Kenneth C. Bagley

Pertussis toxin and the adenylate cyclase toxin from Bordetella pertussis activate human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and dominantly inhibit cytokine production through a cAMP-dependent pathway.

Pertussis toxin (PT) and adenylate cyclase toxin (AT) are AB enterotoxins produced by Bordetella pertussis. PT is a powerful mucosal adjuvant whose cellular target and mechanism of action are unknown; however, emerging evidence suggests that dendritic cells (DC) may be a principal adjuvant target of PT. Here, we investigate the mechanism underlying the effects of these toxins on human monocyte‐derived DC (MDDC) in vitro. We found that the effects of PT and AT on MDDC, including maturation, are mediated by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). In this regard, adenosine 5′‐diphosphate‐ribosylation‐defective derivatives of PT failed to induce maturation of MDDC, whereas dibutyryl‐cAMP (d‐cAMP) and Forskolin mimic the maturation of MDDC and dominant inhibition of cytokine production induced by these toxins. Also, cAMP‐dependent kinase inhibitors blocked the ability of PT, AT, d‐cAMP, and Forskolin to activate MDDC. Taken together, these results show that the effects of PT and AT on MDDC are mediated strictly by cAMP.

Cholera Toxin and Heat-Labile Enterotoxin Activate Human Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells and Dominantly Inhibit Cytokine Production through a Cyclic AMP-Dependent Pathway

ABSTRACT Cholera toxin (CT) and heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) are powerful mucosal adjuvants whose cellular targets and mechanism of action are unknown. There is emerging evidence that dendritic cells (DC) are one of the principal cell types that mediate the adjuvant effects of these toxins in vivo. Here we investigate the effects of CT and LT on the maturation of human monocyte-derived DC (MDDC) in vitro. We found that an enzymatically active A domain is necessary for both CT and LT to induce the maturation of MDDC and that this activation is strictly cyclic AMP (cAMP) dependent. ADP-ribosylation-defective derivatives of these toxins failed to induce maturation of MDDC, whereas dibutyryl-cyclic-3′,5′-AMP and Forskolin mimic the maturation of MDDC induced by CT and LT. In addition, an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent kinases, Rp-8-Br-cAMPs, blocked the ability of CT, LT, and Forskolin to activate MDDC. CT, LT, dibutyryl-cyclic-3′,5′-AMP, and Forskolin also dominantly inhibit interleukin 12 and tumor necrosis factor alpha production by MDDC in the presence of saturating concentrations of lipopolysaccharide. Taken together, these results show that the effects of CT and LT on MDDC are mediated by cAMP.

Balance of cellular and humoral immunity determines the level of protection by HIV vaccines in rhesus macaque models of HIV infection

Significance Our candidate HIV vaccine, a single-chain gp120-CD4 chimera, elicits protection against acquisition of simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in rhesus macaques. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity was an inverse correlate of infection risk. However, it is attenuated when antigen-specific T-cell responses exceed a threshold, presumably due to the generation of CD4+ CCR5+ T cells, the preferred cellular targets of SHIV/SIV. Multiple studies strongly suggest that HIV/SIV-specific T-cell responses are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they are required for T-cell help in the protective antibody response. On the other hand, they appear to mitigate protection by creating new targets for viral replication. Determining the balance between protective antibody responses and attenuating T-cell responses is a key challenge confronting HIV vaccine development. A guiding principle for HIV vaccine design has been that cellular and humoral immunity work together to provide the strongest degree of efficacy. However, three efficacy trials of Ad5-vectored HIV vaccines showed no protection. Transmission was increased in two of the trials, suggesting that this vaccine strategy elicited CD4+ T-cell responses that provide more targets for infection, attenuating protection or increasing transmission. The degree to which this problem extends to other HIV vaccine candidates is not known. Here, we show that a gp120-CD4 chimeric subunit protein vaccine (full-length single chain) elicits heterologous protection against simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) acquisition in three independent rhesus macaque repeated low-dose rectal challenge studies with SHIV162P3 or SIVmac251. Protection against acquisition was observed with multiple formulations and challenges. In each study, protection correlated with antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity specific for CD4-induced epitopes, provided that the concurrent antivaccine T-cell responses were minimal. Protection was lost in instances when T-cell responses were high or when the requisite antibody titers had declined. Our studies suggest that balance between a protective antibody response and antigen-specific T-cell activation is the critical element to vaccine-mediated protection against HIV. Achieving and sustaining such a balance, while enhancing antibody durability, is the major challenge for HIV vaccine development, regardless of the immunogen or vaccine formulation.

HIV-1-suppressive factors are secreted by CD4+ T cells during primary immune responses

CD4+ T cells are required for immunity against many viral infections, including HIV-1 where a positive correlation has been observed between strong recall responses and low HIV-1 viral loads. Some HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cells are preferentially infected with HIV-1, whereas others escape infection by unknown mechanisms. One possibility is that some CD4+ T cells are protected from infection by the secretion of soluble HIV-suppressive factors, although it is not known whether these factors are produced during primary antigen-specific responses. Here, we show that soluble suppressive factors are produced against CXCR4 and CCR5 isolates of HIV-1 during the primary immune response of human CD4+ T cells. This activity requires antigenic stimulation of naïve CD4+ T cells. One anti-CXCR4 factor is macrophage-derived chemokine (chemokine ligand 22, CCL22), and anti-CCR5 factors include macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (CCL3), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (CCL4), and RANTES (regulated upon activation of normal T cells expressed and secreted) (CCL5). Intracellular staining confirms that CD3+CD4+ T cells are the source of the prototype HIV-1-inhibiting chemokines CCL22 and CCL4. These results show that CD4+ T cells secrete an evolving HIV-1-suppressive activity during the primary immune response and that this activity is comprised primarily of CC chemokines. The data also suggest that production of such factors should be considered in the design of vaccines against HIV-1 and as a mechanism whereby the host can control infections with this virus.

Calcium Signaling through Phospholipase C Activates Dendritic Cells To Mature and Is Necessary for the Activation and Maturation of Dendritic Cells Induced by Diverse Agonists

ABSTRACT Calcium is an important second messenger in the phospholipase C (PLC) signal transduction pathway. Calcium signaling is involved in many biological processes, including muscle contraction, cellular activation, and cellular proliferation. Dendritic cell (DC) maturation is induced by many different stimuli, including bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), bacterial toxins, inflammatory cytokines, prostaglandins, as well as calcium mobilization. In the present study, we determined the role of the PLC signal transduction pathway in the activation and maturation of human monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs) induced by diverse agonists. We found that signaling through PLC activates MDDCs to mature and is necessary for LPS, cholera toxin, dibutyryl-cyclic AMP, prostaglandin E2, and the calcium ionophore A23187 to induce MDDC maturation. The results of the present study along with the results of other studies indicate that multiple signaling pathways are involved in the activation of DCs and that inhibition of any of these pathways inhibits the maturation of DCs.

Pasteurella multocida Toxin Activates Human Monocyte-Derived and Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Dendritic Cells In Vitro but Suppresses Antibody Production In Vivo

ABSTRACT Pasteurella multocida toxin (PMT) is a potent mitogen for fibroblasts and osteoblastic cells. PMT activates phospholipase C-β through Gqα, and the activation of this pathway is responsible for its mitogenic activity. Here, we investigated the effects of PMT on human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC) in vitro and show a novel activity for PMT. In this regard, PMT activates MDDC to mature in a dose-dependent manner through the activation of phospholipase C and subsequent mobilization of calcium. This activation was accompanied by enhanced stimulation of naïve alloreactive T cells and dominant inhibition of interleukin-12 production in the presence of saturating concentrations of lipopolysaccharide. Surprisingly, although PMT mimics the activating effects of cholera toxin on human MDDC and mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, we found that PMT is not a mucosal adjuvant and that it suppresses the adjuvant effects of cholera toxin in mice. Together, these results indicate discordant effects for PMT in vitro compared to those in vivo.

An enzymatically active A domain is required for cholera-like enterotoxins to induce a long-lived blockade on the induction of oral tolerance: New method for screening mucosal adjuvants

ABSTRACT The cholera-like enterotoxins (CLETS), cholera toxin (CT) and Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin (LT), are powerful mucosal adjuvants. Here we show that these toxins also induce a long-lived blockade (of at least 6 months) on the induction of oral tolerance when they are coadministered with the antigen ovalbumin. Strikingly, only enzymatically active CLETS induced this blockade on the induction of oral tolerance. In this regard, the enzymatically inactive mutants of CT and LT, CTK63 and LTK63, and their recombinant B pentamers, rCTB and rLTB, failed to block the induction of oral tolerance, demonstrating a stringent requirement for an enzymatically active A domain in this phenomenon. Together with the results of other recent studies, these results indicate that the enzymatic activity of CLETS, most likely cyclic AMP elevation, is responsible for their adjuvant effects. The results of this study also indicate that measuring the ability of putative mucosal adjuvants to block the induction of oral tolerance may be a superior method for measuring mucosal adjuvanticity.

Adjuvant Activity of the Catalytic A1 Domain of Cholera Toxin for Retroviral Antigens Delivered by GeneGun

ABSTRACT Most DNA-encoded adjuvants enhance immune responses to DNA vaccines in small animals but are less effective in primates. Here, we characterize the adjuvant activity of the catalytic A1 domain of cholera toxin (CTA1) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) antigens in mice and macaques delivered by GeneGun. The inclusion of CTA1 with SIVmac239 Gag dramatically enhanced anti-Gag antibody responses in mice. The adjuvant effects of CTA1 for the secreted antigen HIV gp120 were much less pronounced than those for Gag, as the responses to gp120 were high in the absence of an adjuvant. CTA1 was a stronger adjuvant for Gag than was granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and it also displayed a wider dose range than GM-CSF in mice. In macaques, CTA1 modestly enhanced the antibody responses to SIV Gag but potently primed for a recombinant Gag protein boost. The results of this study show that CTA1 is a potent adjuvant for SIV Gag when delivered by GeneGun in mice and that CTA1 provides a potent GeneGun-mediated DNA prime for a heterologous protein boost in macaques.

The catalytic A1 domains of cholera toxin and heat-labile enterotoxin are potent DNA adjuvants that evoke mixed Th1/Th17 cellular immune responses

DNA encoded adjuvants are well known for increasing the magnitude of cellular and/or humoral immune responses directed against vaccine antigens. DNA adjuvants can also tune immune responses directed against vaccine antigens to better protect against infection of the target organism. Two potent DNA adjuvants that have unique abilities to tune immune responses are the catalytic A1 domains of Cholera Toxin (CTA1) and Heat-Labile Enterotoxin (LTA1). Here, we have characterized the adjuvant activities of CTA1 and LTA1 using HIV and SIV genes as model antigens. Both of these adjuvants enhanced the magnitude of antigen-specific cellular immune responses on par with those induced by the well-characterized cytokine adjuvants IL-12 and GM-CSF. CTA1 and LTA1 preferentially enhanced cellular responses to the intracellular antigen SIVmac239-gag over those for the secreted HIVBaL-gp120 antigen. IL-12, GM-CSF and electroporation did the opposite suggesting differences in the mechanisms of actions of these diverse adjuvants. Combinations of CTA1 or LTA1 with IL-12 or GM-CSF generated additive and better balanced cellular responses to both of these antigens. Consistent with observations made with the holotoxin and the CTA1-DD adjuvant, CTA1 and LTA1 evoked mixed Th1/Th17 cellular immune responses. Together, these results show that CTA1 and LTA1 are potent DNA vaccine adjuvants that favor the intracellular antigen gag over the secreted antigen gp120 and evoke mixed Th1/Th17 responses against both of these antigens. The results also indicate that achieving a balanced immune response to multiple intracellular and extracellular antigens delivered via DNA vaccination may require combining adjuvants that have different and complementary mechanisms of action.

Retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 as a molecular adjuvant for enhancement of mucosal immunity during DNA vaccination

In order for vaccines to induce efficacious immune responses against mucosally transmitted pathogens, such as HIV-1, activated lymphocytes must efficiently migrate to and enter targeted mucosal sites. We have previously shown that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) can be used as a vaccine adjuvant to enhance mucosal CD8+ T cell responses during vaccination and improve protection against mucosal viral challenge. However, the ATRA formulation is incompatible with most recombinant vaccines, and the teratogenic potential of ATRA at high doses limits its usage in many clinical settings. We hypothesized that increasing in vivo production of retinoic acid (RA) during vaccination with a DNA vector expressing retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH2), the rate-limiting enzyme in RA biosynthesis, could similarly provide enhanced programming of mucosal homing to T cell responses while avoiding teratogenic effects. Administration of a RALDH2- expressing plasmid during immunization with a HIVgag DNA vaccine resulted in increased systemic and mucosal CD8+ T cell numbers with an increase in both effector and central memory T cells. Moreover, mice that received RALDH2 plasmid during DNA vaccination were more resistant to intravaginal challenge with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the same HIVgag antigen (VACVgag). Thus, RALDH2 can be used as an alternative adjuvant to ATRA during DNA vaccination leading to an increase in both systemic and mucosal T cell immunity and better protection from viral infection at mucosal sites.