Administration of anti-interleukin-2 receptor alpha antibody in vivo induces localized autoimmune disease.
Neonatal thymectomy (Tx) of mice at day 3 after birth (Tx-3), but not day 7 (Tx-7), induces organ-localized autoimmune diseases such as oophoritis and gastritis. Lesions in Tx-3 mice can be prevented by injection of splenic CD4+ cells from syngeneic normal mice, and this CD4+ population with suppressor activity is activated extrathymically by self antigens. Since it is speculated that these CD4+ T suppressor cells (Ts) express the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) as an activated T cell population, an attempt was made to eliminate these Ts from the developing immune system of Tx-7 mice and normal mice by i.p. injection of anti-IL-2R alpha monoclonal antibodies. Interestingly, organ-localized autoimmune disease with quite similar characteristics to those observed after neonatal Tx developed in not only Tx-7 mice, but also normal mice. The results thus indicate that CD4+ cells expressing IL-2R alpha play an important role, as Ts in the periphery, in maintaining immune tolerance.
Taguchi
O
O
Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Nagoya, Japan.
Takahashi
T
T
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017637:Clonal Deletion; D005260:Female; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008805:Mice, Inbred A; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D013934:Thymectomy
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2