title: Preferential activation of Th2 cells in chronic graft-versus-host reaction.
abstract: The injection of DBA/2 parental lymphocytes into adult, immunologically intact (C57BL/6 x DBA/2) F1 hybrid mice results in a chronic graft-vs-host reaction (GVHR) characterized by a deficiency in CD4+ T cell functions and a B cell activation leading to autoantibody production. The discovery that distinct subpopulations of Th cells may regulate the effector immune functions led us to investigate whether the chronic GVHR differentially affects Th subsets. Data are presented indicating that mice undergoing a GVHR spontaneously produced lymphokines of Th2 origin. IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA were detected in the spleens of GVH mice, and IL-4 was shown to be responsible for the increased expression of class II Ag on B cells. Moreover, upon polyclonal activation in vitro, GVH T cells exhibited defective IL-2 and IFN-gamma production but elevated IL-4 production. We conclude that the chronic GVHR is characterized by a selective deficiency in cells secreting IL-2 and IFN-gamma and a hyperactivation of Th2 cells. The simultaneous production of IL-4 and IL-10 might explain the association between B cell hyperactivity and impairment of Th1-like activities in various models that associate autoimmunity and immunosuppression, such as GVHR and HIV infection.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Wit
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Mechelen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zanin
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Doutrelepont
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Velu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gérard
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Scheerlinck
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Baetselier
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Urbain
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D006087:Graft vs Host Reaction / Q000276:immunology*; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000032:analysis; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000502:physiology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007376:Interleukin-2; D016753:Interleukin-10; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma