Antigen acquisition by dendritic cells: intestinal dendritic cells acquire antigen administered orally and can prime naive T cells in vivo.

In the rat, mesenteric lymphadenectomy allows collection of dendritic cells (DC) derived from the small intestine after cannulation of the thoracic duct. We prepared rats this way and administered antigens by oral feeding or intraintestinal injection. DC enriched from the thoracic duct lymph collected over the first 24 h from these animals are able to stimulate sensitized T cells in vitro and to prime popliteal lymph node CD4+ T cells after footpad injection, while B and T cells from the same thoracic duct lymph are inert in priming. 500 or less DC pulsed in vitro with antigen can prime T cells in vivo, whereas 100 times more B cells or macrophages pulsed in vitro are quite inert. 1 mg of ovalbumin administered orally is sufficient to load DC for in vivo priming of T cells. Antigen could not be detected directly in DC but was present in macrophages in the lamina propria. Direct presentation of antigen by DC to T cells was demonstrated by injecting F1 recipients with parental DC and showing restriction of T cell sensitization to the major histocompatibility complex of the injected DC. Antigen-bearing DC do not induce a detectable primary antibody response but a small secondary antibody response can be detected after a boosting injection. These results show that acquisition of antigens by DC in the intestine is very similar to what occurs in vitro or in other tissues, suggesting that there may be no special difference in antigen handling at mucosal surfaces. One implication of these results is that hypotheses designed to explain oral tolerance must take into account the presence of immunostimulatory, antigen-bearing DC in animals that have received oral antigens.

Characterization of nonlymphoid cells derived from rat peripheral lymph.

Mesenteric lymphadenectomy in rats is followed by union of peripheral and central lymphatics, allowing the collection of intestine-derived peripheral lymph cells via the thoracic duct for several days. These cells include a proportion of nonlymphoid cells (NLC) that show irregular and heterogeneous surface morphology including long pseudopodia and veils. They stain variably for nonspecific esterase and acid phosphatase and are ATPase-positive. Their nuclei are irregular and some contain cytoplasmic inclusions, some of which show peroxidase activity and/or contain DNA. NLC have a range of densitites generally lower than that of lymphocytes. Freshly collected NLC express the leukocyte-common antigen (defined by monoclonal antibody MRC Ox 1) and Ia antigens (I-A and I-E subregion products defined by monoclonal antibodies) but they show a relative lack of other surface markers normally found on rat B or T lymphocytes (W3/13, W3/25, MRC Ox 12 (sIg), MRC Ox 19) or rat macrophages (FcR, C'R, mannose R, W3/25). In general NLC are only weakly adherent to glass or plastic. Although a subpopulation of NLC appear to have had a phagocytic past, freshly collected NLC fail to phagocytose a variety of test particles in vitro. NLC also appear incapable of pinocytosis in vitro. This heterogeneity may represent distinct subpopulations of NLC or different stages in the development of a single cell lineage. Direct cannulation of mesenteric lacteals shows that the majority of NLC are derived from the small intestine and their precursors appear to be present both in lamina propria and Peyer's patches. Kinetic studies, following irradiation or intravenous tritiated thymidine, show that the majority of NLC turn over rapidly in the intestine with a modal time of 3-5 d. Studies with bone marrow chimeras show that they are derived from a rapidly dividing precursor present in normal bone marrow. NLC occur at very low frequencies in normal thoracic duct lymph at all times following cannulation. The evidence presented suggests that NLC closely resemble mouse lymphoid dendritic cells. This conclusion is supported by evidence already obtained showing that NLC are potent stimulators of the semi-allogeneic rat primary mixed leukocyte reaction. In addition to the ceils resembling dendritic cells rare monocytoid cells are found in thoracic duct lymph of lymphadenectomized specific pathogen-free rats. The proportion of these cells increases greatly when the animals are conventionally housed. It seems probable that the physiological function of NLC is to act as accessory cells in the lymph nodes to which they normally drain. Methods for enriching NLC and thus facilitating analysis of their functions are discussed.

