Suppression and prevention of adjuvant arthritis in rats by a monoclonal antibody to the alpha/beta T cell receptor.
Adjuvant arthritis (AA) in rats is an experimentally induced autoimmune disease mediated by T lymphocytes specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We raised the question whether T cells carrying the gamma/delta T cell receptor (TcR), reactive or not to mycobacterial antigens, are involved in the pathogenesis of AA. For this purpose, T cells bearing the TcR alpha/beta were depleted from circulation by treatment with a monoclonal antibody against the rat TcR alpha/beta (R73). This treatment efficiently suppressed existing disease. Even more efficient was pretreatment with R73 from birth, which prevented AA induction completely. In these alpha/beta+ T cell-depleted animals an elevated level of alpha/beta- T cells (about 15% vs. 1% in normal rats) was evident, which was not significantly increased by Mycobacterium tuberculosis injection. We found no positive evidence that gamma/delta + T cells do contribute to AA induction. Moreover, treatment with an anti-TcR alpha/beta monoclonal antibody may be very efficient treatment of T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases.
Yoshino
S
S
Max-Planck-Society, Clinical Research Units for Rheumatology, Institute for Clinical Immunology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, FRG.
Schlipköter
E
E
Kinne
R
R
Hünig
T
T
Emmrich
F
F
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D000943:Antigens, Differentiation / Q000032:analysis; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018956:CD5 Antigens; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000943:Antigens, Differentiation; D018956:CD5 Antigens; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell