Immune responses against self-TCR peptides.
Vaccination of rats against the TCR peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59) was reported to inhibit the immunopathogenic process of EAE. Analysis of the immune response to this peptide and several related TCR peptides yielded the following findings: (i) Lewis rats immunized in vivo and challenged in vitro responded with vigorous lymphocyte proliferative responses to peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59) and to three other rat TCR peptides, V beta 8.3 (15-32), V beta 8.3 (39-59), and V beta 14 (39-59). On the other hand, two other rat peptides, V beta 8.2 (18-38) and V beta 8.3 (62-76), were poorly immunogenic. (ii) Rat peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59) was found more immunogenic than its mouse homolog, in both Lewis rats and B10.A mice. A moderate level of cross-reactivity was observed between these two peptide homologs. (iii) Rats of different genetic makeups varied in their response to peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59). A similar pattern of response of the different rats was found with another TCR peptide, V beta 14 (39-59). Hybrids between high and low responder rat strains resembled the high responders in their response to the TCR peptides. (iv) Sensitized lymph node cells as well as lymphocytes of a cell line specific for peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59) failed to respond to T cells that express the V beta 8.2 gene product. This observation is interpreted to indicate that peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59) is a cryptic determinant of the V beta 8.2 protein. Moreover, the data suggest that lymphocytes proliferating against peptide V beta 8.2 (39-59) may not be responsible for the reported inhibition of EAE in rats vaccinated with this peptide.
Kawano
Y
Y
Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Sasamoto
Y
Y
Vacchio
M S
MS
Hodes
R J
RJ
Gery
I
I
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002460:Cell Line; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000276:immunology; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D001324:Autoantigens; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell