Interleukin-20 plays a critical role in maintenance and development of psoriasis in the human xenograft transplantation model.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin (IL)-20 is a recently discovered cytokine displaying increased levels in psoriatic lesions. Interestingly, IL-20 levels decrease with antipsoriatic treatment, correlating with clinical improvement. However, the role of IL-20 in the aetiology of psoriasis is unknown. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we investigate the effects both of blocking IL-20 signalling in psoriatic plaques and of adding IL-20 to nonlesional psoriasis skin. METHODS: We employed the human skin xenograft transplantation model in which psoriatic plaques and nonlesional keratome skin biopsies obtained from donors with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis were transplanted on to immuno-deficient mice. The transplanted mice were treated with anti-IL-20 antibodies or recombinant human IL-20. RESULTS: We demonstrate that blocking IL-20 signalling with anti-IL-20 antibodies induces psoriasis resolution and inhibits psoriasis induction. We also demonstrate that continuous IL-20 infusion, together with injection of additional nonactivated leucocytes, promotes induction of psoriasis in nonlesional skin from patients with psoriasis. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that IL-20 plays a critical role in the induction and maintenance of psoriasis, and IL-20 is suggested as a new possible specific target in psoriasis treatment.

Phenylcyanoguanidines as inhibitors of glucose-induced insulin secretion from beta cells.

3,5-Disubstituted-phenylcyanoguanidines have been identified as activators of SUR1/Kir6.2 potassium channels and as potent inhibitors of insulin release from pancreatic beta cells in vitro.

Immunization of diabetes-prone or non-diabetes-prone mice with GAD65 does not induce diabetes or islet cell pathology.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase autoimmunity was investigated by immunizing female BALB/c, C57B1/6, National Marine Research Institute (NMRI) and non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice once or twice with glumatic acid decarboxylase, GAD65, bovine serum albumin, or phosphate-buffered saline in incomplete Freunds adjuvant, or not treating. Mice immunized with GAD65, showed splinic T-cell reactivity to GAD 65 in vitro assessed by cytokine secretion. However untreated NOD mice did not. NOD mice showed a vigorous IFN-gamma response after one immunization, whereas NMRI mice showed a lower response. IL-4 and IL-10 were only detected after two immunizations with higher levels in BALB/c, NMRI and NOD mice, compared to C57B1/6 mice. High levels of GAD65 antibodies were detected in all mice immunized with GAD65, though lower levels were found in C57B1/6 mice. Histological analysis of pancreata revealed that no control mice, regardless of treatment, had mononuclear cell infiltration in the islets. In NOD mice, peri-insulitis was detected in all groups, but less so in GAD65 and bovine serum albumin (BSA) immunized animals. These data demonstrate that NOD mice respond more vigorously to immunization with GAD65 than non-diabetic mice strains. Furthermore, immunization with GAD65 is not sufficient to provoke onset of diabetes in NOD mice or induce islet cell pathology in non-diabetes prone mice.

T cell proliferative responses to glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 in IDDM are negatively associated with HLA DR3/4.

Based on studies in spontaneously non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, it has been suggested that the Mr 65,000 isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) is of major importance in the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). In humans, antibodies to GAD65 are present before and at onset of the disease and in vitro T cell reactivity to GAD has also been reported. To further characterize the T cell recognition of GAD65, we incubated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 45 newly diagnosed IDDM patients with purified recombinant human islet GAD65 and correlated the proliferative response with HLA DR haplotype and the presence of GAD65 autoantibodies. Fifty healthy individuals were studied as controls. Of the patients, 49% showed proliferative responses to GAD65 in contrast to only 4% of the controls. T cell proliferation to GAD65 was significantly more frequent in patients not being HLA DR3/4 heterozygous (19/29, 66%) as compared to HLA DR3/4 heterozygous patients (3/16, 19%) (p < 0.01). The difference was most pronounced in females with 64% (9/14) of the HLA non-DR3/4 patients being positive compared to none (0/6) of the HLA DR3/4 patients (p < 0.05). The overall frequency of GAD65 autoantibodies was 71% (32/45) with a similar distribution between patients with HLA DR3/4 (10/16, 63%) and HLA non-DR 3/4 (22/29, 76%). There was no correlation between levels of the T and B cell responses to GAD65 (r = 0.24). In conclusion, we find a proliferative T cell response to GAD65 in approximately 50% of recent onset IDDM patients and unexpectedly find the majority of responders to be HLA non-DR 3/4 heterozygous patients. No difference was observed in B cell responsiveness between the two HLA groups.

Neonatal tolerization with glutamic acid decarboxylase but not with bovine serum albumin delays the onset of diabetes in NOD mice.

To test the role of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of diabetes, GAD65 or BSA was injected intraperitoneally into neonatal female NOD mice (100 micrograms/mouse of each protein). Treatment with GAD65, but not with BSA, significantly delayed the onset of diabetes compared with control mice (P < 0.05). At 18 weeks, 6 of 10 control mice compared with 0 of 10 GAD65-treated mice (P = 0.005) and 7 of 14 BSA-treated mice had developed diabetes. However, after 79 weeks, 6 of 10 of the GAD65-treated mice were diabetic compared with 9 of 10 of the control mice and 12 of 14 of the BSA-treated mice. In GAD65-treated mice without diabetes, insulitis was markedly reduced compared with control or BSA-treated mice (P < 10(-4)). To further elucidate why GAD becomes an autoantigen, the expression in NOD mice islets was studied. Quantitative immunohistochemistry revealed that islet cell expression of GAD was increased in 5-week-old NOD mice compared with BALB/c mice (P = 0.02). With the occurrence of insulitis (9-15 weeks), the GAD expression was further increased relative to 5-week-old NOD mice (P < 0.02). In conclusion, GAD, but not BSA, autoimmunity is important for the development of diabetes in NOD mice. Furthermore, concordant with the appearance of insulitis, the GAD expression increased in NOD mouse islets, which could possibly potentiate the beta-cell-directed autoimmunity.

