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The damage-associated molecular-pattern S100A9 is found at inflammatory sites in infections and various autoimmune diseases. It is released at very high concentrations in the extracellular milieu by activated neutrophils and monocytes in response to various agents. This proinflammatory protein is found in infected mucosae and tissue abscesses where it acts notably as a potent neutrophil activator. In this study, we examined the role of S100A9 in the control of infections. S100A9 was found to increase human neutrophil bactericidal activity toward Escherichia coli. Although S100A9 induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species over time through the activation of NADPH oxidase, its antimicrobial activity was mediated mainly by enhancing the efficiency of neutrophil phagocytosis. Interestingly, S100A9 did not act by increasing cell surface expression of CD16, CD32, or CD64 in neutrophils, indicating that its biological effect in FcR-mediated phagocytosis is independent of upregulation of FcγR levels. However, S100A9-induced phagocytic activity required the phosphorylation of Erk1/2, Akt, and Syk. Taken together, our results demonstrate that S100A9 stimulates neutrophil microbicidal activity by promoting phagocytosis.

Tick-borne relapsing fever in North America is primarily caused by the spirochete Borrelia hermsii. The pathogen employs multiple strategies, including the acquisition of complement regulators and antigenic variation, to escape innate and humoral immunity. In this study we identified in B. hermsii a novel member of the complement regulator-acquiring surface protein (CRASP) family, designated BhCRASP-1, that binds the complement regulators factor H (FH) and FH-related protein 1 (FHR-1) but not FH-like protein 1 (FHL-1). BhCRASP-1 specifically interacts with the short consensus repeat 20 of FH, thereby maintaining FH-associated cofactor activity for factor I-mediated C3b inactivation. Furthermore, ectopic expression of BhCRASP- 1 converted the serum-sensitive Borrelia burgdorferi B313 strain into an intermediate complement-resistant strain. Finally, we report for the first time that BhCRASP-1 binds plasminogen/plasmin in addition to FH via, however, distinct nonoverlapping domains. The fact that surface-bound plasmin retains its proteolytic activity suggest that the dual binding specificity of BhCRASP-1 for FH and plasminogen/plasmin contributes to both the dissemination/invasion of B. hermsii and its resistance to innate immunity.

Effector cytolytic T (Tc) lymphocytes, deficient in the exocytosis-mediated pathway of target cell lysis, induce Fas on target cells and, in turn, delayed cell death and apoptosis via the Fas ligand-Fas interaction. The induction of Fas can be blocked by anti- IFN-gamma Abs. This Fas up-regulation on initially Fas-negative target cells is not mediated by TCR-MHC/peptide signaling per se, but by secreted IFN-gamma from Tc cells after Ag engagement. The Fas up-regulation by Tc cells can be mimicked by treatment of target cells with rIFN-gamma. Tc cells from IFN-gamma knockout mice do not induce Fas expression on target cells. Tc cell-mediated Fas expression on third party, bystander, target cells does not enhance their susceptibility to lysis by these nominal effector cells. The results are discussed as to the possible relevance of the phenomenon in efficiency and regulation of the Tc cell response to infections by viruses.

Cytotoxic T (Tc) cells deficient in perforin lyse Fas-negative targets after lengthy incubation periods. This process is independent of granzymes, and killing occurs via the Fas pathway for the following reasons. Interaction of perforin-deficient Tc cells with Fas-negative targets leads to an up-regulation of Fas that is dependent on Ag recognition, de novo synthesis, and transport of proteins to the target cell surface. Treatment of effectors with brefeldin A, but not with the exocytosis inhibitor concanamycin, inhibited this process. Lysis of targets is inhibited by anti-Fas Abs, soluble mouse Fas-Fc, and the caspase-cascade inhibitor, crm-A. Targets from Fas-mutant lpr mice are refractory to lysis, and Tc cells from mice deficient in Fas- and perforin-mediated lysis do not lyse Fas-negative targets. The possible relevance of this exocytosis-independent cytolytic process in the regulation of T cell activity and control of pathogens is discussed.

Previous observations that the highly conserved poxvirus-encoded serpins inhibit cytotoxic activities of alloreactive CTL via granule and/or Fas-mediated pathways was taken to indicate their involvement in immune evasion by poxviruses. We now show that interference with 51Cr release from target cells by ectromelia and cowpoxvirus is limited to alloreactive but not MHC-restricted CTL. The data are in support of the paramount importance of CTL and its effector molecule perforin in the recovery from primary ectromelia virus infection and question the role of serpins in the evasion of poxviruses from killing by CTL. Further analysis of poxvirus interference with target cell lysis by alloreactive CTL revealed that suppression primarily affects the Fas-mediated, and to a lesser extent, the granule exocytosis pathway. Serpin-2 is the main contributor to suppression for both killing pathways. In addition, inhibition of lysis was shown to be both target cell type- and MHC allotype-dependent. We hypothesize that differences in TCR affinities and/or state of activation between alloreactive and MHC-restricted CTL as well as the quality (origin) of target cells are responsible for the observed phenomenon.

Lyme disease, caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is a systemic infection with preponderance for the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system. Inflammatory lesions of target organs are characterized by the presence of spirochetes and inflammatory leukocytes. We have analyzed the potential of B. burgdorferi to induce gene expression of chemokines and adhesion molecules in human endothelial cells, keratinocytes, and fibroblasts. We find induction of the chemokines RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cells expressed and secreted), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, IL-8, gro-alpha, IFN-inducible protein-10, and mig (monokine induced by gamma-IFN), and of the adhesion molecules E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 in endothelial cells and induction of the same chemokines and ICAM-1 in fibroblasts. This is mediated by the lipid moiety of the outer surface lipoprotein A. Induction of chemokine and adhesion molecule genes by B. burgdorferi occurs rapidly and does not require new protein synthesis. Induction is blocked by inhibitors of nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B. We also find that B. burgdorferi induces nuclear translocation of NF-kappa B and a transient increase in the expression of its inhibitor I kappa B-alpha. These findings indicate that B. burgdorferi is a potent inducer of molecules required for leukocyte recruitment to inflammatory foci, and the data suggest that this biologic activity is due to the ability of the spirochetes to activate the pleiotropic transcription factor NF-kappa B.

alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) is a proopiomelanocortin-derived peptide with known immunoregulatory effects, acting mainly via modulation of cytokine secretion by lymphocytes and monocytes. When applied epicutaneously, alpha-MSH inhibits both induction as well as elicitation of contact hypersensitivity (CHS) responses in mice. We questioned whether systemically administered alpha-MSH leads to the induction of hapten-specific tolerance. For this purpose, mice were injected i.v. with 75 microgram/kg synthetic bioactive alpha-MSH 2 h before sensitization (day 0) or challenge (day 6) with the hapten, trinitrochlorobenzene (TNCB). Intravenous administration of alpha-MSH 2 h before sensitization or 2 h before challenge resulted in a markedly reduced CHS response. To distinguish between unresponsiveness and tolerance, these mice were sensitized and challenged a second time, but in the absence of alpha-MSH. Mice that had been injected with alpha-MSH before the first sensitization (day 0), but not before challenge (day 6), were also unable to develop a significant CHS response after an additional sensitization and challenge with the same Ag 10 to 14 days later. In contrast, sensitization to the unrelated hapten, dinitrofluorobenzene, was unaffected in these mice, indicating the induction of hapten-specific tolerance by alpha-MSH. Moreover, regional lymph node cells obtained from alpha-MSH-treated mice 5 days after resensitization failed to produce IL-2 in response to trinitrobenzosulfonic acid, the water-soluble analogue of TNCB, whereas lymph node cells from TNCB-sensitized, not alpha-MSH-treated, mice as well as from mice treated with alpha-MSH before challenge readily exhibited trinitrobenzosulfonic acid-specific IL-2 production in this assay. Finally, in vivo tolerance induction by alpha-MSH could be abrogated by the administration of anti-IL-10 Ab at the site of sensitization. These data indicate that alpha-MSH, in addition to its suppressive effect on induction and elicitation of CHS, is able to induce hapten-specific tolerance in mice. Thus, alpha-MSH may be a significant regulatory mediator of cutaneous immune responses in vivo.

We describe the characterization and purification of a trypsin-like serine protease isolated from cloned long-term culture cytolytic T cell line (CTLL AK). High amounts of proteolytic activity were isolated from extracts of CTLL AK after either nitrogen cavitation or detergent lysis. Trypsin-like protease was detected by using either the ester compound N alpha-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine thiobenzyl ester or a panel of low molecular amide substrates. The latter compounds were preferentially cleaved at the carboxyl termini of lysine and arginine residues. The enzyme activity was completely inhibited by two serine esterase inhibitors, diisopropylfluorophosphate and phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, and by aprotinin and meta-aminobenzamidine, which are known to block trypsin-like proteases. The pH optimum for CTLL AK-derived protease activity is 8 to 9. Analysis of the enzyme by gel filtration revealed that the cell-bound proteolytic activity was associated with a complex that could not be dissociated by treatment with Triton X-100. The CTLL AK-derived protease activity was found to reside in two proteins with relative molecular masses (Mr) of 32,000 and 40,000 daltons as determined by affinity labeling with [3H]diisopropylfluorophosphate and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. High levels of enzyme activity were found in a panel of H-Y-specific cloned T cell lines with either cytolytic/suppressor (CTLL) or helper potential (THL), indicating a lack of correlation between trypsin-like protease activity and a particular T cell function. High enzyme activity was also detected in tumorigenic variants of CTLL. Furthermore, it was excluded that the trypsin-like activity detected was attributable to plasminogen activator activity. In contrast to cloned T effector cells and their in vitro or in vivo derived variants, considerably less activity was found in normal nonactivated or activated lymphocyte populations. The possible role of the trypsin-like serine protease in the function of T effector cells is discussed.

Inbred strains of mice can be classified into high and low responders with respect to their antibody responses to RBC. In this paper, we investigate the cellular basis of the difference in responsiveness between high- and low-responder strains. In cell-mixing experiments with purified B cells, T cells, and macrophages from 2 different combinations of H-2-identical high- and low-responder strains, we find that the B cells determine high and low responsiveness, whereas T cells and macrophages from low responders function equally as well as those of high responders. We could also exclude that suppressor T cells play an important role in determining high and low responsiveness. It is therefore suggested that low responsiveness is a defect of B cells to become activated in a T helper cell-dependent antibody response. In the previous paper of this series we showed that a limited number of genes (possibly 2), 1 linked to the Igh gene complex and the other(s) of unknown linkage, control the level of responsiveness. Taken together, we think that this represents a novel example of a genetic polymorphism in B cell function that is sufficiently simple, genetically and functionally, to provide a genetic approach to the study of B cell activation.

In this study we tested the effect of monoclonal antibodies (moAb) AN-18 to murine IFN-gamma on the generation of cytolytic T cells (CTL) from a homogeneous population of precursor cells (CTL-P). As responder cells, highly purified Lyt-2+ C57BL/6 lymph node T cells were used that had been positively selected by flow cytofluorometry on a cell sorter. Lyt-2+ cells were set up in bulk culture or in limiting dilution (LD) either with Con A or with P815 tumor cells as antigen and recombinant human interleukin 2 (rec.hIL 2) in the presence or absence of moAb AN-18 and tested for growth and development of CTL. The results show that moAb AN-18 but not the unrelated moAb AN-37 diminished or abrogated proliferative and cytolytic responses of Lyt-2+ lymphocytes to lectin and rec.hIL 2 in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory activity of the antibodies could be abolished by neutralizing moAb AN-18 with recombinant murine IFN-gamma (rec.mIFN-gamma) before their addition to culture. Kinetic analysis shows that the inhibitory effect of moAb AN-18 is only optimal when added at the beginning of culture or up to 48 hr after initiation. The frequencies of CTL-P responding either to Con A or to P815 tumor cells and rec.hIL 2 were reduced up to 10-fold in the presence of moAb AN-18. The inhibitory capacity of moAb AN-18 was also operative in cultures containing on the average one antigen-specific CTL-P. Together with the finding that activated CTL-P secrete IFN-gamma in response to rec.hIL 2 in a dose-dependent manner, the data suggest that endogenous IFN-gamma collaborates with exogenous IL 2 in the induction of CTL-P. The generation of CTL may therefore represent a case of autocrine growth regulation of normal lymphocytes, in which the same cell synthesizes and responds to its own factor.