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Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a critical regulator of immune homeostasis through its non-redundant role in regulatory T (Treg) cell biology. There is major interest in therapeutic modulation of the IL-2 pathway to promote immune activation in the context of tumour immunotherapy or to enhance immune suppression in the context of transplantation, autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases. Antibody-mediated targeting of the high-affinity IL-2 receptor α chain (IL-2Rα or CD25) offers a direct mechanism to target IL-2 biology and is being actively explored in the clinic. In mouse models, the rat anti-mouse CD25 clone PC61 has been used extensively to investigate the biology of IL-2 and Treg cells; however, there has been controversy and conflicting data on the exact in vivo mechanistic function of PC61. Engineering antibodies to alter Fc/Fc receptor interactions can significantly alter their in vivo function. In this study, we re-engineered the heavy chain constant region of an anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody to generate variants with highly divergent Fc effector function. Using these anti-CD25 Fc variants in multiple mouse models, we investigated the in vivo impact of CD25 blockade versus depletion of CD25(+) Treg cells on immune homeostasis. We report that immune homeostasis can be maintained during CD25 blockade but aberrant T-cell activation prevails when CD25(+) Treg cells are actively depleted. These results clarify the impact of PC61 on Treg cell biology and reveal an important distinction between CD25 blockade and depletion of CD25(+) Treg cells. These findings should inform therapeutic manipulation of the IL-2 pathway by targeting the high-affinity IL-2R.

In the K/BxN mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis, the transfer of autoantibodies specific for glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) into naive mice rapidly induces joint-specific inflammation similar to that seen in human rheumatoid arthritis. The ubiquitous expression of GPI and the systemic circulation of anti-GPI immunoglobulin G (IgG) seem incongruous with the tissue specificity of this disease. By using PET (positron emission tomography), we show here that purified anti-GPI IgG localizes specifically to distal joints in the front and rear limbs within minutes of intravenous injection, reaches saturation by 20 min and remains localized for at least 24 h. In contrast, control IgG does not localize to joints or cause inflammation. The rapid kinetics of anti-GPI IgG joint localization supports a model in which autoantibodies bind directly to pre-existing extracellular GPI in normal healthy mouse joints.

Neutrophils are prominent participants in the joint inflammation of human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, but the extent of their role in the inductive phase of joint inflammation is unknown. In the K/B×N mouse RA model, transfer of autoreactive Ig from the K/B×N mouse into mice induces a rapid and profound joint-specific inflammatory response reminiscent of human RA. We observed that after K/B×N serum transfer, the earliest clinical signs of inflammation in the ankle joint correlated with the presence of neutrophils in the synovial regions of recipient mouse ankle joints. In this study, we investigated the role of neutrophils in the early inflammatory response to transferred arthritogenic serum from the K/B×N transgenic mouse. Mice were treated with a neutrophil-depleting mAb before and following transfer of arthritogenic serum and scored for clinical indications of inflammation and severity of swelling in ankle joints and front paws. In the absence of neutrophils, mice were completely resistant to the inflammatory effects of K/B×N serum. Importantly, depletion of neutrophils in diseased recipient mice up to 5 days after serum transfer reversed the inflammatory reaction in the joints. Transfer of serum into mice deficient in the generation of nitrogen or oxygen radicals (inducible NO synthase 2 or gp91phox genes, respectively) gave normal inflammatory responses, indicating that neither pathway is essential for disease induction. These studies have identified a critical role for neutrophils in initiating and maintaining inflammatory processes in the joint.

Previously we used the peptide-binding motif for the murine class I major histocompatibility complex molecule H-2Kd to identify a nonamer peptide of the Listeria monocytogenes listeriolysin (LLO) protein that was recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in association with H-2Kd. Eleven nonamer peptides contained in the LLO sequence were synthesized and one, LLO 91-99, proved to be a CTL target. Using peptide binding competition assays with H-2Kd-restricted CTL, we show that 3 out of the 11 LLO peptides, including the CTL epitope, have a high binding affinity for H-2Kd; 2 of 11 peptides have approximately 10-fold lower affinity, while the remaining 6 peptides have no or very low affinity for H-2Kd. Single residue changes were made in the LLO 91-99 peptide and two other LLO peptides to identify non-anchor amino acids that might interfere with peptide binding. In addition, we used the LLO peptides which bound well to H-2Kd to attempt to restimulate a secondary CTL response from L. monocytogenes-primed spleen cells. Only LLO 91-99 was able to induce such a response. Thus only a fraction of nonamer peptides which fit the original binding motif have a high affinity for the H-2Kd class I molecule, and only a fraction of these serve as CTL epitopes.

