Involvement of sialic acid on endothelial cells in organ-specific lymphocyte recirculation

Mouse lymphocytes incubated on cryostat-cut sections of lymphoid organs (lymph nodes and Peyer's patches) specifically adhere to the endothelium of high endothelial venules (HEV), the specialized blood vessels to which recirculating lymphocytes attach as they migrate from the blood into the parenchyma of the lymphoid organs. Treatment of sections with sialidase eliminated the binding of lymphocytes to peripheral lymph node HEV, had no effect on binding to Peyer's patch HEV, and had an intermediate effect on mesenteric lymph node HEV. These results suggest that sialic acid on endothelial cells may be an organ-specific recognition determinant for lymphocyte attachment.     

Cadherin-11 in synovial lining formation and pathology in arthritis

The normal synovium forms a membrane at the edges of joints and provides lubrication and nutrients for the cartilage. In rheumatoid arthritis, the synovium is the site of inflammation, and it participates in an organized tissue response that damages cartilage and bone. We identified cadherin-11 as essential for the development of the synovium. Cadherin-11-deficient mice have a hypoplastic synovial lining, display a disorganized synovial reaction to inflammation, and are resistant to inflammatory arthritis. Cadherin-11 therapeutics prevent and reduce arthritis in mouse models. Thus, synovial cadherin-11 determines the behavior of synovial cells in their proinflammatory and destructive tissue response in inflammatory arthritis.     

Dynamic imaging of T cell-dendritic cell interactions in lymph nodes

T cell immune responses begin within organized lymphoid tissues. The pace, topology, and outcomes of the cellular interactions that underlie these responses have, so far, been inferred from static imaging of sectioned tissue or from studies of cultured cells. Here we report dynamic visualization of antigen-specific T cells interacting with dendritic cells within intact explanted lymph nodes. We observed immunological synapse formation and prolonged interactions between these two cell types, followed by the activation, dissociation, and rapid migration of T cells away from the antigenic stimulus. This high-resolution spatiotemporal analysis provides insight into the nature of cell interactions critical to early immune responses within lymphoid structures.     

Alteration of lymphocyte trafficking by sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonists

Blood lymphocyte numbers, essential for the development of efficient immune responses, are maintained by recirculation through secondary lymphoid organs. We show that lymphocyte trafficking is altered by the lysophospholipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and by a phosphoryl metabolite of the immunosuppressive agent FTY720. Both species were high-affinity agonists of at least four of the five S1P receptors. These agonists produce lymphopenia in blood and thoracic duct lymph by sequestration of lymphocytes in lymph nodes, but not spleen. S1P receptor agonists induced emptying of lymphoid sinuses by retention of lymphocytes on the abluminal side of sinus-lining endothelium and inhibition of egress into lymph. Inhibition of lymphocyte recirculation by activation of S1P receptors may result in therapeutically useful immunosuppression.     

Extrafollicular activation of lymph node B cells by antigen-bearing dendritic cells

In contrast to na?ve T cells that recognize short antigen-derived peptides displayed by specialized antigen-presenting cells, immunoglobulin receptors of B lymphocytes primarily recognize intact proteins. How and where within a lymph node such unprocessed antigens become available for na?ve B cell recognition is not clear. We used two-photon intravital imaging to show that, after exiting high-endothelial venules and before entry into lymph node follicles, B cells survey locally concentrated dendritic cells. Engagement of the B cell receptor by the dendritic cell (DC)-associated antigen leads to lymphocyte calcium signaling, migration arrest, antigen acquisition, and extrafollicular accumulation. These findings suggest a possible role for antigen-specific B-DC interactions in promoting T cell-dependent antibody responses in vivo.     

The ins and outs of body surface immunology

Rather than being confined to the secondary lymphoid tissue of the spleen and lymph nodes, large numbers of lymphocytes are intrinsically associated with the epithelial surfaces of the body. The best studied is gut-associated lymphoid tissue, but distinct epithelium-associated lymphoid tissue also exists in the reproductive tract, the lung, and the skin. The multiple cell types and functions composing these lymphoid tissues are increasingly seen as the key to how antigens delivered to body surfaces can elicit either immunogenic or tolerogenic responses. In some instances, these responses occur purely within the local body surface tissue, yet in other cases both local and systemic responses are elicited.     

Inflammation and collagenase production in rats with adjuvant arthritis reduced with 13-cis-retinoic acid

Oral administration of 13-cis-retinoic acid (40 or 160 milligrams per kilogram of body weight daily) significantly reduced the inflammation associated with developing and established adjuvant arthritis, an experimentally induced arthritis in rats that resembles human rheumatoid arthritis. The amount of collagenase secreted in tissue culture by adherent cells isolated from the inflamed joints of adjuvant rats treated with 13-cis-retinoic acid also decreased as compared to the amount secreted by cells from vehicle-treated adjuvant rats. Collagenase is important in the joint destruction accompanying rheumatoid arthritis. The successful use of retinoids in the treatment of this proliferative but nonmalignant disorder demonstrates a new application of these compounds.     

