Search

WT 1, an IgG2a subclass monoclonal antibody, recognizes a human T lineage specific antigen (mol. wt 40,000). This antigen is strongly expressed on thymic T blasts, and on peripheral T cells activated by phytohaemagglutinin, whereas cortical thymocytes and peripheral T cells are moderately positive for WT 1, In contrast, B lymphocytes, myeloid and erythroid cells, including the progenitor cells of these lineages, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase positive cells in the bone marrow, arc all WT 1 negative. Binding of WT 1 to T cells is blocked by a previously described antibody (3A1) suggesting that both antibodies bind to the same antigen present on human T cells. WT 1, however, is also reactive with T lymphocytes from rhesus monkeys whereas 3A1 is not. Therefore, the biological effects of WT 1 could be studied in a monkey model. In a skin allograft model. WT 1 was immunosuppressive and induced a marked prolongation of graft survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment with cyclosporin A (CyA) produces a reversal of the normal ratio of OKT4+ (inducer type) to OKTS+ (suppressor-cytotoxic type) cells so that renal allograft recipients on CyA alone develop a four-fold increase in the absolute number of circulating OKT8 positive cells. Conventional immunosuppression with azathioprine and prednisolone reduces both populations of T cells without altering the ratio of OKT4+ to OKT8+ cells. This effect of CyA may help to explain its action as an immunosuppressive agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is described which can be used to quantitate class II MHC antigens (HLA-DR) expressed by cells within tissue sections. A mouse anti-human HLA-DR monoclonal antibody is directly conjugated to the fungal enzyme glucose oxidase. The enzyme, in the presence of its substrate can be used to reduce tetrazolium sails lo insoluble coloured formazans. The coloured reaction product is proportional to the amount of antigen and can be eluted from cells and measured spectrophotometrically. The application of this technique to a study of the expression of HLA-DR antigens, functionally significant molecules, by mononuclear cells in the cutaneous lesions of leprosy, is described. When a quantitative measure of the HLA-DR expression was related to the area of the granulomata, significant differences in the HLA-DR expression by cells in the infiltrates associated with lesions of tubereuloid and lepromatous leprosy were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to define the immunoregulatory mechanisms operating in rheumatoid arthritis we have enumerated T cell subsets in the peripheral blood and synovial fluid of patients with this disease. The peripheral blood analysis revealed an elevation of the ratio of inducer T cells (OKT4 positive) to suppressor/cytotoxic T cells (OKT5 positive) in patients with clinically active rheumatoid arthritis when compared with normal persons. This was due to a reduction in the percentage of suppressor/cytotoxic T lymphocytes in these patients. The synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis differed from the peripheral blood in 2 respects. Firstly, synovial fluid was characterised by a lower helper: suppressor ratio due to an increased number of suppressor/cytotoxic cells, and, secondly, it contained an increased number of activated T cells bearing HLA DR antigens. The majority of these activated T cells belonged to the helper/inducer T cell subset. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Material reacting like carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the radioimmunoassay has been extracted from rheumatoid synovial membranes. This CEA activity has been compared to that found in hepatic metastases from colorectal tumours and in normal adult lung. The antigen in the rheumatoid synovium has been shown to be more sensitive to perchloric acid and to isolate with a lower weight than that derived from the tumour and lung. Immunodiffusion studies with anti-CEA indicate that the CEA-like determinants in the rheumatoid synovium have partial identity with tumour CEA and that a significant proportion of them are associated with large molecular weight material. Production of an antiserum to these CEA-like components in the rheumatoid synovium should enable further identification of their relationship to tumour CEA and might allow a better judgement of whether or not they represent the expression of neoantigens in the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The regeneration of T cell subsets was studied with double immunofluorescence marker methods in 37 patients who received HLA matched T lymphocyte depleted bone marrow transplants (BMT) as part of the treatment for their haetnatological disease. A cocktail of anti-pan-T(CD6: MBG6)and anti-suppressor/cytotoxic-T cell (CD8: RFTS) monoclonal antibodies was used with rabbit serum as a source of cytolytic complement to achieve achieve T cell lysis. The T8+ cells reached low normal values around 60 days post-transplant and remained within the normal range throughout the study (> 150 days). This observation is in contrast to our previously published results in patients who, after receiving BMT without efficient T cell depiction, had increased numbers of circulation T8+ cells from 60 days post-transplant. In the present study Leu-7+,RFT8- cells reached normal values rapidly but the reconstitution of T4+ lymphocytes was slow; low normal levels were reached only around day 150 following BMT. The degree of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) seemed to be related to the number of residual T cells infused: two of the three patients who received the highest numbers of T cells developed Grade II and III: otherwise GVHD was minimal. Among the clinical parameters studied cytomegalovirus (CMV) immune status moderately influenced reconstitution: at 55-90 days post-transplant T8+ cells were present at the upper normal levels in seven out of 15 patients receiving BMT from CMV seronegative donors, but in none of the 16 individuals receiving BMT from seropositive donors. CMV related complications were relatively uncommon. Thus the most significant factor in preventing'T8+ cell overshoot' and T cell imbalance during regeneration appears to be the depletion of T (including T8+) lymphocytes from marrow, The differences of T8+ cell reconstitution in this and previous studies may reflect a different regeneration pattern from T cell precursors as opposed to inoculated mature T ceils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various T cell subsets were characterized by double immunofluorescent staining using monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) in blood, bone marrow (BM) and tissues of 29 patients after allogeneic BM transplantation (BMT). In an attempt to prevent graft versus host disease (GvHD), 15 patients received cyclosporin A (Cy A). In the remaining 14 patients the BM was pre-incubated with a MoAb. OKT3, The regeneration of T4+ subset was delayed and the level of T8+ cells was abnormally high even 1 year after engraftment. This did not have any predictive value for the appearance of complications such as GvHD or severe viral infections. The number of T8+ ceils was lower in the group of patients who received Cy A than in the OKT3 group (0.7 ±0.2 vs 1.5 ±0.3 × 109/1 at day 90). In contrast to normal individuals, the T4/T8 ratio in both blood and regenerating BM of BMT patients was < 1, A sizeable subset of circulating T cells expressed the phenotype T8+,T10+,HNK-1+,DR+. Circulating cells of this phenotype were transiently very high (up to 50%) in patients with active GvHD or suffering from severe viral infection. This subpopulation of lymphocytes was not found in the epidermal infiltrate that accompanied GvHD where the predominant phenotype was T8+,T1-T10-,HNK-l-,DR-. We conclude therefore that after BMT the number and phenotype of circulating T cells reflects the T cell distribution seen in the regenerating BM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecto-5'nucleotidase (5'NT), adenosine deaminase (ADA), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and deoxycytidine (CdR), deoxyguanosine (GdR), deoxyadenosine (AdR) and adenosine (AR) kinases have been measured in subpopulations of peripheral blood lymphocytes of eight healthy volunteers. The separation of B, T, T helper/inducer and T suppressor/cytotoxic cells was performed by means of density gradient centrifugation, E rosetting, passage through a nylon-wool column and antibody affinity chromatography utilising OKT8 and OKT4 monoclonal antibodies. ADA was significantly higher in T lymphocytes and 5'NT in B lymphocytes. Among T cell subpopulations, 5'NT activity was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in T suppressor/cytotoxic (OKT8+) cells (32.9 units/106 cells than in T helper/inducer (OKT4+) cells (9.7 units/106 cells). Indeed, the 5'NT activity in T suppressor cells was similar to that in B cells. T helper cells tended, however, to have higher PNP and ADA activities than T suppressor cells but the differences were not statistically significant. No major differences were noted in kinase activities between any of the lymphocyte subpopulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A monoclonal antibody directed at a determinant on human T cells was produced and characterized. This IgM antibody, MBG6, bound to human peripheral blood T lymphocytes and to medullary thymocytes. It was unreactive with normal B cells. B-cell lines and granulocytes. Apart from T lymphocytes, bone marrow cells (including cells positive for the terminal transferase marker, myeloid colony-forming cells, myeloblasts, and differentiating myeloid and erythroid cells) were negative. Peripheral blood cells that were treated with MBG6 and rabbit complement were no longer capable of proliferating in response to phytohaemagglutinin or concanavalin A; MBG6 did not have any direct mitogenic action on T lymphocytes. Double immunofluorescence studies using IgM MBG6 and OKT3, and IgG2a monoclonal antibody that recognizes all peripheral T cells, showed that these two antibodies identified exactly the same cell populations. Competitive binding studies, however, indicated that MBG6 and OKT3 recognized different epitopes. The antibody may have clinical applications in hone marrow transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral blood cells from six patients with acute infections mononucleosis were studied by two-colour immunofluroescence using antibodies to human T cells, inducer and suppressor cytotoxic T cell subsets and Ia-like antigens. The absolute number of T cells with the suppressor cytotoxic phenotype was substantially measured in each case, many of these cell-also expressed Ia-like antigens and had the morphology of the large a typical cells characteristic of infectious mononucleosis. These activated suppressor T cells of infectious mononucleosis may therefore represent a control mechanism to present viral-induced proliferation of B cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anonychia and hyponychia congenita (OMIM 206800) are rare autosomal recessive conditions in which the only presenting phenotype is the absence or severe hypoplasia of all fingernails and toenails. After determining linkage to chromosome 20p13, we identified homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding R-spondin 4 (RSPO4), a secreted protein implicated in Wnt signaling, in eight affected families. Rspo4 expression was specifically localized to developing mouse nail mesenchyme at embryonic day 15.5, suggesting a crucial role in nail morphogenesis.

Basal keratinocytes in the epidermis and hair follicle are biologically heterogeneous but must include a stable subpopulation of epidermal stem cells. In animal models these can be identified by their retention of radioactive label due to their slow cycle (label-retaining cells) but human studies largely depend on in vitro characterization of colony forming efficiency and clonogenicity. Differential integrin expression has been used to detect cells of increased proliferative potential but further stem cell markers are urgently required for in vivo and in vitro characterization. Using LHM2, a monoclonal antibody reacting with a high molecular weight melanoma-associated proteoglycan core protein, a subset of basal keratinocytes in both the interfollicular epidermis and the hair follicle has been identified. Coexpression of melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan with keratins 15 and 19 as well as beta 1 and alpha 6 integrins has been examined in adult and fetal human skin from hair bearing, nonhair bearing, and palmoplantar regions. Although melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan coexpression with a subset of beta 1 integrin bright basal keratinocytes within the epidermis suggests that melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan colocalizes with epidermal stem cells, melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan expression within the hair follicle was more complex and multiple subpopulations of basal outer root sheath keratinocytes are described. These data suggest that epithelial compartmentalization of the outer root sheath is more complex than interfollicular epidermis and further supports the hypothesis that more than one hair follicle stem cell compartment may exist.

The cytoskeleton in keratinocytes is a complex of highly homologous structural proteins derived from two families of type I and type II polypeptides. Keratin K2e is a type II polypeptide that is expressed in epidermis late in differentiation. Here we report the influence of keratinocyte activation, proliferation, and keratinization on K2e expression in samples of cutaneous and oral lesions. The normal expression of K2e in the upper spinous and granular layers of interfollicular epidermis is increased in keloid scars but showed distinct down-regulation in psoriasis and hypertrophic scars where keratinocytes are known to undergo activation. Unlike normal and psoriatic skin, K2e expression in hypertrophic and keloid scars began in the deepest suprabasal layer. In cutaneous basal and squamous cell carcinomas, K2e was absent in most tumor islands but the overlying epidermis showed strong expression. No significant K2e expression in nonkeratinized or keratinized oral epithelia, including buccal mucosa, lateral border of tongue and gingiva was detected. In oral lichen planus K2e expression was undetectable, but in benign keratoses of lingual mucosa induction of K2e along with K1 and K10 was observed. In mild-to-moderate oral dysplasia with orthokeratinization, K2e was highly expressed compared with parakeratinized areas but in severe dysplasia as well as in oral squamous cell carcinoma, K2e expression was undetectable. Taken together, the data suggest that K2e expression in skin is sensitive to keratinocyte activation but its up-regulation in oral lesions is a reflection of the degree of orthokeratinization.

Genetic studies of patients with the nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome have led to the recognition of the importance of the hedgehog signaling pathway in the development of basal cell carcinomas of the skin. Although hedgehog signaling is known to be important in hair follicle development, the function of this pathway in adult skin and the mechanism by which activation of this pathway leads to basal cell carcinoma development remain to be established. The Gli1 family of transcription factors mediates hedgehog signaling in mammalian cells and we have shown in previous studies that Gli1 mRNA is differentially expressed in basal cell carcinomas. Using antibodies to epitopes on the N and C terminal regions of Gli1 we show now that Gli1 protein is present in basal cell carcinomas and that the protein is mainly localized to the cytoplasmic compartment. Focal nuclear staining was seen in a small number of basal cell carcinomas with the C terminal antibody which suggest that nuclear localization is not dependent on loss of the C terminus of Gli1 due to proteolysis. Strong Gli1 immunostaining was seen in the outer root sheath keratinocytes of some hair follicles, a subpopulation of mesenchymal cells in the vicinity of the bulge region of adult hair follicles and the dermal sheath cells of developing hair follicles. Quantitation of Gli1 mRNA in basal cell carcinomas using northern blot analysis indicates that Gli1 is highly expressed in basal cell carcinomas. This suggests that the lower intensity of Gli1 immunostaining in basal cell carcinoma islands relative to outer root sheath keratinocytes is not simply a reflection of differences in gene expression. The continued expression of Gli1 in adult hair follicles and in the mesenchyme of adult human skin suggest that Hh signaling may play a part in hair cycling and in epidermal mesenchymal interactions important in normal skin maintenance.

A human single-chain Fv (scFv) library as fusion to phage was constructed from donors with a high titer of autoantibodies. The library was subjected to three rounds of positive selection on human melanoma cells and negative selection on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Two scFv clones, B3 and B4, were isolated that bound melanoma cells in cell ELISA and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The scFvs were characterized further by immunohistochemistry on a large number of normal human tissues. No cross-reactivity with normal tissues was observed. On the other hand, the target antigens were expressed in sections from several different melanoma patients and in some breast cancer and basal cell carcinoma sections. The unusually high tumor specificity of the B3 and B4 antigens makes them attractive targets for the specific therapy of melanoma. The selection strategy used should be generally applicable to the identification of novel cell surface antigens by antibody phage display.

Keratin 15 (K15) is a type I keratin without a defined type II partner whose expression in epidermal diseases has not been investigated. In this study we have used LHK15, a monoclonal antibody raised against the last 17 amino acids of the K15 polypeptide, to show that K15 is expressed primarily in the basal keratinocytes of stratified tissues, including the fetal epidermis and fetal nail. Although K15 in normal hair follicles was virtually absent from hair bulbs, it was expressed by a subset of keratinocytes in the outer root sheath. By comparison, K14 expression was found throughout the outer root sheath of hair follicles; however, when both K14 alleles were naturally ablated, the expression of K15 was also observed throughout the outer root sheath of the follicles. Expression of K15 mRNA was assessed by in situ hybridization and corroborated the data from immunostaining. An increase in K15 mRNA and protein expression in hair follicles from the K14 ablated epidermis suggested an upregulation of the K15 gene in the absence of the K14 protein. In organotypical cultures where differentiating keratinocytes expressed markers of activated phenotype, i.e., K6 and K16, expression of K15 was undetectable. The expression of K15 mRNA and protein was also downregulated in two hyperproliferating situations, psoriasis and hypertrophic scars. Because keratinocytes in psoriasis and hypertrophic scars are activated, we conclude that K15 expression is not compatible with keratinocyte activation and the K15 gene is downregulated to maintain the activated phenotype.

In an attempt to identify new members of the human type II hair keratin family by means of 3'- and 5'-RACE methods and cDNA from anagen hair follicles, we detected a sequence that encoded a hitherto unknown type II cytokeratin. The novel cytokeratin comprises 251 amino acids and exhibits the highest sequence homology with K5. Comparative one- and two-dimensional western blots of keratins from anagen hair bulbs, containing or not containing the outer and inner root sheaths (ORS/IRS), and from footsole epidermis with an antibody against the new cytokeratin, revealed its comigration with K6 and its expression in the ORS/IRS complex. We have therefore named the new cytokeratin K6hf, to distinguish it from the various K6 isoforms and to indicate its expression in the hair follicle. Both in situ hybridization with a K6hf-specific cRNA probe and indirect immunofluorescence with the K6hf antibody showed that K6hf is exclusively expressed in the so-called "companion layer" of the hair follicle, a single layered band of flat and vertically oriented cells between the cuboidal ORS cells and the IRS that stretches from the lowermost bulb region to the isthmus of the follicle. Concomitant K17 and K16 expression studies showed that besides suprabasal ORS cells, these cytokeratins are sequentially expressed subsequent to K6hf in companion cells above the hair bulb. Our study confirms the view of a vertically oriented companion layer differentiation. The clearly delayed K17 and K16 expression relative to that of K6hf in companion cells most probably excludes these keratins as possible type I partners of K6hf and suggests the existence of a still unknown type I partner of its own. Thus, not only morphologically but also biochemically, the companion layer is different from the ORS and can therefore be regarded as an independent histologic compartment of the hair follicle.

The etiology of hypertrophic scarring, a pathological end point of wound healing, is unknown. The scars most commonly occur when epithelialization has been delayed during, for example, the healing of deep dermal burn wounds. Hypertrophic scars are conventionally described as a dermal pathology in which the epidermis has only a passive role. In this study, the expression of keratin intermediate filament proteins and filaggrin has been investigated in the epidermis of hypertrophic scars and site-matched controls from the same patients. Hypertrophic scar epidermis was found to express the hyperproliferative keratins K6 and K16 in interfollicular epidermis in association with K17 and precocious expression of filaggrin. K16 mRNA was localized by in situ hybridization using a highly specific cRNA probe. In contrast to the immunohistochemical location of K16 protein, the K16 mRNA was found to be expressed in the basal cell layer of normal skin. In hypertrophic scars the mRNA distribution corroborated the abnormal K16 protein distribution. These results suggest the keratinocytes in hypertrophic scar epidermis have entered an alternative differentiation pathway and are expressing an activated phenotype. Activated keratinocytes are a feature of the early stages of wound healing producing growth factors that influence fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and the inflammatory response. We propose that cellular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of hypertrophic scarring are more complex than isolated dermal phenomena. The persistence of activated keratinocytes in hypertrophic scar epidermis implicates abnormal epidermal-mesenchymal interactions.

The expression of human leukocyte function-associated antigens (HLFA, equivalents of murine LFA-1) was studied on early lympho-hemopoietic cells in infant thymus and normal bone marrow by double immunofluorescence methods, cell sorting and colony-forming assays. Monoclonal antibodies MHM-24 recognizing the alpha chain (180 kDa) and 60.3 and 60.1 identifying the beta chain (95 kDa) were used. The vast majority of thymocytes including large terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-positive blast cells are HLFA positive. On the other hand, most B cell precursors in the bone marrow, identified by the expression of nuclear TdT, do not show surface HLFA which appears at the pre-B cell stage (cytoplasmic mu positive, surface Ig negative). Cell sorting experiments revealed an enrichment of early myeloid cells (myeloblasts and colony-forming unit cells) in the HLFA-negative fraction. Erythroid cells appeared to be completely negative from the burst-forming unit erythrocyte stage onwards. Anti-HLFA-antibodies, capable of blocking T cell and natural killer function, may have therapeutic potential without interfering with precursor cell development in man.

The authors review a large body of contemporary immunohistologic findings on the tissue distribution of T lymphocytes in normal and pathological conditions. The suggestions for technological advances in this field are: signal amplification using mixtures of monoclonal antibodies directed against different epitopes on the same antigen (e.g. OKT4A+B+D), triple layer amplification systems using hapten-labelled antibodies, and informative double staining methods with combinations of antibodies labelled with different fluorochromes or enzymes. Review of histological observations in a series of human diseases suggests that imbalances of OKT4+ and OKT8+ subsets of T lymphocytes may represent different types of immunoregulatory disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis appear to involve a high level of OKT4+ subpopulation response coupled with an associated appearance of a special type of HLA-DR+ macrophages. It remains to be seen whether normal or self-limited immunological responses (early stages of bacterial infection or delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions) produce OKT4+ and macrophage responses that are characteristically different. Meanwhile, excessive levels of OKT8+ cells have been found in a wide range of recognized or presumed immunoregulatory disorders including: graft-vs.-host reaction and viral infections. These disorders, as well as primary biliary cirrhosis and lichen planus, appear to possess both overlapping and disparate clinical characteristics, and the immunohistological observations may reflect the functional heterogeneity of OKT8+ populations in these diseases. These studies show that histologically meaningful heterogeneity can already be demonstrated for the OKT8+ lymphocyte group.

Human myeloid leukaemia (U-937 and HL-60) cells when incubated at low cell densities with human recombinant gamma-interferon underwent functional maturation without any loss of proliferative potential relative to uninduced cells. In addition, the proportion of cells in S,G2/M and levels of c-myc oncogene (mRNA and protein) were maintained at the same level as those of untreated control cells. However, cells grown under similar conditions but with retinoic acid matured to the same extent but became growth inhibited with concomitant reductions in the proportion of cells in S,G2/M and levels of c-myc mRNA and protein. These studies indicate firstly that c-myc levels are regulated independently from differentiation in myeloid (non lymphoid) cells, secondly that gamma-interferon can induce differentiation without growth arrest under conditions of low cell density and thirdly emphasise the close association of c-myc expression with proliferative capacity.

Three new techniques have been introduced for the phenotypic analysis of human thymocytes and T cells. Monoclonal antibodies of different subclasses (i.e. IgG1 and IgG2) were used in various combinations and labelled with subclass-specific second layers conjugated to different fluorochromes. Tissue sections were studied with combinations of monoclonal and conventional reagents, and anti-mouse Ig-coated macrobead columns were used to separate antibody-tagged cells. With the help of these simple techniques, four stage of thymocyte differentiation (prothymocyte, cortical, intermediate and medullary cell types) can be described in detail and the microanatomical relation of T cell subsets with other cell types studied.

Four distinct rat monoclonal antibodies against the common ALL antigen (CALLA, gp 100) were obtained in a single fusion. Rat AL2, AL3, AL4, AL5 and the previously reported mouse J5 monoclonal antibodies identified the same subsets of leukaemic cells. AL2 and AL3 reacted weakly with terminal transferase-positive cells in normal bone marrow and foetal liver, as well as with a minority of mature granulocytes in blood. Immunoprecipitation experiments and competitive binding assays demonstrated that the four rat antibodies and J5 bound to the same glycoprotein of approximately 100,000 mol. wt. This set of rat monoclonal antibodies directed against CALLA has not only a diagnostic usefulness but may also be of therapeutic value.