Following the fate of individual T cells throughout activation and clonal expansion. Signals from T cell receptor and CD28 differentially regulate the induction and duration of a proliferative response.

A detailed understanding of the effects of costimulatory signals on primary T cell expansion has been limited by experimental approaches that measure the bulk response of a cell population, without distinguishing responses of individual cells. Here, we have labeled live T cells in vitro with a stable, fluorescent dye that segregates equally between daughter cells upon cell division, allowing the proliferative history of any T cell present or generated during a response to be monitored over time. This system permits simultaneous evaluation of T cell surface markers, allowing concomitant assessment of cellular activation and quantitative determination of T cell receptor (TCR) occupancy on individual cells.

Donor antigen is necessary for the prevention of chronic rejection in CTLA4Ig-treated murine cardiac allograft recipients.

Background: Optimal activation of T cells requires two signals: antigen engagement through the T cell receptor and a costimulatory signal. Previous studies have shown that blockade of the CD28:B7 costimulatory pathway using the soluble fusion protein CTLA4Ig can prevent acute rejection of organ and tissue allografts; however, long-term engraftment has not been seen universally. This study was undertaken to define the role of donor antigen in inducing long-term allograft survival in CTLA4Ig-treated recipients.

Differential down-regulation of CD28 by B7-1 and B7-2 engagement.

Physiologically relevant full activation of T cells requires signal transduction through the T cell receptor and additional costimulatory cell surface molecules. Best understood of these costimulatory interactions are those between CD28 and its ligands B7-1 (CD80) and B7-2 (CD86). While B7-1 and B7-2 bind the same receptors (CD28 and CTLA-4), they share only 25% sequence homology, are expressed at different times during immune responses, and in some systems have been shown to differentially affect T cell cytokine expression.

Differential effects of B7-1 blockade in the rat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model.

Blocking the CD28-B7 T cell costimulatory activation pathway protects animals from developing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In the mouse EAE model, selective blockade of B7-1 by specific mAbs has been shown to protect animals from EAE. In the Lewis rat model, we have shown that CD28-B7 blockade by systemic administration of CTLA4Ig prevents actively induced EAE.

Amelioration of collagen-induced arthritis by CD95 (Apo-1/Fas)-ligand gene transfer.

Both rheumatoid arthritis and animal models of autoimmune arthritis are characterized by hyperactivation of synovial cells and hyperplasia of the synovial membrane. The activated synovial cells produce inflammatory cytokines and degradative enzymes that lead to destruction of cartilage and bones. Effective treatment of arthritis may require elimination of most or all activated synovial cells.

The role of donor and recipient B7-1 (CD80) in allograft rejection.

Blockade of CD28-mediated T cell costimulatory signals produces effective immunosuppression of a variety of T cell-dependent in vivo immune responses, including autoimmune disorders and transplant rejection. The soluble fusion protein CTLA4Ig, which competitively blocks CD28 ligands B7-1 and B7-2, can prevent allograft and xenograft rejection and in some circumstances induce transplantation tolerance. To determine the relative roles of B7-1 and B7-2 in graft rejection, we have performed islet and cardiac allografts with normal and B7-1(-/-) mice in conjunction with selective blocking reagents.

Will tolerance become a clinical reality?

The goal of transplant physicians is to create a state of antigen-specific tolerance in the recipient, whereby the graft is not rejected and the patient will not need a lifetime of medical therapy. Although the immunosuppressive medications used are effective in lowering the incidence of rejection, they produce significant side effects and do not induce a state of transplantation tolerance. Progress toward inducing transplantation tolerance has been made in animal models, primarily by the exploitation of the natural mechanisms that vertebrates have to maintain self-tolerance.

CD28-B7 T cell costimulatory blockade by CTLA4Ig in the rat renal allograft model: inhibition of cell-mediated and humoral immune responses in vivo.

Blocking CD28-B7 T-cell costimulation by CTLA4Ig induces tolerance to rat renal allografts and inhibits Th1, but spares Th2, cytokines. We now report on the mechanisms of CD28-B7 blockade in this model. Lymphocytes from CTLA4Ig-treated animals showed significant reduction of mixed lymphocyte response, as well as antidonor cytotoxic T-cell effector function, as compared with rejecting controls.

Costimulatory function and expression of CD40 ligand, CD80, and CD86 in vascularized murine cardiac allograft rejection.

Recent data implicates a role for the CD40-CD40 ligand (CD40L) pathway in graft rejection. One potential mechanism is direct costimulation of T cells through CD40L. Alternatively, the ability of CD40 stimulation to induce CD80 (B7-1) and CD86 (B7-2) expression on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) has led to the hypothesis that the role of CD40-CD40L interactions in transplant rejection might be indirect, i.

Ex vivo treatment of antigen-presenting cells with CTLA4Ig and encephalitogenic peptide prevents experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in the Lewis rat.

We used a novel approach to study the role of CD28-B7 T cell costimulatory blockade in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the Lewis rat model. APCs were incubated in vitro with CTLA4Ig and the encephalitogenic peptide p71-90 of myelin basic protein. Systemic injection of APCs treated ex vivo with p71-90 and CTLA4Ig before immunization protected animals from clinical EAE.

Preventing allograft rejection with CTLA4IG: effect of donor-specific transfusion route or timing.

Background: Tolerance to alloantigen in transplant recipients could remove life-long dependence on immunosuppression. Evidence suggests that T-cell responses to alloantigen are dependent not only on T-cell receptor activation but also on costimulation by means of the CD28 receptor. The natural ligands for CD28, expressed on antigen-presenting cells, are B7 family members.

Suppression of murine allergic contact dermatitis by CTLA4Ig. Tolerance induction of Th2 responses requires additional blockade of CD40-ligand.

Blockade of costimulation through the B7-CD28 pathway by CTLA4Ig can lead to Ag-specific T cell tolerance. Most models studied to date involve a Th1-dependent response. To investigate whether the tolerizing effects of CTLA4Ig might vary depending upon the cytokine nature of the immune response, we studied its effects on contact hypersensitivity (CHS) in response to two allergens.

The time course of CTLAIg effect on cardiac allograft rejection.

T cell response to alloantigen is dependent not only on T cell receptor activation, but also upon co-stimulation through the CD28 receptor, as T cell receptor activation alone is insufficient for an optimal immune response. The CD28 receptor on helper T cells interacts with its ligand B7 on activated B cells/macrophages as the co-stimulus to support T cell activity. The natural ligand for CD28, B7 is expressed in both constituitive and inducible forms.

The in vivo mechanism of action of CTLA4Ig.

A single dose of CTLA4Ig, an inhibitor of CD28-mediated T cell costimulation, given 2 days after transplantation induces specific unresponsiveness to alloantigens in vivo. However, the mechanisms responsible are unknown. Using pigeon cytochrome c as a model Ag, we monitored the effect of CTLA4Ig on the fate of Ag-reactive T cells in normal mice and on pigeon cytochrome c-specific TCR transgenic cells adoptively transferred into congenic mice.

Immunosuppression through blockade of CD28:B7-mediated costimulatory signals.

It is now well established that T cells require two signals for activation and effector function. The first signal is provided through the T cell receptor for antigen. The best-characterized pathway which provides the second, or costimulatory, signal is through the CD28 receptor on the surface of T cells.

CD28-B7 costimulatory blockade by CTLA4Ig prevents actively induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and inhibits Th1 but spares Th2 cytokines in the central nervous system.

We studied the contribution of the CD28-B7 costimulatory T cell activation pathway to the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in the Lewis rat model. Systemic administration of CTLA4Ig suppressed clinical disease and was effective even when CTLA4Ig was delayed until day 10 postimmunization, a time when pathologic disease is evident. This protection was not reversible by systemic administration of high doses of IL-2.

T cell costimulatory pathways: promising novel targets for immunosuppression and tolerance induction.

It is now accepted that T cells need two signals for full activation. The first is the foreign antigen itself presented by self-major histocompatibility complex and thus provides antigen specificity to the immune response. The second is a "costimulatory" signal, the best-characterized of which is provided through the T cell accessory molecule CD28.

Interleukin 12: a potential link between nerve cells and the immune response in inflammatory disorders.

Background: The nervous system has been implicated in several inflammatory skin disorders based on evidence such as the role of stress in inducing lesions, symmetry of lesions, and sparing of denervated skin. Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a cytokine recently shown to promote cellular immune responses characterized by delayed-type hypersensitivity and production of the TH1-lymphokine, interferon-gamma.

Materials And Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, IL-12 immunoreactivity was identified in cryostat sections of normal and diseased human skin samples, and in the peripheral and central nervous system of rodents and human tissue samples.

Direct and indirect control of T-cell activation by keratinocytes.

Keratinocytes can function as antigen-presenting cells/accessory cells and regulate T cells with three distinct outcomes, depending on the nature of the stimulus. In the presence of alloantigen, it appears that a "null" event takes place between T cells and keratinocytes, with neither activation nor induction of tolerance. Using nominal antigen, keratinocytes induce antigen-specific tolerance.

CD28-B7 blockade after alloantigenic challenge in vivo inhibits Th1 cytokines but spares Th2.

Blocking the CD28-B7 T cell costimulatory pathway with the fusion protein CTLA4Ig inhibits alloimmune responses in vitro and in vivo and induces tolerance to cardiac allografts in mice and rats, but the mechanisms mediating the tolerant state in vivo are unknown. Here, we report the effects and potential mechanisms of CTLA4Ig in the rat renal allograft model. LEW rats were nephrectomized and received renal allografts from major histocompatibility complex-incompatible WF rats.

Psoriatic skin-derived dendritic cell function is inhibited by exogenous IL-10. Differential modulation of B7-1 (CD80) and B7-2 (CD86) expression.

Regulation of immune responses depends on interactions between APCs and T cells. Such cellular interactions are mediated by surface molecules including MHC class II Ags (DR) and CD28 ligands B7-1 (CD80) and B7-2 (CD86). Recent evidence indicates that the presence or absence of costimulatory molecules on APCs significantly influences the qualitative and quantitative nature of an immune response.