Hiroho Sekikawa

Tissue-specific expansion of NKT and CD5+B cells at the onset of autoimmune disease in (NZB×NZW)F1 mice

Natural killer T (NKT) cells and CD5+B cells were searched for in various immune organs of autoimmune prone (NZB×NZW)F1 (NZB/W F1) mice. The number of lymphocytes increased in the liver, spleen, and peritoneal cavity after the onset of disease (at the age of 30 weeks) while the number of thymocytes decreased at that time. Prominent changes of lymphocyte subsets were seen in the liver and peritoneal cavity, namely, expansion of IL‐2Rβ+TCRα βint cells in the liver and of CD5+B220+ cells in the peritoneal cavity. The majority of TCRα βint cells in the liver were NK1.1+, and CD5+B cells in the peritoneal cavity were CD1d+. Proteinuria became prominent in NZB/W F1 mice with the progression of disease. In parallel with this progression, the proportion of NKT cells decreased slightly in the liver, but their absolute number remained at a high level in this organ. These NKT cells were CD4+ and used an invariant chain of Vα14Jα281 for TCRα. Reflecting the elevation of CD5+B cells, autoantibodies against hepatocyte cytoplasmand denatured DNA were detected in sera. Although NKT cells are known to be immunoregulatory cells in some autoimmune mice, the present results raise the possibility that NKT cells as well as CD5+B cells might be associated with the onset of autoimmune diseases in NZB/W F1 mice. Indeed, NKT cells in F1 mice had a high potential to induce autoimmune‐like inflammationwhen α–galactosylceramide was administered or when active NKT cells were transferred into young F1 mice.

Isolation of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi Antigenically Different from Kato, Karp, and Gilliam Strains from Patients

Rickettsia tsutsugamushi strains from three recent patients of Tsutsugamushi disease in Niigata Prefecture were isolated primarily in mice and then in L cell cultures. By this procedure, low virulent strains to mice, as well as high virulent ones, could be isolated and cultivated serially in L cell cultures, suggesting the usefulness of L cells for isolation of this species of rickettsia. Each newly isolated strain was identified as a member of R. tsutsugamushi from the results of cross immunological tests and morphological observation. On the other hand, it was recognized that one of these rickettsiae showed immunological properties distinguishable from the prototype strains of Kato, Karp, and Gilliam by the cross complement fixation test, and also had low virulence in mice.

Essential Role of Extrathymic T Cells in Protection Against Malaria

Athymic nude mice carry neither conventional T cells nor NKT cells of thymic origin. However, NK1.1−TCRint cells are present in the liver and other immune organs of athymic mice, because these lymphocyte subsets are truly of extrathymic origin. In this study, we examined whether extrathymic T cells had the capability to protect mice from malarial infection. Although B6-nu/nu mice were more sensitive to malaria than control B6 mice, these athymic mice were able to survive malaria when a reduced number of parasitized erythrocytes (5 × 103 per mouse) were injected. At the fulminant stage, lymphocytosis occurred in the liver and the major expanding lymphocytes were NK1.1−TCRint cells (IL-2Rβ+TCRαβ+). Unconventional CD8+ NKT cells (Vα14−) also appeared. Similar to the case of B6 mice, autoantibodies (IgM type) against denatured DNA appeared during malarial infection. Immune lymphocytes isolated from the liver of athymic mice which had recovered from malaria were capable of protecting irradiated euthymic and athymic mice from malaria when cell transfer experiments were conducted. In conjunction with the previous results in euthymic mice, the present results in athymic mice suggest that the major lymphocyte subsets associated with protection against malaria might be extrathymic T cells.

Expansion of unconventional T cells with natural killer markers in malaria patients

Immunological states during human malarial infection were examined. In parallel with parasitemia and anemia, granulocytosis was induced in the blood of patients, especially those infected with Plasmodium (P.) falciparum. At that time, the level of lymphocytes remained unchanged or slightly increased in the blood. However, the distribution of lymphocyte subsets was modulated, showing that the proportion of CD56(+)T cells, CD57(+)T cells, and gammadeltaT cells (i.e. all unconventional T cells) had increased in patients infected with P. falciparum or P. vivax. This phenomenon occurred at the early phase of infection and disappeared in the course of recovery. The data from patients with multiple attacks of P. vivax infection showed that there was no augmentation of these responses. In adult cases, the increase in the proportion of unconventional T cells seemed to closely parallel disease severity. However, all these responses were weak in children, even those infected with P. falciparum. In conjunction with accumulating evidence from mouse malaria experiments, the present results suggest that the immunological state induced by malarial infection might mainly be an event of unconventional T cells and that the immunological memory might not be long-lasting, possibly due to the properties of unconventional T cells.

PROTECTION AGAINST MALARIA DUE TO INNATE IMMUNITY ENHANCED BY LOW-PROTEIN DIET

Mice were fed ad libitum with a normal diet (25% protein) or low-protein diets (0–12.5% protein) for a wk and then infected with a nonlethal or lethal strain of Plasmodium yoelii, that is, blood stage infection. The same diet was continued until recovery. Mice fed with a normal diet showed severe parasitemia during nonlethal infection, but survived the infection. They died within 2 wk in the case of lethal infection. However, all mice fed with low-protein diets survived without apparent parasitemia (there were small peaks of parasitemia) in cases of both nonlethal and lethal strains. These surviving mice were found to have acquired potent innate immunity, showing the expansion of NK1.1−TCRint cells and the production of autoantibodies during malarial infection. Severe combined immunodeficiency (scid) mice, which lack TCRint cells as well as TCRhigh cells, did not survive after malarial infection of lethal strain of P. yoelii, even when low-protein diets were given. These results suggest that low-protein diets enhanced innate immunity and inversely decreased conventional immunity, and that these immunological deviations rendered mice resistant against malaria. The present outcome also reminds us of our experience in the field study of malaria, in which some inhabitants eventually avoided contracting malaria even after apparent malarial infection.

Analysis of Heart-Infiltrating T-Cell Clonotypes in Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis in Rats

Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) resembles the lethal giant cell myocarditis seen in humans, and the recurrent forms lead to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). EAM in rats induced by a subcutaneous injection of cardiac myosin has been shown to be a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Alpha beta T cells have proved to be important by the observation that antibodies to alpha beta T-cell receptor (TCR) prevent disease progression. Alpha beta cells recognize antigenic peptides bound to major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules by alpha beta TCR, and complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) is considered the most important region for antigen recognition. To elucidate the nature of this T cell-mediated myocarditis, we analyzed TCR V beta chains of heart-infiltrating T cells. In the early state of EAM, none of 22 TCR V beta chain transcripts seemed to be dominant by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of total RNA and flow cytometric analysis. On the other hand, single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of TCR V beta 8.2, V beta 8.5, V beta 10, and V beta 16 cDNA amplified by polymerase chain reaction encompassing the CDR3 revealed oligoclonal expansion in heart-infiltrating T cells isolated from animals at various disease stages. cDNA encoding V beta CDR3 from heart-infiltrating and pericardial effusion T cells in rats with EAM revealed more restricted sequences than did cells from rats with normal spleens. Clones from distinct lesions of the same animal were identical, and clones from heart-infiltrating and pericardial effusion T cells from the same animal showed overlap. Thus, CDR3 of the TCR beta chain may be important in rat EAM, and heart infiltrating T cells are considered to recognize the specific antigen.

Reasons why DBA/2 mice are resistant to malarial infection: expansion of CD3int B220+ γδ T cells with double-negative CD4 − CD8− phenotype in the liver

DBA/2 (H‐2d) mice are known to be more resistant than C57BL/6 (B6, H‐2b) mice to the non‐lethal 17XNL strain of Plasmodium yoelii. This is a very strange phenomenon because the functions of conventional T cells, especially CD8+ T cells, are known to be somewhat lower in DBA/2 mice than in other strains of mice. We examined herein how immune responses differed between DBA/2 mice and B6 mice during malarial infection. DBA/2 mice and (DBA/2 × B6)F1 (BDF1, H‐2b/d) mice were found to have milder parasitaemia and to recover more quickly from malarial infection than B6 mice. These DBA/2 and BDF1 mice were also found to experience a marked expansion of interleukin (IL)‐2Rβ+ CD3int cells and γδ T cells in the liver, especially in the recovery phase. The expansion of unconventional T cells (i.e. B220+ T cells) was also marked in DBA/2 and BDF1 mice. The majority of B220+ T cells were γδ T cells and these T cells were double‐negative CD4− CD8−. More importantly, the production of immunoglobulin M (IgM)‐type anti‐DNA autoantibody was also higher in DBA/2 and BDF1 mice than in B6 mice. In conjunction with data on cytokine production, these results indicate that primitive T and B cells, namely autoreactive extrathymic T cells and autoantibody‐producing B cells, may be much more activated in DBA/2 mice and therefore resistant to the non‐lethal 17XNL strain of P. yoelii.

Onset of hepatic erythropoiesis after malarial infection in mice

Plasmodium yoelii-infected erythrocytes were injected into mice with or without 6.5 Gy irradiation. This irradiation suppressed erythropoiesis and induced severe immunosuppression. However, these mice showed a rather delayed infection, suggesting that fresh erythrocytes may become malarial targets. In other words, malarial infection did not persist without newly generated erythrocytes in mice. We then examined erythropoiesis in the liver and bone marrow of mice with malaria. Surprisingly, erythropoiesis began in the liver. At this time, the serum level of erythropoietin (EPO) was prominently elevated and the EPO mRNA also became detectable in the kidney. Many clusters of red blood cells appeared de novo in the parenchymal space of the liver. These results revealed that malarial infection had a potential to induce the onset of hepatic erythropoiesis in mice.

Malaria protection in β2-microglobulin-deficient mice lacking major histocompatibility complex class I antigens: essential role of innate immunity, including γδT cells

It is still controversial whether malaria protection is mediated by conventional immunity associated with T and B cells or by innate immunity associated with extrathymic T cells and autoantibody‐producing B cells. Given this situation, it is important to examine the mechanism of malaria protection in β2‐microglobulin‐deficient (β2m(–/–)) mice. These mice lack major histocompatibility complex class I and CD1d antigens, which results in the absence of CD8+ T cells and natural killer T (NKT) cells. When C57BL/6 and β2m(–/–) mice were injected with parasitized (Plasmodium yoelii 17XNL) erythrocytes, both survived from the infection and showed a similar level of parasitaemia. The major expanding T cells were NK1.1– αβΤ‐cell receptorint cells in both mice. The difference was a compensatory expansion of NK and γδT cells in β2m(–/–) mice, and an elimination experiment showed that these lymphocytes were critical for protection in these mice. These results suggest that malaria protection might be events of the innate immunity associated with multiple subsets with autoreactivity. CD8+ T and NKT cells may be partially related to this protection.

Anisakiasis: Preparation of a stable antigen for indirect fluorescent antibody test

Abstract By coupling Anisakis larval hemoglobin with cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose, a stable and sensitive antigen for the indirect fluorescent antibody test for anisakiasis was prepared. Using this antigen, cross-reaction with other helminth infections was minimized and the test was greatly simplified. Furthermore, the results obtained indicate that this technique may be useful not only in the sero-diagnosis of anisakiasis but may also be applicable to the diagnosis of other helminthic diseases.