title: Adoptive transfer of allergen-specific CD4+ T cells induces airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in brown-Norway rats.
abstract: Following allergen exposure, sensitized Brown-Norway rats develop airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and eosinophilic inflammation together with an increase in activated T cells (CD25+) in the airways. We tested the hypothesis that CD4+ T cells are involved directly in the acquisition of AHR. Spleen T cells from animals that were injected intraperitoneally on three consecutive days with ovalbumin/Al(OH)3, showed a dose-dependent proliferative response in vitro to ovalbumin, but not to bovine serum albumin, as measured by [3H]thymidine uptake. For total T-cell transfer, spleen cells obtained from donor rats 4 days after sensitization were depleted of adherent cells by a nylon wool column separation. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were purified by immunomagnetic beads cell separation. Recipient naive rats were injected intravenously with 50 x 10(6) total T cells, 20 x 10(6) and 5 x 10(6) CD4+ cells, and 5 x 10(6) CD8+ cells, and were exposed to ovalbumin aerosol 24 hr afterwards. After a further 24 hr, airway responsiveness to acetylcholine (ACh) was measured and provocative concentration (PC) values PC100, PC200 and PC300) (the ACh concentration needed to achieve 100, 200 and 300% increase in lung resistance above baseline) were calculated. Airway responsiveness was significantly increased in recipients of sensitized total T cells compared with recipients of cells from saline-injected donor rats (P < 0.05). There were significantly increased eosinophil major basic protein (MBP)+ cell counts/mm2 in airway submucosal tissue in the hyperreactive rats and a significant correlation was found between the number of MBP+ cells and PC100 (r = 0.75; P < 0.03) in recipients of sensitized total T cells. Purified CD4+ T cells from sensitized donors induced AHR in naive recipients (P < 0.05), while sensitized CD8+ and naive CD4+ cells failed to do so. Our data indicate that T cells may induce AHR through an eosinophilic airway inflammation and that CD4+ T cells may have a direct effect in this process in Brown-Norway rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Guy's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haczku
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Macary
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsukagoshi
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Kemeny
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moqbel
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000276:immunology*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002455:Cell Division / Q000276:immunology; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D017710:Lymphocyte Transfusion; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology