title: Helper T-cell clones that recognize autologous insulin are stimulated in nonresponder mice by pork insulin.
abstract: Murine antibody responses to various species of insulin are under major histocompatibility complex-linked Ir gene control. Beef insulin differs from pork insulin by only two amino acids in the A-chain loop, yet strain C57BL/10 (B10) mice produce insulin-specific antibodies after immunization with beef insulin and fail to produce antibody after stimulation with pork insulin. Nevertheless, pork insulin primes helper T cells in B10 mice that can be demonstrated if insulin-specific Lyt-1-, -2+ suppressor T cells are removed. Not only do the pork insulin-primed helper and suppressor T cells cross-react with autologous insulin, but also rat insulin (the amino acid sequence of which is identical to mouse insulin) elicits functionally identical helper and suppressor T cells. In this report, we demonstrate that in B10 mice the frequency of helper T cells stimulated by pork insulin is equivalent to that stimulated by beef insulin and that helper T-cell clones induced by beef and pork insulin are major histocompatibility complex-restricted T cells that proliferate, produce lymphokines, and provide helper activity after activation. These helper T-cell clones exhibit different antigenic fine specificities: beef insulin-induced clones respond to beef insulin but not pork or autologous insulin, whereas pork insulin-induced clones cross-react with all species of insulin tested, including rat insulin. In addition, the helper activity of cloned pork insulin-specific T cells is abrogated by pork insulin-primed suppressor T cells. These data support the hypotheses that Ir gene control of antibody responses to certain antigens involves mechanisms used for maintenance of self-tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, MO.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Whiteley
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Abruzzini
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kapp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002999:Clone Cells; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007328:Insulin / Q000276:immunology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D051379:Mice; D013045:Species Specificity; D013552:Swine; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin