Spleens Of Chimeras Research Articles

Chimeric Regulatory T cells Enhance HSC Engraftment in An Antigen-Specific Fashion.

Abstract 2424Poster Board II-401We previously reported that CD8+TCR- facilitating cells (FC) induce the generation of chimeric regulatory T cells (Treg) in vivo. Transplantation of a mixture of CD8+/TCR- FC and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) into ablated recipients results in chimerism and tolerance. Treg harvested from the spleen of chimeras (chimeric Treg) potently increase long-term donor chimerism in secondary NOD recipient mice. Here, we evaluated whether chimeric Treg enhance engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in an antigen-specific manner. To prepare mixed chimeras (B6 → NOD), NOD recipients were conditioned with 950 cGy TBI and transplanted with 10,000 B6 HSC and 1,000 NOD HSC plus 45,000 CD8+TCR- B6 FC. At 5 weeks, CD8-CD4+CD25bright chimeric Treg were sorted from spleens of the mixed chimeras (B6 → NOD). 100,000 chimeric Treg were then mixed with 10,000 B6 HSC (donor-specific) + 10,000 B10.BR HSC (third-party) and transplanted into conditioned NOD recipients in competitive repopulation assays. NOD mice given HSC plus nonchimeric naïve B6 Treg or HSC alone served as controls. Two of the four animals that received HSC alone engrafted and exhibited an average of 6.7% donor B6 chimerism at 30 days, 11.2% at 60 days, and 10.6% at 90 days. Three of five animals given HSC plus naïve B6 Treg engrafted with 21.3% donor B6 chimerism at 30 days, 28.8% at 60 days, and 28.9% at 90 days. In contrast, eight of nine recipients of HSC + chimeric Treg engrafted. These animals exhibited a significantly higher level of donor B6 chimerism, ranging from 56.3% at 30 days, 75.4% at 60 days to 85% at 90 days (P = 0.034). None of the recipients engrafted with the MHC-disparate third-party B10.BR HSC. We then assessed the suppressive function of chimeric Tregin vitro by using MLR suppressor cell assays. CD8-/CD4+/CD25bright Treg were sorted from chimeric spleens 5 wks to 12 wks after HSC + FC transplantation. As shown in the Figure 1, Treg from naïve B6 mice resulted in 1.9 fold; 1.3 fold and 1.1 fold inhibition of proliferation at 1:1, 1:0.25, 1:0.125 responder/Treg ratios (n = 3). In contrast, chimeric Treg potently suppressed T cell proliferation by 10.5 fold; 3.2 fold; and 1.7 fold at responder/Treg ratios of 1:1, 1:0.25, 1:0.125 (n = 4). Chimeric Treg significantly suppressed T cell proliferation at responder/Treg ratios of 1:1 and 1:0.25 compared with naïve B6 Treg (P < 0.05). NOD responder splenocytes remained hypoproliferative in response to B6 stimulator and chimeric Treg compared with stimulator plus B6 Treg, suggesting that chimeric Treg are significantly more potent than naïve B6 Treg in suppressing effector T cell proliferation in vitro. These data show that chimeric Treg enhance donor B6 HSC engraftment but not third-party B10.BR HSC, demonstrating that chimeric Treg function in vivo in an antigen-specific fashion. These data also show that the mechanism of FC function in vivo is associated with the establishment of an antigen-specific regulatory feedback loop. [Display omitted] Disclosures:Bozulic:Regenerex: Employment. Ildstad:Regenerex: Equity Ownership.

CD8+/TCR− Facilitating Cells Induce Generation of Regulatory T cells in Vivo: Chimeric Regulatory T Cells are Antigen-Specific and Enhance Engraftment of Allogeneic HSC in Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) Mice.

CD8+/TCR− graft facilitating cells (FC) are a novel tolerogenic cell population in bone marrow that potently enhance engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in allogeneic and syngeneic recipients. The CD11c+/CD11b−/B220+ plasmacytoid precursor dendritic cell (p-preDC) subpopulation of FC (p-preDC FC) comprises over 60% of FC total and plays a critical and nonredundant role in facilitation. FC prevent graft-versus-host disease and remain tolerogenic after in vivo infusion. Regulatory T cells (Treg) are immunomodulatory cells that maintain tolerance in vivo. They can be generated in vitro via co-culture with p-preDC. There is great interest regarding the use of Treg as a cell-based therapy to induce graft/host tolerance in vivo. However, a major challenge to the clinical use of Treg has been to obtain sufficient numbers of cells for in vivo use and maintain their tolerogenic properties in vivo after in vitro expansion. Here, we evaluated whether FC function by inducing the production of Tregin vivo and examined the function of these chimeric Tregin vivo and in vitro. HSC (c-Kit+Sca-1+Lin−; KSL) were sorted from donor B6 and NOD mice. 10,000 B6 HSC and 1,000 NOD HSC were transplanted by tail-vein injection into recipient NOD mice conditioned with 950 cGy of total body irradiation (TBI). Spleen, thymus, and bone marrow were harvested from recipient NOD mice 5 weeks after transplantation. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg were analyzed by flow cytometry. FC induced the generation of both donor and recipient CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregin vivo; the majority of Treg were recipient-derived (89% to 97%). To test the function of Treg from HSC + FC chimeras (chimeric Treg), CD8− CD4+CD25+ Treg were sorted from the spleen of chimeras 5 weeks after transplantation. 50,000 chimeric Treg plus 10,000 B6 HSC were transplanted into NOD recipients conditioned with 950 cGy TBI. Recipients of 50,000 Treg from naïve B6 spleens (B6 Treg) + HSC or HSC alone served as controls. Five of 26 recipients of HSC alone engrafted and survived up to 100 days. Only 2 of 5 recipients of HSC plus 50,000 B6 Treg engrafted and none of the recipients exhibited durable engraftment beyond 100 days. In striking contrast, 100% (4 of 4) recipients of HSC + 50,000 chimeric Treg engrafted durably, with survival ≥ 100 days. Chimeric Treg function was confirmed in vitro by MLR suppressor assays, as evidenced by strong suppression of T cell proliferation. Sorted chimeric Treg demonstrated an 87.2% suppression of cell proliferation when plated in a 1:1 ratio with naïve NOD responder cells and B6 stimulator cells. Moreover, when plated at a 1:4 and 1:8 ratio with naïve NOD responders, Treg suppressive function titrated to 62.7% and 43.3%, respectively. In contrast, sorted Treg from naïve B6 animals showed 75.8%, 35.4, and 29.4% suppression when plated in ratios of 1:1, 1:4, and 1:8, respectively. Taken together, these data suggest that FC induce the production of antigen-specific Tregin vivo and chimeric Treg are superior to naïve Treg in suppressing the proliferation of effector T cells and potently enhance engraftment of allogeneic HSC.

Transient expansion of Mac1+Ly6-G+Ly6-C+ early myeloid cells with suppressor activity in spleens of murine radiation marrow chimeras: possible implications for the graft-versus-host and graft-versus-leukemia reactivity of donor lymphocyte infusions

AbstractA murine model of minor histocompatibility antigen (miHCag)–mismatched bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was used to study the development of immunoregulatory cells in the posttransplantation period and their possible involvement in the dissociated graft-versus-host (GVH) and graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) reactivity of posttransplantation donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs). DLI, applied immediately after BMT, induced GVH disease (GVHD), but when DLI was delayed for 3 weeks, GVHD was avoided while a distinct GVL response was allowed to develop. A population of Mac1+Ly6-G+Ly6-C+ immature myeloid cells, found in small numbers in normal mice, strongly expanded in spleens of chimeras, reaching a maximum level at week 3 and returning to base level by week 12. Upon isolation, these cells exhibited interferon-γ (IFN-γ)–dependent, nitric oxide (NO)–mediated suppressor activity toward in vitro alloresponses, suggesting that, after in vivo DLI, they are activated by IFN-γ to produce NO and suppress GVH reactivity. Because not only alloactivated T-cell proliferation but also leukemia cell growth was found susceptible to inhibition by exogenous NO, in vivo activation of these cells after DLI may explain the occurrence of a GVL effect despite suppression of GVHD. This suggested sequence of events was supported by the finding that the ex vivo antihost proliferative response of spleen cells, recovered shortly after in vivo DLI, was characterized by strong mRNA production of the monokines interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Our data suggest that transiently expanding Mac1+Ly6-G+Ly6-C+ immature myeloid cells (probably as a result of extramedullary myelopoiesis) may play a role in controlling GVH while promoting GVL reactivity of DLI after allogeneic BMT.

Human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells generate CD5+ B lymphoid cells in NOD/SCID mice.

The nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) xenotransplantation model is increasingly utilized to study both human lymphohematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and committed cell types. Human B lymphoid cells develop and proliferate in this model. We found high numbers of CD19+CD5+ B lymphoid cells in the bone marrows and spleens of NOD/SCID mice transplanted with human CD34+ stem/progenitor cells. The CD5+ cells accounted for a particularly large percentage of the B lymphoid cells in the spleens of chimeras analyzed three months after transplantation. CD19+CD5+ cells from all the analyzed chimeras coexpressed HLA-DR, surface IgM, CD20, CD38, CD43, and CD45. However, CD19+CD5+ cells were negative for kappa light chain, CD10, CD11a, CD11b, CD15, CD21, CD22, CD23, CD25, CD34, CD35, CD44, CD62L, CD69, and CD71. Cell surface expression of the lambda light chain, surface IgD, CD9, and CD40 antigens was detected in some but not all chimeras. Thus, the CD19+CD5+ cell population detected in our study has the phenotype of previously described CD5+ B lymphoid cells in humans and other species. The origin and role of the B lymphoid cells which express CD5 cell surface glycoprotein are poorly understood. The malignant cells in B lymphoid chronic lymphocytic leukemia express CD5, and the numbers of CD5+ B lymphoid cells are elevated in several autoimmune conditions. The human-NOD/SCID chimera system may provide an in vivo model to investigate the maturation and development of this cryptic human CD5+ B lymphoid cell subpopulation.

Evidence for Stem Cells in the Peripheral Blood of Mice

Abstract Leukocytes from the peripheral blood of normal F1 hybrid mice have been successfully used to promote survival of lethally irradiated parent and closely related homologous animals. Identification of donor-type red cells and leukocytes has been established on samples of blood taken from several long-term survivors. Histologic data and serologic typing of cells from lymph nodes, bone marrow, and spleens of chimeras killed early after irradiation and treatment established that injected peripheral leukocytes had transplanted and were proliferating into lymphocytes, granulocytes, and erythrocytes. Fe59 was taken up by red cells and spleens of leukocyte-injected mice but not by tissues of radiation control animals. The newly formed, Fe59-labeled erythrocytes were hemolyzed by immune serum specific for donor-type antigens.