Affinity purification, biological characterization and serological evaluation of defined antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Nine mycobacterial antigens have been purified by affinity chromatography using monoclonal antibodies (m. abs) as immunosorbent. The importance of the individual antigens have been evaluated by different immunological methods.

Monoclonal antibodies produced in BALB.B10 mice define new antigenic determinants in culture filtrate preparations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A panel of monoclonal antibodies were derived from BALB.B10 mice immunized with a culture filtrate from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Of these antibodies, 10 were examined more closely for antigen specificity and interspecies reactivity. Six antibodies were used as immunosorbents for affinity purification of their corresponding antigens. Two monoclonal antibodies (HBT 2 and HBT 11) reacted with a 17-kilodalton antigen, and a competition assay showed that these antibodies are directed against the same epitope or against epitopes that are sterically very close to each other. Monoclonal antibody HBT 12 reacted with the same molecule with which a previously described 38-kilodalton reactive antibody reacted but was directed against a different epitope. Antibody HBT 10 reacted with a culture filtrate of M. tuberculosis but not of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. This latter finding was further studied by testing different preparations of M. tuberculosis H37Rv antigens and, additionally, culture filtrates of four M. tuberculosis and two BCG strains. Interspecies reactivity was assayed by immunoblotting and revealed that the majority of the monoclonal antibodies were specific to M. tuberculosis complex.

Antibody responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 11 strains of inbred mice: novel monoclonal antibody specificities generated by fusions, using spleens from BALB.B10 and CBA/J mice.

Eleven strains of inbred mice were immunized with a culture filtrate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, and the quality of the antibody responses was determined by immunoblotting. The quantity of mycobacterial antigen used for each immunization ranged from 6 to 750 micrograms per inoculum. The culture filtrate of M. tuberculosis was separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electrotransferred to nitrocellulose filters. Immunoblotting results were obtained with serum from the following 11 strains of immunized mice: C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, BALB.B10, C3H.OH, A.CA/Sn, CBA/J, DBA/1J, DBA/2J, C3H/HeJ, B10.A/SgSn, and B10.D2/nSn. Mice were tested individually, and results from each mouse were compared after each immunization. It was found that sera from individual mice within the same strain differed only slightly in their immune response patterns. In contrast, major differences were seen when the reactivities of sera from different strains were compared. Hybridomas were obtained from cell fusions by using spleen cells from BALB.B10 and CBA/J mice. Twelve monoclonal antibodies were raised, which identified epitopes on molecules with different electrophoretic mobilities than those already described by other investigators. The monoclonal antibodies were characterized by immunoblotting with respect to their reactivities with culture filtrates from M. tuberculosis and six other mycobacterial species. One of the monoclonal antibodies (HBT-10) identified an epitope that was present in M. tuberculosis H37Rv but not in Mycobacterium bovis BCG.

Isolation and characterization of recombinant lambda gt11 bacteriophages expressing eight different mycobacterial antigens of potential immunological relevance.

A genomic lambda gt11 DNA library of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was screened for expression of mycobacterial protein antigens with murine monoclonal antibodies. The reactivity patterns of the monoclonal antibodies ranged from those showing a limited interspecies reactivity to antibodies widely cross-reactive among different mycobacterial species. Twelve recombinant bacteriophages were isolated, containing eight mycobacterial genes (paa, pab, pac, pad, paeA, paeB, pafA, and pafB) encoding protein antigens. Physical maps of the phages were generated and the products of the recombinant genes were analyzed by immunoblotting techniques. PaeA and PaeB are distinct proteins but were shown to share an epitope. A similar condition was observed between PafA and PafB. Among the phages isolated, two groups expressed epitopes specific for M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG. One group of phages produced an antigenic determinant which is found in M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium marinum but not in M. bovis BCG.

Allergenic and blastogenic reactivity of three antigens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sensitized guinea pigs.

Three antigens from a culture filtrate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv were purified by affinity chromatography, using monoclonal antibodies. The molecular weights of the purified antigens are 17,000 to 19,000, 32,000 to 33,000, and 39,000, respectively, and by their migration patterns in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing and nonreducing conditions, they all appeared to be single-chain polypeptides. Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses indicated that the antigens are non-cross-reactive. All antigens generated an intermediate to strong skin reaction when tested in guinea pigs previously immunized with a live M. bovis BCG vaccine or with an oil emulsion preparation of phenol-or heat-killed M. tuberculosis. Lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood or lymph nodes of similarly immunized guinea pigs could be stimulated by purified protein derivative and the purified antigens. Qualitative differences in stimulatory capacity between the preparations were demonstrated. The antigens may prove useful in further studies of the immunology and pathogenesis of tuberculosis.