In the K/B×N mouse model of arthritis, autoantibodies against glucose-6-phosphate isomerase cause joint-specific inflammation and destruction. We have shown using micro-positron emission tomography that these glucose-6-phosphate isomerase-specific autoantibodies rapidly localize to distal joints of mice. In this study we used micro-positron emission tomography to delineate the stages involved in the development of arthritis. Localization of Abs to the joints depended upon mast cells, neutrophils, and FcRs, but not on C5. Surprisingly, anti-type II collagen Abs alone did not accumulate in the distal joints, but could be induced to do so by coinjection of irrelevant preformed immune complexes. Control Abs localized to the joint in a similar manner. Thus, immune complexes are essential initiators of arthritis by sequential activation of neutrophils and mast cells to allow Abs access to the joints, where they must bind a target Ag to initiate inflammation. Our findings support a four-stage model for the development of arthritis and identify checkpoints where the disease is reversible.

Incomplete deletion of KRN T cells that recognize the ubiquitously expressed self-antigen glucose-6-phosphate-isomerase (GPI) initiates an anti-GPI autoimmune cascade in K/BxN mice resulting in a humorally mediated arthritis. Transgenic (Tg) expression of a KRN T cell receptor (TCR) agonist under the major histocompatibility complex class II promoter resulted in thymic deletion with loss of anti-GPI T and B cell responses and attenuated arthritis course. However, double Tg mice succumbed to systemic autoimmunity with multiorgan inflammation and autoantibody production. Extensive thymic deletion resulted in lymphopenia and elimination of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), but spared some CD4+ T cells expressing endogenous TCR, which oligoclonally expanded in the periphery. Disease was transferred by these T cells and prevented by cotransfer of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs. Moreover, we extended our findings to another TCR system (anti–hen egg lysozyme [HEL] TCR/HEL mice) where similarly extensive thymic deletion also resulted in disease. Thus, our studies demonstrated that central tolerance can paradoxically result in systemic autoimmunity through differential susceptibility of Tregs and autoreactive T cells to thymic deletion. Therefore, too little or too much negative selection to a self-antigen can result in systemic autoimmunity and disease.

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), the etiological agent of Chagas' disease, lives free within the cytoplasm of infected host cells. This intracellular niche suggests that parasite antigens may be processed and presented on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules for recognition by CD8+ T cells. However, the parasite persists indefinitely in the mammalian host, indicating its success at evading immune clearance. It has been shown that T. cruzi interferes with processing and presentation of antigenic peptides in the MHC class II pathway. This investigation sought to determine whether interference in MHC class I processing and presentation occurs with T. cruzi infection. Surface expression of MHC class I molecules was found to be unaffected or up-regulated by T. cruzi infection in vitro. A model system employing a beta-galactosidase (beta-gal)-specific murine cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) line (0805B) showed: (i) in vitro infection of mouse peritoneal macrophages or J774 cells with T. cruzi did not inhibit MHC class I presentation of exogenous peptide (a nine-amino acid epitope of beta-gal) to the CTL line, (ii) in vitro infection of a beta-gal-expressing 3T3 cell line (LZEJ) with T. cruzi did not inhibit MHC class I presentation of the endogenous protein to the CTL line and (iii) mouse renal adenocarcinoma cells infected with T. cruzi and subsequently infected with adenovirus expressing beta-gal were able to present antigen to the beta-gal-specific CTL line. These findings indicate that the failure of the immune response to clear T. cruzi does not result from global interference by the parasite with MHC class I processing and presentation. Parasites engineered to express beta-gal were unable to sensitize infected antigen-presenting cells in vitro to lysis by the CTL 0805B line. This was probably due to the intracellular localization of the beta-gal within the parasite and its inaccessibility to the host cell cytoplasm.