GRK2-dependent S1PR1 desensitization is required for lymphocytes to overcome their attraction to blood

Lymphocytes egress from lymphoid organs in response to sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P); minutes later they migrate from blood into tissue against the S1P gradient. The mechanisms facilitating cell movement against the gradient have not been defined. Here, we show that heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein-coupled receptor kinase-2 (GRK2) functions in down-regulation of S1P receptor-1 (S1PR1) on blood-exposed lymphocytes. T and B cell movement from blood into lymph nodes is reduced in the absence of GRK2 but is restored in S1P-deficient mice. In the spleen, B cell movement between the blood-rich marginal zone and follicles is disrupted by GRK2 deficiency and by mutation of an S1PR1 desensitization motif. Moreover, delivery of systemic antigen into follicles is impaired. Thus, GRK2-dependent S1PR1 desensitization allows lymphocytes to escape circulatory fluids and migrate into lymphoid tissues.     

肉鸡葡萄球菌性关节炎的病理学研究

通过关节腔接种金黄色葡萄球菌,成功地复制了肉鸡葡萄球菌性关节炎的病理模型,运用组织学观察方法对所建立的病理模型进行了动态研究。研究结果表明,在肉鸡葡萄球菌性关节炎发病的初期,机体各组织器官病变明显,特别是淋巴组织的淋巴小结数目明显减少,结构零乱,淋巴细胞也明显减少;其它脏器如心、肝、脾则以急性炎性变化为主,异嗜性粒细胞明显增多、浸润。随时间延长,机体免疫系统的结构和淋巴细胞数量逐渐恢复正常,且淋巴小结表现为增生性变化;心、肝、脾等脏器也逐渐恢复,异嗜性粒细胞浸润部位及坏死灶被纤维结缔组织包裹而局限化。但肾在试验期内主要表现为渐进性坏死性变化,病变程度逐渐加重。     

番鸭法氏囊相关淋巴组织的分布及组织学研究

研究了番鸭法氏囊柄部淋巴组织的分布及组织学结构。番鸭法氏囊柄部分布有多量的淋巴组织,以法氏囊柄的背侧淋巴组织分布面积最大、数量最多。其组织学结构包括淋巴相关上皮、上皮内淋巴细胞、圆顶区、淋巴滤泡以及高内皮静脉,其结构与其他粘膜相关淋巴组织相似。研究结果表明,分布于法氏囊柄部的淋巴组织是一种粘膜相关淋巴组织。     

Rat thoracic duct lymphocytes: types that participate in inflammation

Newly formed small lymphocytes with a short life-span in the blood are the only cells from thoracic duct lymph which accumulate in acutely inflamed tissue. This conclusion is drawn from studies in which rats with induced peritonieal exudates were injected intravenously with radioactively labeled thoracic duct cells. Radioactivity, originally vested in newly formed donor small lymphocytes, was found later in a small number of similar exudate cells. Small lymphocytes generated 10 days or more before the thoracic ducts were cannulated failed to localize in peritoneal exudates, although the cells moved in large numbers from the blood in to lymph nodes.     

鲤鱼头肾显微结构研究

应用光镜对鲤鱼头肾的显微结构及其某些组织化学特性进行了研究。结果表明，头肾是鲤鱼的主要免疫器官，表面覆盖有一薄层纤维结缔组织性被膜，未见明显的小梁。实质主要由淋巴组织和血窦构成，可分为中央区及外周区。中央区的淋巴组织排列成索状，环绕血管呈放射状分布，细胞索之间由血窦隔开。外周区则以淋巴细胞排列密集的弥散性淋巴组织为特征。在头肾实擀中尚可见黑色素巨噬细胞中心、前肾间组织以及大小不一的甲状腺滤泡。     

Promotion of lymphocyte egress into blood and lymph by distinct sources of sphingosine-1-phosphate

Lymphocytes require sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor-1 to exit lymphoid organs, but the source(s) of extracellular S1P and whether S1P directly promotes egress are unknown. By using mice in which the two kinases that generate S1P were conditionally ablated, we find that plasma S1P is mainly hematopoietic in origin, with erythrocytes a major contributor, whereas lymph S1P is from a distinct radiation-resistant source. Lymphocyte egress from thymus and secondary lymphoid organs was markedly reduced in kinase-deficient mice. Restoration of S1P to plasma rescued egress to blood but not lymph, and the rescue required lymphocyte expression of S1P-receptor-1. Thus, separate sources provide S1P to plasma and lymph to help lymphocytes exit the low-S1P environment of lymphoid organs. Disruption of compartmentalized S1P signaling is a plausible mechanism by which S1P-receptor-1 agonists function as immunosuppressives.     

戊型肝炎病毒树鼩感染模型的初步研究

 戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）研究多以灵长类动物为感染模型。由于灵长类动物价格昂贵,实验条件的控制和饲养管理较困难等原因,严重阻碍了HEV研究进展。本研究对应用树鼩（Tupaia belangeri）建立HEV感染模型的可行性进行了探索。从猪群中分离、鉴定HEV,经静脉注射途径感染树鼩,按计划采集粪便、血液以及器官组织,应用巢式RT PCR检测树鼩感染情况,观察感染后树鼩各器官组织病理学病化。结果发现,感染7d后血液、粪便、肝脏、小肠等样品可检测出HEV RNA,病毒血症持续约2周。组织病理学观察结果,人工感染HEV的树鼩肝脏可见静脉窦淤血、多发性淋巴细胞浸润、库普弗细胞增多等病变。研究结果表明树鼩对HEV具有易感性,感染后肝脏出现病毒性肝炎的病理学变化,具有作为戊型肝炎的感染模型的潜在价值。     

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation specifies the organ tropism of prions

Prions typically accumulate in nervous and lymphoid tissues. Because proinflammatory cytokines and immune cells are required for lymphoid prion replication, we tested whether inflammatory conditions affect prion pathogenesis. We administered prions to mice with five inflammatory diseases of the kidney, pancreas, or liver. In all cases, chronic lymphocytic inflammation enabled prion accumulation in otherwise prion-free organs. Inflammatory foci consistently correlated with lymphotoxin up-regulation and ectopic induction of FDC-M1+ cells expressing the normal cellular prion protein PrPC. By contrast, inflamed organs of mice lacking lymphotoxin-alpha or its receptor did not accumulate the abnormal isoform PrPSc, nor did they display infectivity upon prion inoculation. By expanding the tissue distribution of prions, chronic inflammatory conditions may act as modifiers of natural and iatrogenic prion transmission.     

Cell surface molecule associated with lymphocyte homing is a ubiquitinated branched-chain glycoprotein

Partial amino acid sequence analysis of a purified lymphocyte homing receptor demonstrates the presence of two amino termini, one of which corresponds precisely to the amino terminus of ubiquitin. This observation extends the province of this conserved polypeptide to the cell surface and leads to a proposed model of the receptor complex as a core polypeptide modified by glycosylation and ubiquitination. Independent antibodies to ubiquitin serve to identify additional cell surface species, an indication that ubiquitination of cell surface proteins may be more general. It is proposed that functional binding of lymphocytes to lymph node high endothelial venules might involve the ubiquitinated region of the receptor; if true, cell surface ubiquitin could play a more general role in cell-cell interaction and adhesion.     

Mixed lymphocyte reactions and tissue transplantation tolerance

The induction of tolerance of Lewis histocompatibility antigens in BN rats inoculated at birth with BNI Lewis F(1) hybrid bone marrow cells, as revealed by the prolonged survival of Lewis skin grafts, is accompanied by markedly decreased reactivity in the mixed lymphocyte interaction. Blood lymphocytes from animals inoculated with lymph node cell suspensions also display diminished proliferative reactivity to hybrid BN/Lewis cells in the interaction. However, these recipients are not tolerant of Lewis skin grafts. Blood lymphocytes from BN rats inoculated neonatally with Lewis thymocytes fail to display any level of unresponsiveness in vitro, and such animals are not tolerant of Lewis skin grafts. The results suggest that in rats skin and marrow cells have histocompatibility antigens that are absent or poorly expressed on lymph node cells and thymocytes.     

Neutrophil Mac-1 and MEL-14 adhesion proteins inversely regulated by chemotactic factors

The neutrophil Mac-1 and gp100MEL-14 adhesion proteins are involved in neutrophil extravasation during inflammation. Both the expression and activity of Mac-1 are greatly increased after neutrophil activation. In contrast, neutrophils shed gp100MEL-14 from the cell surface within 4 minutes after activation with chemotactic factors or phorbol esters, releasing a 96-kilodalton fragment of the antigen into the supernatant. Immunohistology showed that gp100MEL-14 was downregulated on neutrophils that had extravasated into inflamed tissue. The gp100MEL-14 adhesion protein may participate in the binding of unactivated neutrophils to the endothelium; rapid shedding of gp100MEL-14 may prevent extravasation into and damage of normal tissues by activated neutrophils.     

A decade of imaging cellular motility and interaction dynamics in the immune system

To mount an immune response, lymphocytes must recirculate between the blood and lymph nodes, recognize antigens upon contact with specialized presenting cells, proliferate to expand a small number of clonally relevant lymphocytes, differentiate to antibody-producing plasma cells or effector T cells, exit from lymph nodes, migrate to tissues, and engage in host-protective activities. All of these processes involve motility and cellular interactions--events that were hidden from view until recently. Introduced to immunology by three papers in this journal in 2002, in vivo live-cell imaging studies are revealing the behavior of cells mediating adaptive and innate immunity in diverse tissue environments, providing quantitative measurement of cellular motility, interactions, and response dynamics. Here, we review themes emerging from such studies and speculate on the future of immunoimaging.