53 and IRF‐1 are poorly understood. We have characterized a 68‐kDa transcription factor, GAAP‐1 (gatekeeper of apoptosis activating proteins), encoded by an alternative splice product of the PRDII‐BF1 gene, that recognizes a novel regulatory element within the p53 and IRF‐1 promoters. Transfection of U937 cells with GAAP‐1 activates p53 and IRF‐1 expression and leads to apoptosis, whereas over‐expression of GAAP‐1 in K562 cells that lack p53 and IRF‐1 induces cell differentiation. Alterations in the 6p24 locus containing the GAAP‐1 gene are frequent in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and AML‐derived cell lines display reduced GAAP‐1 mRNA levels. Together, these results suggest that GAAP‐1 acts as a gatekeeper at a critical point in the tumour suppressor gene pathway.

Identification of a novel transcriptional regulatory element common to the p53 and interferon regulatory factor 1 genes.

The promoter regions of both the interferon regulatory factor (IRF1) and p53 antioncogenes contain a previously unidentified sequence denoted IRF1 p53 common sequence (IPCS), which markedly increases the transcriptional activity of a reporter gene placed under the control of an heterologous promoter in transfected U937 cells. In contrast, transfection of U937 cells with reporter vectors containing p53 and IRF1 promoters with mutated IPCS sites resulted in a 4-fold reduction in the constitutive expression of those two genes. The transcriptional activity of IPCS is strictly correlated with the binding of a novel nuclear factor, IPCS-binding factor (IPCS-BF). IPCS-BF, which is composed of a single polypeptide of 26 kDa, is present constitutively in nuclear extracts of both U937 cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors. The finding that the pattern of binding of IPCS-BF to the IPCS is unlike that of any known transcription factor and that the IPCS sequence does not exhibit any significant homology with any known binding site present in the data base, strongly suggest that IPCS-BF is a novel transcription factor which, by virtue of this ability to regulate the expression of the p53 and IRF1 genes, could play a central role in the control of cell proliferation and/or apoptosis.