Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the differential effects of three anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (with distinct epitope specifities) in the treatment of rat adjuvant arthritis (AA) and on T-cell function and signal transduction. Rat AA was preventively treated by intraperitoneal injection of the anti-CD4 mAbs W3/25, OX35, and RIB5/2 (on days -1, 0, 3, and 6, i.e. 1 day before AA induction, on the day of induction [day 0], and thereafter). The effects on T-cell reactivity in vivo (delayed-type hypersensitivity), ex vivo (ConA-induced proliferation), and in vitro (mixed lymphocyte culture) were assessed. The in vitro effects of anti-CD4 preincubation on T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3-induced cytokine production and signal transduction were also analyzed. While preventive treatment with OX35 and W3/25 significantly ameliorated AA from the onset, treatment with RIB5/2 even accelerated the onset of AA by approximately 2 days (day 10), and ameliorated the arthritis only in the late phase (day 27). Differential clinical effects at the onset of AA were paralleled by a differential influence of the mAbs on T-cell functions, i.e. in comparison with OX35 and W3/25, the 'accelerating' mAb RIB5/2 failed to increase the delayed-type hypersentivity (DTH) to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, increased the in vitro tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha secretion, and more strongly induced NF-kappaB binding activity after anti-CD4 preincubation and subsequent TCR/CD3-stimulation. Depending on their epitope specificity, different anti-CD4 mAbs differentially influence individual proinflammatory functions of T cells. This fine regulation may explain the differential efficacy in the treatment of AA and may contribute to the understanding of such treatments in other immunopathologies.
Highlights
CD4+ T cells and their cytokine products play an important role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and experimental models of arthritis, representing potential therapeutic targets [1]
T-cell reactivity was measured in vivo by delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and in vitro by proliferation assay or mixed lymphocyte culture, and cytokines were measured by bioassay or ELISA (see Supplementary material; for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α [15])
The accelerating effect of the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) RIB5/2 was reproduced in two additional treatment experiments, and this effect was observed despite a variable onset of adjuvant arthritis (AA) in the PBStreated animals; i.e. in all experiments, the onset of AA occurred 2 days earlier than in the controls
Summary
CD4+ T cells and their cytokine products play an important role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and experimental models of arthritis, representing potential therapeutic targets [1]. The focus of the present study was to analyze the effects of the anti-CD4 mAbs W3/25, OX35, and RIB5/2 in rat adjuvant arthritis (AA), a well-known, clearly CD4+ T-celldependent experimental arthritis model [11,12,13]. These mAbs target different epitopes of the CD4 molecule and do not compete for CD4 binding [14]. In order to explain this differential efficacy, several parameters were analyzed
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