The mononuclear phagocyte system of the mouse defined by immunohistochemical localization of antigen F4/80. Relationship between macrophages, Langerhans cells, reticular cells, and dendritic cells in lymphoid and hematopoietic organs.

The macrophage-specific antigen F4/80 has been localized in mouse lymphoid and hematopoietic tissue and skin using immunoperoxidase staining. The antigen permits identification of early mononuclear phagocyte precursors in the bone marrow, and is present also on larger cells forming the center of hematopoietic islands and lining vascular sinuses. In thymus F4/80+ cells are numerous in both cortex and medulla and are particularly concentrated around the corticomedullary region. In spleen, lymph node, and gut-associated lymphoid areas the major F4/80+ populations are in the red pulp, the medulla and subcapsular sinus, and the adjacent lamina propria, respectively. F4/80+ cells are rarely seen in T-dependent areas of lymph nodes, spleen, or Peyer's patch, but are present in large numbers in these areas during bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-induced inflammation. Macrophage infiltration occurs also in lymph nodes from athymic nu/nu mice and is therefore T cell independent. The interdigitating cell of T-dependent areas is F4/80-, but the Langerhans cell of the epidermis of the skin, which bears some ultrastructural resemblance to the interdigitating cell, is F4/80+. We conclude that the two cell types are probably not related.

A discrete subpopulation of dendritic cells transports apoptotic intestinal epithelial cells to T cell areas of mesenteric lymph nodes.

This study identifies a dendritic cell (DC) subset that constitutively transports apoptotic intestinal epithelial cell remnants to T cell areas of mesenteric lymph nodes in vivo. Rat intestinal lymph contains two DC populations. Both populations have typical DC morphology, are major histocompatibility complex class II(hi), and express OX62, CD11c, and B7. CD4(+)/OX41(+) DCs are strong antigen-presenting cells (APCs). CD4(-)/OX41(-) DCs are weak APCs and contain cytoplasmic apoptotic DNA, epithelial cell-restricted cytokeratins, and nonspecific esterase (NSE)(+) inclusions, not seen in OX41(+) DCs. Identical patterns of NSE electrophoretic variants exist in CD4(-)/OX41(-) DCs, intestinal epithelial cells, and mesenteric node DCs but not in other DC populations, macrophages, or tissues. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive DCs and strongly NSE(+) DCs are present in intestinal lamina propria. Peyer's patches and mesenteric but not other lymph nodes contain many strongly NSE(+) DCs in interfollicular and T cell areas. Similar DCs are seen in the ileum and in T cell areas of mesenteric nodes in gnotobiotic rats. These results show that a distinct DC subset constitutively endocytoses and transports apoptotic cells to T cell areas and suggest a role for these DCs in inducing and maintaining peripheral self-tolerance.

Interaction of human monocytes, macrophages, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes with zymosan in vitro. Role of type 3 complement receptors and macrophage-derived complement.

Macrophages take up zymosan in the absence of exogenous complement via receptors for iC3b (type 3 complement receptors) acting with or without lectin-like receptors for mannosyl-fucosyl-terminated glycoconjugates. We previously provided evidence that macrophages themselves secrete complement-alternative pathway components able to opsonize zymosan locally (Ezekowitz et al., J. Exp. Med. 1984. 159:244-260). We show here that covalently bound C3 cleavage products C3b and iC3b can be eluted from zymosan particles cultivated with 36-h adherent human monocytes in the absence of serum. The ligand binding site of type 3 complement receptors is involved in macrophage-zymosan interactions as shown by inhibition studies of zymosan binding and uptake with Fab fragments of anti-C3 antibodies and monoclonal antireceptor antibodies M01 and OKM10. In contrast, antibody IB4, which binds to a receptor epitope distinct from the binding site, does not inhibit zymosan uptake. Selective modulation of macrophage receptors onto anticomplement receptor antibody and mannose-rich yeast mannan, respectively, confirms that the complement and lectin-like receptors are distinct. Human polymorphonuclear leukocytes, which express receptors for complement, but are not known to secrete complement proteins, bind and ingest only exogenously opsonized zymosan. Unopsonized zymosan is a poor trigger of respiratory burst activity in neutrophils or 7-d adherent human macrophages, but induces cell aggregation and secretion of large amounts of superoxide anion when these cells are co-cultivated in serum-free medium and challenged with zymosan. Our studies indicate that complement and/or other products synthesized by macrophages at extravascular sites could play an important role in opsonization and lysis of pathogens able to activate the alternative pathway and mediate macrophage-neutrophil collaboration in first-line host defence.

Dietary fish oil diminishes the antigen presentation activity of rat dendritic cells.

Rats were fed for 6 weeks on a low fat (LF) diet or on high fat diets containing safflower oil [SO; rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)] or fish oil (FO; rich in n-3 PUFAs). Lymph-borne dendritic cells (L-DC) were isolated after cannulation of the thoracic duct and were used as antigen [keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)]-presenting cells in an ex vivo assay that used KLH-sensitized spleen lymphocytes as the responder cells. FO feeding significantly diminished the antigen presentation activity of L-DC compared with L-DC from rats fed each of the other diets. The antigen presentation activity of L-DC from rats fed the SO diet was greater than that of L-DC from rats fed the LF diet. Feeding the FO diet significantly reduced both the proportion of CD2-positive L-DC and the level of CD2 expression on L-DC compared with feeding each of the other diets; the proportions of L-DC staining positive for CD40, CD18, CD54, CD11a, and MHC II were unaffected by diet. However, FO feeding reduced the level of expression of CD18, CD11a, MHC II, and CD54 on L-DC compared with feeding the other two diets; the level of expression of CD40 was unaffected by diet. This is the first study to report effects of dietary fatty acids on dendritic cells. The suppressive effect of FO feeding may account for some of the beneficial effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids observed in clinical settings, such as prolonged survival of grafts and diminished chronic inflammatory responses. However, such an effect may also be detrimental because host defense toward bacterial and other antigens could be compromised.

Continuing education of the immune system--dendritic cells, immune regulation and tolerance.

T cells, as they develop in the thymus come to express antigen receptors. The specificity of these receptors cannot be predicted and must include many with potential anti-self reactivity. Those that encounter self-antigens, in association with self-MHC (major histocompatibility complex), with high affinity are inactivated and do not leave the thymus. Not all self-antigens however are expressed in the thymus and thus many potentially self-reactive T cells enter the periphery. It poses therefore a fundamental immunological question: how peripheral self-tolerance is maintained in health? Dendritic cells (DC) play a central role in the activation of T cells, especially naïve T cells. Their importance in initiating immune responses against pathogens has been well established. However, DC represent complex populations of cells. Recent advances in our knowledge including molecular understanding of DC/T cell interactions have begun to reveal another important dimension of DC functions in the periphery, being not only initiators but also regulators of the immune system. This review summarises recent findings on the roles of DC in the regulation of immune responses and the maintenance of peripheral tolerance, in an attempt to explain how break down of this may lead to immunopathologies and autoimmunity. The concept of a regulatory DC and its possible role in the generation of T regulatory cells in health and in diseases are also discussed. Based on these, the need for a "continuing education" of the immune system throughout one's life, in which DC are again the "tutors", is postulated.

Erythropoietin in renal and hepatic lymph of conscious ewes.

Spontaneously flowing fistulae were established in the efferent lymphatics of popliteal, prescapular and prefemoral nodes and lumbar trunk or in the afferent lymphatics draining the kidney and liver of sheep. Lymph was collected from these sites over various time intervals and assayed for erythropoietin (Ep) content. The objective of the study was to establish the anatomic site(s) of Ep production. Normal lymph did not contain detectable titers of Ep, nor did renal lymph or blood plasma from a sheep systematically treated with cobaltous chloride. Renal lymph did contain measurable levels of Ep following renal artery constriction, unilateral hydronephrosis or phenylhydrazine-induced hemolytic anemia. Phenylhydrazine treatment also produced elevated Ep levels in lymph from the liver but not in lymph efferent from either popliteal or prescapular nodes. These results indicate that Ep is generated primarily in the kidney and that the liver may be an extrarenal source of the hormone. The surgical techniques used in this study offer distinct advantages in examining the composition and physiology of lymph in sheep.

The traffic of mononuclear phagocytes through renal allografts in sheep.

Five to ten per cent of the cells in lymph draining renal allografts in sheep have the morphology of mononuclear phagocytes (MNP). These cells have been examined by light and electron microscopy and their functional characteristics investigated. The vast majority of MNP were of recipient origin. Their traffic increased from about 10(6)/hr immediately after grafting to between 2 and 4 X 10(7)/hr just prior to rejection. During the 1st 2 to 3 days, the majority of MNP had the morphology of monocytes, but the proportion of mature macrophages increased steadily to 30%. During the later stages, many of these large macrophages showed features of activation in terms of their spreading and phagocytic capacities. No NDA synthesis was observed in MNP until the latest stages, when a small proportion (less than 1%) of MNP labelled in vitro. Short-term cultures of lymph cells from kidneys undergoing rejection gave rise to numerous giant cells. It is suggested that there is continual traffic of MNP through the grafted kidney and that a proportion of MNP differentiate within the kidney and show features of activation.

Heterogeneity amongst lymph-borne "dendritic" cells.

Thoracic duct lymph from mesenteric lymphadenectomized rats contains a population of non-lymphocytic, irregularly shaped, Ia-positive cells. These cells are able to stimulate an allogeneic or syngeneic MLR, can act as accessory cells in Concanavalin A-induced lymphocyte mitogenesis and can stimulate the rejection of enhanced allografts. They are thus similar to dendritic cells isolated from lymphoid and peripheral tissues. These cells are not endocytic or glass adherent and do not bear C3 receptors or mannose-fucose receptors. They may possess weak Fc receptor activity. In terms of morphology, cytochemistry and surface markers these cells show marked heterogeneity. The nature of this heterogeneity is described and the relationship of these cells to other potential accessory cells is discussed in terms of lineage and function.

Lymph node macrophage heterogeneity: a subpopulation fails to express activation phenotype.

We have identified and characterised a subpopulation of macrophages in the rat lymph node. The stromal macrophage shows many characteristics not expressed by peritoneal macrophages; clustering of B cells, selective uptake of TI-2 antigens, failure to express surface Ia after activation. These differences are suggestive of a regulatory role in B cell rather than T cell function.

Properties of lymph-borne (veiled) dendritic cells in culture. I. Modulation of phenotype, survival and function: partial dependence on GM-CSF.

Lymph-borne dendritic cells (L-DC) collected from the thoracic duct of rats following mesenteric lymphadenectomy are derived from the small intestine. We have cultured these cells in vitro and examined their survival and phenotypic and functional changes. L-DC survive poorly in culture in normal media (less than 50% overnight) but survival can be markedly increased by supplementation with Con A-stimulated spleen cell supernatant or recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) but not by recombinant IL-1, IL-2, IFN-gamma or by an IL-3-rich supernatant. The effects of GM-CSF are blocked by a specific antiserum. L-DC display heterogeneity for some surface markers, cytoplasmic inclusions and enzyme reactivity. After 16-48 hr culture the pattern of expression is markedly different. The numbers of Thy-1-positive L-DC and the amount of Thy-1 expressed increases, as do the numbers of L-DC expressing OX48 antigen. All L-DC remain Ia positive, but the proportion expressing the iC'3b receptor, non-specific esterase or cytoplasmic DNA inclusions decreases to almost zero. In contrast to Langerhans' cells, fresh L-DC are potent stimulators of an allogeneic mixed leucocyte reaction (MLR) but their potency is considerably increased after 16 hr culture. Also in contrast to Langerhans' cells, the increase in potency is not affected by culture with CAS and is thus unlikely to be dependent on GM-CSF. The changes described in L-DC properties could be related to their role as antigen-presenting cells.