title: Unique cytokine production profile of anergic human T cells in SCID-hu mice after staphylococcal enterotoxin B administration.
abstract: Severe combined immunodeficient mice transplanted with human organs (SCID-hu mice), provide a unique in vivo model for studying human intrathymic T cell selection and development of tolerance. In vivo administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) to SCID-hu mice causes intrathymic clonal deletion of SEB-specific V beta+ T cells that occurs already at the immature CD4+8+ double positive stage. The expression of activation markers such as CD25, CD71, and HLA-DR was specifically increased on V beta+ T cells responding to SEB. The remaining SEB-specific human T cells that had not been deleted in vivo failed to proliferate when rechallenged with SEB in vitro. These SEB-specific T cells that were rendered anergic in vivo had a unique cytokine production profile. They failed to produce IL-2, which correlated with the lack of proliferation of these cells. In addition, they failed to produce TNF-alpha. However, the anergized T cells synthesized considerable amounts of IFN-gamma, granulocyte-macrophage CSF and IL-10 after SEB stimulation. This clonal anergy can be completely reversed in vitro by stimulating the SEB-specific cells in the presence of exogenous IL-2 or by triggering of the CD28/CTLA-4 activation pathway. Under these stimulation conditions, anergic T cells produced levels of IL-2 and TNF-alpha that were comparable to their non-anergized counterparts, whereas the levels of granulocyte-macrophage CSF, IL-10 and IFN-gamma production were even higher. Collectively, these data demonstrate that in vivo administration of SEB to SCID-hu mice leads to activation, deletion, and anergy of SEB-specific human thymocytes and that the production of IL-2 and TNF-alpha is selectively switched off in these anergic T cells.
authors.affiliation: DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Human Immunology Department, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schols
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Roncarolo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD; D018122:B7-1 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D051940:B7-2 Antigen; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D017635:Clonal Anergy / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000276:immunology*; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000276:immunology; D018089:Superantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D018122:B7-1 Antigen; D051940:B7-2 Antigen; D018106:CD28 Antigens; C497964:CD86 protein, human; C497965:Cd86 protein, mouse; D016207:Cytokines; D004768:Enterotoxins; D007376:Interleukin-2; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D018089:Superantigens; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; C031818:enterotoxin B, staphylococcal; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor