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Infection and Immunity, September 2001, p. 5726-5735, Vol. 69, No. 9
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology,
Section for Immunology,1 and Department
of Laboratory Medicine, Section for Microbiology, Immunology, and
Glycobiology,2 Lund University, Lund, and
Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center, Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm,3 Sweden
Received 24 January 2001/Returned for modification 5 April
2001/Accepted 31 May 2001
The present study was initiated to gain insight into the
interaction between splenic dendritic cells (DC) and Salmonella
enterica serovar Typhimurium in vivo. Splenic phagocytic cell
populations associated with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing
bacteria and the bacterium-specific T-cell response were evaluated in
mice given S. enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing GFP
and ovalbumin. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that GFP-positive
splenic DC (CD11c+ major histocompatibility complex class
II-positive [MHC-II+] cells) were present following
bacterial administration, and confocal microscopy showed that
GFP-expressing bacteria were contained within CD11c+
MHC-II+ splenocytes. Furthermore, splenic DC and T cells
were activated following Salmonella infection. This was
shown by increased surface expression of CD86 and CD40 on
CD11c+ MHC-II+ cells and increased CD44 and
CD69 expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.
Salmonella-specific gamma interferon (IFN- Dendritic cells (DC) are important
antigen-presenting cells (APC) involved in initiating and modulating
T-cell-mediated immune responses (reviewed in references 2 and
3). DC progenitors arise in the bone marrow, and through
transport via the blood, they enter tissues. Murine DC from various
tissues and organs share related features such as surface expression of
the CD11c p150/90 integrin and constitutive expression of major
histocompatibility complex class II molecules (MHC-II) and
costimulatory molecules. In general, DC found in peripheral sites such
as skin and mucosal surfaces are in an immature stage. That is, they
are optimized for capturing and processing antigens but are relatively
poor stimulators of naïve T cells (3, 36).
Exposure to antigen and inflammatory stimuli initiates a maturation
process whereby immature DC become effective activators of T cells and
are directed to sites of lymphocyte priming (3, 15, 18, 21,
36).
Although the role of DC in priming naïve T cells to protein
antigens is well established (36), a remaining unanswered
question relates to the role of this APC relative to other phagocytic
APC, such as macrophages (M The present study addresses the role of DC as APC involved in the
specific immune response to S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in vivo. Following a single administration of Salmonella
expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), GFP-positive
(GFP+) cells among CD11c+ MHC-II+
splenocytes were apparent, and confocal microscopy showed that bacteria
were inside splenic DC (CD11c+ MHC-II+ cells).
In addition, increased surface expression of activation markers on both
DC and T cells occurred following a single dose of bacteria, and
Salmonella-specific CD4+ and CD8+
effector T cells were generated. Finally, DC loaded with
Salmonella elicited specific effector T cells following
injection into naïve hosts. Together these data support a role
for DC in eliciting specific anti-Salmonella immunity.
Mice.
C57BL/6 mice were bred and maintained in the animal
facilities at Lund University (Lund, Sweden) and were offered food and water ad libitum. All mice were age matched and used at 8 to 12 weeks
of age.
Bacterial strains and culture conditions.
S.
enterica serovar Typhimurium
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.9.5726-5735.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
In Vivo Activation of Dendritic Cells and T Cells
during Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium
Infection
![]()
ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
)-producing cells in both of these T-cell subsets, as well as cytolytic effector cells, were also generated in mice given live bacteria. The frequency of Salmonella-specific CD4+ T cells producing
IFN-
was greater than that of specific CD8+ T cells
producing IFN-
in the same infected animal. This supports the
argument that the predominant source of IFN-
production by cells of
the specific immune response is CD4+ T cells. Finally, DC
that phagocytosed live or heat-killed Salmonella in vitro
primed bacterium-specific IFN-
-producing CD4+ and
CD8+ T cells as well as cytolytic effector cells following
administration into naïve mice. Together these data suggest
that DC are involved in priming naïve T cells to
Salmonella in vivo.
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
), in triggering bacterium-specific T
cells following bacterial internalization in vivo. Using
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium as a model
bacterium, it has been shown that both M
and immature DC can present
antigens processed from this facultative intracellular gram-negative
bacterium and induce DC maturation in vitro (33, 37, 39,
44-46). The ability of S. enterica serovar
Typhimurium to reside and replicate within phagosomes of phagocytic
cells (4, 7, 26) makes this an interesting model to study
bacterial interaction with APC in vivo. For example, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium has been found in CD18-expressing
cells (34, 42), which include various APC populations
(35). The bacterium has also been shown to be associated with CD11c+ cells of FLT3-L-treated mice (22)
and within CD11c+ cells of the subepithelial dome overlying
Peyer's patches following administration of bacteria
(12). However, despite its association with various
phagocytic populations in vivo, and the well-characterized role of T
cells in host defense against Salmonella (11, 23, 27,
31, 43), the nature of the APC that primes
Salmonella-specific T cells during infection, particularly
naïve T cells, is not clear.
![]()
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
4550 (SR11 pStSR100+
gyrA1816
crp-1
asdA1
cya-1) was used as a host for expression of the model
antigen ovalbumin (OVA) in the vector pYA3259. pYA3259 is a
pUCI8-derived plasmid encoding a truncated form of aspartate
-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (ASD). ASD is an enzyme in the
biosynthetic pathway for diaminopimelic acid (DAP), an essential
component of the peptidoglycan of the bacterial cell wall;
asd mutant bacteria undergo lysis in the absence of DAP. As
DAP is not present in mammalian tissues, use of an
asdA1-ASD+ host-vector pair allows plasmid
maintenance in vivo in the absence of antibiotic selection (8,
30).
4550 harboring pYA3259, called
4550; S. enterica
serovar Typhimurium
4550 harboring pYA3259-OVA, called
4550 OVA;
and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium
4550 harboring
pYA3259-OVA-GFP, called
4550 OVA-GFP, were used in these studies.
Bacteria were grown overnight at 37°C with shaking in Luria-Bertani
(LB) broth and were quantitated spectrophotometrically by determining
the optical density at 600 nm. The bacteria were then centrifuged at
2,300 × g for 5 min and resuspended in Iscove's
modified Dulbecco's medium (IMDM) (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg,
Md.) without antibiotics. The quantity of live bacteria actually given
to mice was determined by viable plate counts. Heat-killed bacteria
were prepared by incubating a bacterial suspension at 65°C for 40 min. Loss of bacterial viability was confirmed by plating an aliquot of
heat-killed bacteria on LB agar plates.
Immunization of mice.
In experiments where DC interactions
with GFP-expressing bacteria were studied, mice were given a single
intravenous or intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 6 × 108 live or 3 × 109 heat-killed
4550
OVA-GFP and were sacrificed 4 h later. In experiments where DC and
T-cell activation were analyzed, mice were given a single i.p.
injection of 106 live or heat-killed
4550 OVA and were
sacrificed 14 days later. In experiments where
Salmonella-loaded DC were used (see below), mice were given
either 106 DC incubated in medium alone (control DC),
106 DC loaded with live
4550, or 106 DC
loaded with live or heat-killed
4550 OVA (see below). Mice received
two i.p injections 1 week apart and were sacrificed 14 days after the
last administration. The spleens from immunized animals were used to
isolate DC as described below or were homogenized to analyze effector
cell functions. Enriched DC or total splenocytes were used in flow
cytometry analysis, and total splenocytes were used in intracellular
cytokine staining and cytotoxic T-cell assays. The number of bacteria
remaining in the spleen of mice was determined by lysing
107 spleen cells in 0.1% Triton X-100 in
phosphate-buffered saline and plating on LB agar plates.
Isolation of splenic DC. In experiments where splenic DC were purified from mice given GFP-expressing Salmonella, all steps were carried out on ice to avoid ex vivo bacterial uptake. The spleens from immunized animals were homogenized, red blood cells were lysed, and cell suspensions were washed once in Hanks buffered salt solution (HBSS). Then, splenic CD11c-expressing cells were enriched using N418 magnetic beads and MiniMACS columns (Miltenyi Biotech GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) following the manufacturer's protocol. Cell suspensions were incubated with N418 magnetic beads for 15 min in phosphate-buffered saline containing 3% fetal calf serum (FCS) and 2 mM EDTA at 4°C. Magnetically labeled cells were then added on a column, and trapped cells were flushed out to be used in flow cytometry or confocal microscopy. The enriched population consisted of approximately 80 to 90% CD11c+ cells as determined by the antibody N418 (anti-CD11c) or HL3 (anti-CD11c) in flow cytometry analysis (see below).
Flow cytometry.
Flow cytometry analysis was performed using
a FACS Calibur flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson & Co., Mountain View,
Calif.). Antibodies from hybridomas 2.4.G2 (anti-FcR
II/III), N418
(anti-CD11c), M5/114 (anti-MHC-II), and GK1.5 (anti-CD4) (reference
37 and references therein), as well as 145.2C11 (anti-CD3
[17]), YTS.169 (anti-CD8
[5]), F4/80
(anti-F4/80 [1]), and RA6-3A2 (anti-B220 [6]), were used. Antibodies were purified from
supernatants using
-bind plus columns (Pharmacia-Biotech, Uppsala,
Sweden) and were labeled with biotin (Sigma Chemical Co, St. Louis,
Mo.), fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (Sigma), or Cy5 (Amersham
Pharmacia Biotech, Uppsala, Sweden). Biotinylated anti-GR-1 as well as
phycoerythrin (PE)-labeled anti-CD4, -CD8, -CD11c, -CD40, -CD86, -B220,
and -MHC-II antibodies were purchased from Pharmingen (San Diego, Calif.). Streptavidin-allophycocyanin (Pharmingen) was used as the
second-step reagent. Dead cells were excluded by staining with
7-amino-actinomycin D (7AAD) (Sigma). Incubations with antibodies or
reagents for surface staining were performed for 20 min on ice in HBSS
(Life Technologies) containing 3% FCS, 2 mM EDTA, and 0.01% sodium azide.
Confocal microscopy. For confocal microscopy studies, cells were kept on ice at all possible steps and cold buffers and reagents were used. MACS column-purified CD11c+ cells were stained on ice with anti-CD11c-Cy5 and anti-MHC-II-biotin followed by Streptavidin-Alexa Fluor 594 (Molecular Probes, Leiden, The Netherlands). The cells were fixed in 1% paraformaldehyde on ice for 30 min and then at room temperature for another 30 min before being added onto polylysine-treated slides and mounted with ProLong Antifade (Molecular Probes). The cells were inspected by epifluorescence and laser scanning confocal microscopy using MRC-1024 confocal equipment (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hemel-Hampstead, United Kingdom) attached to a Nikon Eclipse E800 upright microscope (Nikon, Tokyo, Japan) using a band-pass filter (522 ± 32 nm) to detect green fluorescence, another band-pass filter (598 ± 40 nm) to detect red fluorescence, and another band-pass filter (680 ± 32 nm) to detect far-red fluorescence.
Cell culture conditions and in vitro infections of DC.
DC
were cultured from C57BL/6 bone marrow as described elsewhere
(39, 40). Briefly, on days 6 to 7 of culture in IMDM supplemented with 5% FCS and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, the CD11c-expressing population was enriched using N418 magnetic beads (Miltenyi Biotech GmbH). The enriched population consisted of approximately 90% MHC-II+, CD86+,
and CD11c+ cells as determined by the antibodies M5/114
(anti-I-Ab), GL-1 (anti-CD86), and N418 (anti-CD11c) or HL3
(anti-CD11c) in flow cytometry analysis. Purified DC were resuspended
in IMDM (without antibiotics) containing 5% FCS and
granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and seeded at
106 cells per well in 24-well plates (Ultra Low Cluster
plates; Costar Corning Corp., Cambridge Mass.). The cells were then
infected with live or heat-killed bacteria at a bacteria/DC ratio of
50:1. The 24-well plates were centrifuged at 270 × g
for 5 min. Some wells containing DC were incubated in IMDM containing
5% FCS for use as control DC. DC were incubated for 2 h at
37°C, were washed three times with HBSS, and were incubated for an
additional 2 h at 37°C in IMDM containing 5% FCS and gentamicin
(50 µg/ml). The cells were washed once in HBSS and were resuspended
in HBSS (without antibiotics). They were then used either to inject
into mice or to restimulate splenocytes. The effective dose of live bacteria given to mice by administering DC loaded with bacteria was
approximately 106 as determined by lysing aliquots of
Salmonella-loaded DC in 0.1% Triton X-100 in
phosphate-buffered saline and plating on LB agar plates. In some
experiments, samples of DC infected with bacteria were transferred to
96-well plates, were fixed in 1% paraformaldehyde, and presentation of
OVA(257-264)/Kb and OVA(265-280)/I-Ab complexes
processed from
4550 OVA to CD8OVA or OT4H.2D5 T hybridoma cells,
respectively, was quantitated as described previously
(37).
Intracellular cytokine staining.
Gamma interferon (IFN-
)
production by splenocytes was determined by intracellular cytokine
staining and flow cytometry analysis. Briefly, 2 × 107 spleen cells from individual immunized mice were
cultured with DC incubated in medium alone or with DC loaded with
heat-killed bacteria in 3 ml of IMDM supplemented with 10% FCS.
Incubations were at 37°C and 5% CO2 for a total of
24 h. The splenocyte to DC ratio was 20:1. Four hours prior to the
end of the incubation, brefeldin A was added to a concentration 5 µg/ml. Brefeldin A-treated cells were labeled with anti-T-cell
receptor 
(anti-TCR
), and with either anti-CD4 or anti-CD8
antibodies as described above and were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde
for 20 min at room temperature. Fixed cells were permeabilized in HBSS
containing 3% FCS (Sigma), 0.5% saponin (Sigma), and 0.05% azide for
20 min at room temperature. Permeabilized cells were stained with
anti-IFN-
-FITC (Pharmingen) or with FITC-labeled isotype-matched
control antibodies (Pharmingen) for 30 min at room temperature. Flow
cytometry was performed on splenocytes from individual mice stimulated separately.
Cytotoxic T-cell assays.
Cytotoxic T-cell activity in the
spleens of mice given
4550 OVA was determined by coculturing 25 × 106 spleen cells from individual mice with 12.5 × 106 irradiated syngeneic spleen cells in the presence of
100 nM OVA(257-264) peptide in 12 ml of IMDM supplemented with 10% FCS
and antibiotics at 37°C and 5% CO2 for 5 days.
Cell-mediated lysis was subsequently measured in standard
51Cr release assays on splenocytes from individual mice
cultured and assayed separately. Briefly, target cells were prepared by loading EL4 cells with 50 µM OVA(257-264) peptide for 60 min at 37°C. Titrated amounts of restimulated effector cells were incubated with 104 51Cr-labeled target cells for 5 h
at 37°C in a total volume of 100 µl. Following the incubation, 25 µl of supernatant was collected and counted in a Wallac 1450 MicroBeta counter (Wallac Oy, Turku, Finland) to quantitate the amount
of released 51Cr. The maximum release of 51Cr
was determined by addition of 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate to 51Cr-labeled target cells. The mean number of counts per
minute was calculated from triplicate wells. The percent specific
cytotoxicity was calculated according to the following formula: [(mean
cpm test cell release
mean cpm spontaneous release)
(mean cpm maximum release
mean cpm spontaneous release)] × 100, where cpm is counts per minute.
| |
RESULTS |
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S. enterica serovar Typhimurium association
with splenic phagocytic cell subsets during infection.
To assess
the splenic phagocytic cell subpopulations that interact with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium upon infection of mice, flow
cytometry was performed on splenocytes 4 h after i.p. or intravenous
administration of
4550 OVA-GFP. Several populations of phagocytic
cells including CD11c+ MHC-II+ cells were
GFP+, suggesting that DC associated with the bacteria in
vivo using either route of administration (Fig.
1a and Table
1). CD11c+
MHC-II+ cells were also GFP+ following
administration of heat-killed
4550 OVA-GFP, although the percentage
of GFP+ cells was consistently lower in mice given
heat-killed bacteria (Fig. 1a). This could be partly due to the
somewhat lower GFP fluorescence detected after heat killing the
bacteria (Fig. 1b).
|
|
4550 OVA-GFP by phagocytic cells
rather than nonspecific binding of the bacteria to the cell surface.
First, fluorescent confocal microscopy showed that GFP+
bacteria were indeed contained within CD11c+
MHC-II+ cells (Fig. 2).
Second, further characterization of the GFP+ cell
populations revealed that little, if any, GFP fluorescence was
associated with nonphagocytic cells such as CD11c
CD3+ cells (T lymphocytes) (Table 1). Furthermore, GFP
fluorescence associated with CD11c
B220+ B
lymphocytes was only apparent at a very high dose of administered bacteria (Table 1). Within other CD11c
cell populations,
namely, non-DC populations, significant GFP fluorescence was associated
with cells that stained positive for GR-1 and F4/80. The former surface
marker on CD11c
cells is associated with granulocytes
(16) while M
are contained within the
CD11c
population staining positive for F4/80
(1). Thus, S. enterica serovar typhimurium
associates with several phagocytic splenic cell populations, with the
largest percentage of GFP+ cells being consistently found
within the CD11c
GR1+ population, followed by
GFP fluorescence associated with CD11c
F4/80+
cells and then CD11c+ MHC-II+ cells (Table 1).
|
DC and T-cell activation in response to Salmonella
infection.
As Salmonella is contained within splenic DC
in vivo (Fig. 2), and as these cells are the most efficient APC type
capable of stimulating naïve T cells (2, 3, 36), we
investigated the activation state of both DC and T cells in infected
mice. Mice were given a single dose of live
4550 OVA, and 14 days
later splenic DC were analyzed for surface molecule expression. Flow cytometry revealed that the CD11c+ MHC-II+
cells had increased expression of CD86 and CD40 (Fig.
3) as well as a small but consistent
increase in CD80 expression (data not shown). No effect was apparent on
DC from mice that received heat-killed
4550 OVA (Fig. 3).
|
|
IFN-
-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are
elicited in Salmonella-infected mice.
T cells are a
critical component of the specific immune response to S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and bacterium-specific CD4+ and CD8+ effector T cells are elicited
following infection (reviewed in references 27 and 44).
Although previous studies have enumerated Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing CD4+ T
cells by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay following a 2- to 4-day
restimulation of splenocytes from infected mice (25, 32,
41), neither the frequency of Salmonella-specific
IFN-
-producing CD4+ T cells following a brief ex vivo
restimulation nor the frequency of CD8+ T cells that
specifically contribute to IFN-
production in infected mice have
been quantitated. Thus, flow cytometry analysis was performed on
splenocytes from mice given
4550 OVA. Upon restimulation for 24 h, the cells were stained for surface expression of TCR
and
either CD4 or CD8 as well as intracellular IFN-
. These data revealed
that Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing CD4+
as well as CD8+ T cells were generated in mice given
4550 OVA once (Fig. 5). In contrast,
no Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing CD4+ T
cells (<0.1%) and few if any IFN-
-producing CD8+ T
cells (0.2%) were apparent in mice receiving heat-killed bacteria once
(Fig. 5) or twice (one week apart; data not shown).
|
Salmonella-loaded DC generate bacteria-specific
effector T cells in recipient mice.
As it previously has been
shown that immature DC can internalize and present
Salmonella-derived antigens on MHC-I and MHC-II in vitro
(39, 45), we addressed the question of whether these DC
loaded with Salmonella in vitro could prime
bacterium-specific T cells in vivo. Flow cytometry analysis of
splenocytes harvested from mice given DC loaded with
4550 OVA showed
that both CD4+ and CD8+ cells produced
Salmonella-specific IFN-
following in vitro restimulation (Fig. 6a). The CD4+
population consisted of a higher frequency of
Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing cells than the
CD8+ population. In addition, splenocytes from mice that
received DC loaded with bacteria in the presence of cytochalasin D
generated undetectable levels of specific IFN-
-producing
CD4+ or CD8+ T cells (data not shown). This
demonstrates that bacteria contained within the DC, rather than
bacteria adhering to the outer surface of the cells, were responsible
for eliciting Salmonella-specific T cells. Specific
cytolytic activity was also elicited in recipient mice. That is,
splenocytes from mice given DC loaded with
4550 OVA and restimulated
with irradiated syngeneic spleen cells in the presence of the
OVA(257-264) peptide lysed EL4 target cells pulsed with the same
peptide (Fig. 6b). In contrast, little if any lysis of
OVA(257-264)-loaded target cells was apparent when splenocytes from
mice receiving control DC or DC loaded with
4550 not expressing OVA
were restimulated and used as effector cells in 51Cr
release assays (Fig. 6b). Interestingly, we consistently observed that
the percent specific lysis elicited in mice given DC loaded with
4550 OVA was higher than that observed in mice given
4550 OVA as
free bacteria. This occurred despite the fact that both administrations
contained similar amounts of live bacteria (~106) (Fig.
6b). In addition, the spleens from mice that received either type of
administration had similar numbers of CFU at the time of sacrifice (see
below) and never exceeded a difference of twofold.
|
4550 OVA to
eliminate any contribution of live bacteria in eliciting Salmonella-specific T cells. Despite the absence of viable
bacteria in the DC used for the injections (as tested by viable plate
counts on the heat-killed bacteria and an aliquot of the injected DC; data not shown), Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing
CD4+ and CD8+ cells were generated (Fig.
7a). In addition, OVA(257-264)-specific cytolytic effector cells were also generated in mice given DC loaded
with heat-killed
4550 OVA (Fig. 7b). Thus, DC loaded with
4550
OVA elicited bacterium-specific CD4+ and CD8+
effector T cells in recipient mice, and this did not require that the
DC contain live bacteria.
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| |
DISCUSSION |
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The importance of peripheral DC in capturing exogenous soluble antigens and migrating to draining lymph nodes where they prime naïve T cells is well established (15, 18, 21, 36). In contrast, the role of immature DC in capturing intact microbes encountered in the periphery and their subsequent migration to draining lymph nodes for T-cell priming is not well characterized, with the exception of cutaneous infection with Leishmania major (28, 29). Thus, the APC type(s) that phagocytose gram-negative bacteria, such as S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and prime Salmonella-specific T cells in secondary lymphoid organs in vivo is not clear.
In the present study we show that the three major phagocytic cell
types, neutrophils, macrophages, and DC, all associate with GFP-expressing Salmonella in vivo. These phagocytic cells
may be involved in controlling bacterial replication and/or producing proinflammatory cytokines (37, 38). As the latter may
influence the subsequent recruitment and activation of cells of the
innate as well as the adaptive immune response, it is clear that the interplay between phagocytic cells harboring bacteria is complex. However, DC have a superior capacity to stimulate naïve T cells (36). This, combined with our data showing that splenic
CD11c+ MHC-II+ DC internalize
Salmonella in vivo, suggests that DC may be involved in
priming bacterium-specific T cells. Furthermore, we show that splenic
DC have increased surface expression of CD40 and CD86 following
administration of live Salmonella, which augments their capacity to productively interact with T cells. The activation of DC
following bacterial administration was likely not due to a general
effect of lipopolysaccharide. This is supported by data showing that
the surface expression of CD40 and CD86 on splenic CD11c
B220+ B cells, which are polyclonally activated in mice
injected with lipopolysaccharide isolated from Salmonella
(13), was identical in naïve mice and in mice that
received
4550 14 days earlier (data not shown).
Infection with live S. enterica serovar Typhimurium resulted
in broad activation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells
and generation of Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing T
cells in both of these subsets. Although the specificity of the broadly
activated T cells is not clear, it is likely that not all of these
cells are bacterium specific; at least some of the increased CD44 and
CD69 expression may reflect bystander activation. Generation of
bacterium-specific IFN-
-producing CD4+ and
CD8+ T cells is consistent with the critical role of
TCR
+ cells, particularly the CD4+ subset,
and IFN-
in immunity to Salmonella (reviewed in reference 27). Our data revealed that the frequency of specific
IFN-
-producing CD4+ T cells was significantly greater
than that of CD8+ cells in mice given a single dose of live
Salmonella. This is the first quantitation of the frequency
of Salmonella-specific CD4+ versus
CD8+ cells producing IFN-
during infection of the same
animal and supports the argument that the predominant source of IFN-
production by cells of the specific immune response is CD4+
T cells. Although Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing
CD8+ T cells are elicited following infection with live
bacteria, the contribution of IFN-
production by specific
CD8+ T cells appears to be minor relative to that produced
by CD4+ T cells. This suggests that the importance of the
elicited specific CD8+ T cells may be in their cytolytic
function rather than IFN-
production.
Studies in
2m
/
mice showed that
clearance of an avirulent S. enterica serovar Typhimurium
strain occurred independently of CD8+ T cells
(11), while CD8+ T cells were important in
clearing a virulent strain (20). The present study
demonstrates that cytolytic CD8+ T cells are elicited
following infection with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium,
supporting previous reports (reviewed in reference 44). It
has also been shown that cytolytic CD8+ T-cell activity
restricted to the nonclassical MHC-I molecule Qa-1 is generated in mice
primed with an avirulent strain and then challenged with a virulent
strain (20). However, in preliminary experiments, we were
unable to demonstrate Salmonella-specific IFN-
-producing
CD8+ splenocytes from C57BL/6 mice given a single dose of
4550 following restimulation with DC from MHC-mismatched (BALB/c)
mice loaded with
4550. This suggests that the IFN-
-producing
CD8+ cells analyzed in the present study are restricted to
classical MHC-I molecules rather than class Ib molecules shared by
C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice.
Poor immunity in mice receiving heat-killed S. enterica serovar Typhimurium has been documented for nearly 30 years (10). However, only limited data are available on the defects in the specific immune response that could account for the poor immunogenicity of heat-killed bacteria (9). Our data show that heat-killed bacteria associate with DC and other phagocytic cells in vivo. However, administration of 5 to 10 times more heat-killed than live bacteria was required to observe a quantatively similar association of bacteria by phagocytic cells. In addition, immunization with 106 heat-killed bacteria did not result in up regulation of CD86 or CD40 on splenic DC analyzed 2 weeks after bacterial administration. This is in contrast to the increased expression of these costimulatory molecules on splenic DC from mice given the same dose of live bacteria. Furthermore, an increase in the total number of CD11c+ splenocytes was present in mice infected with live Salmonella (14), while no such increase was present in mice given heat-killed bacteria (data not shown).
Significant T-cell activation was also not apparent following
administration of killed bacteria. That is, CD44 and CD69 expression were not increased on CD4+ or CD8+ T cells, and
IFN-
-producing Salmonella-specific CD4+ T
cells were not detectable at time points when T-cell activation peaked
in mice given the same amount of live bacteria. However, very low,
albeit reproducible, levels of bacterium-specific CD8+
cells producing IFN-
were apparent following administration of
heat-killed
4550. The poor ability of heat-killed
Salmonella to elicit specific T cells is not due to an
inherent inability of DC to process heat-killed S. enterica
serovar Typhimurium for peptide presentation on either MHC-I or MHC-II
(37, 46). Lower capacity to access the spleen, an
inability to recruit and activate DC and/or an inferior ability to
elicit a significant number of specific IFN-
producing T cells,
particularly CD4+ T cells, may contribute to the inferior
capacity of heat-killed bacteria to elicit anti-Salmonella immunity.
DC contain Salmonella during infection (Fig. 2), and
immature DC can internalize and process live or heat-killed S. enterica serovar Typhimurium for presentation of
Salmonella-encoded antigens on MHC-I and MHC-II (37,
39, 45, 46). We therefore assessed the role of DC in priming
naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to
Salmonella antigens in vivo by evaluating bacterium-specific effector T cells in mice given Salmonella-loaded DC. DC
loaded with heat-killed bacteria were used to eliminate any
contribution of viable bacteria residing in the host in eliciting
Salmonella-specific T cells. DC harboring either live or
killed S. enterica serovar Typhimurium primed both
CD4+ and CD8+ T cells specific for bacterial
antigens when administered to naïve mice. This occurred despite
the fact that one-third fewer bacteria were present in DC loaded with
heat-killed bacteria compared to DC loaded with live bacteria as
measured by flow cytometry following uptake of GFP-expressing bacteria.
Interestingly, administering DC loaded with heat-killed bacteria
elicited a higher frequency of specific CD8+ T cells
producing IFN-
than CD4+ T cells producing this cytokine
in the same animal. In contrast, the frequency of bacterium-specific
IFN-
-producing CD4+ T cells in a mouse given DC loaded
with live bacteria was consistently greater than the frequency of
specific CD8+ T cells producing IFN-
in the same host.
These data are consistent with the trend observed in mice given either
live or heat-killed bacteria not contained within DC.
Our data also show that the frequency of IFN-
-producing
CD4+ or CD8+ T cells elicited was greater in
response to administration of free live bacteria compared to live
bacteria contained within DC. Administration of DC loaded with live
bacteria, however, resulted in a higher level of cytolytic activity
compared to that observed in mice given free live bacteria. This may
reflect that the two assays measure distinct functions of T cells. In
addition, the frequency of IFN-
-producing CD8+ T cells
(Figs. 5, 6a, and 7a) reflects the total bacterium-specific cell
population, while the cytolytic activity measures
OVA(257-264)/Kb-specific T cells (Fig. 6b and 7b).
Furthermore, the percentage of specific IFN-
-producing
CD8+ T cells that have cytolytic activity is not known. The
difference in the efficiency of eliciting specific T cells by the two
immunization strategies (free live bacteria compared to live bacteria
contained within DC) is not likely due to a different quantity of
bacteria administered or persistence of the bacteria in vivo. That is, a similar amount of bacteria was given in each type of administration (~106), and similar numbers of bacteria were recovered
from the spleens of animals in both groups at the time of sacrifice
(100 to 1,000 total bacteria per spleen, never exceeding a twofold
difference between the groups).
We found that the optimal method for restimulating splenocytes from
infected mice was using bone marrow-derived DC preloaded with
heat-killed bacteria. Thus, the data quantitating the frequency of
IFN-
-producing T cells in response to Salmonella
infection (Figs 5, 6a, and 7a) using this restimulation protocol
measured reactivity to natural Salmonella antigens as well
as recombinant OVA. In other experiments, splenocytes from infected
mice were restimulated with lysates prepared from
4550 or
4550
OVA. This resulted in a lower but similar frequency of CD8+
and CD4+ T cells producing IFN-
. However, within either
T-cell subset, a similar frequency of IFN-
-producing cells was
detected regardless of whether the restimulating lysate contained OVA
(data not shown). These data, combined with our inability to detect
OVA(265-280)/I-Ab-specific T cells in experiments where
splenocytes from infected mice were restimulated with OVA(265-280)
peptide, suggest that the majority of the IFN-
-producing T cells
detected recognize natural Salmonella antigens.
The observed difference in T-cell priming efficiency in mice given free
bacteria versus those administered within DC could, for example, result
from different trafficking of injected DC versus free bacteria from the
peritoneal cavity to secondary lymphoid organs. Alternatively, a
different APC population presenting the bacteria administered free or
contained within DC could contribute to the observed difference. The
latter point raises the question of whether direct or indirect priming
of host T cells occurs in mice given Salmonella-loaded DC.
Preliminary data showed that Salmonella-specific
IFN-
-producing CD8+ T cells were elicited in C57BL/6
mice given DC from TAP1
2m
/
double-knockout mice loaded with
heat-killed
4550 OVA (Yrlid et al., unpublished data). As these DC
are unable to directly present Salmonella antigens to host
CD8+ T cells (19), the data demonstrate that
direct priming by the immunizing DC is not required to elicit
CD8+ effector cells. However, the relative contribution of
direct versus indirect priming of T cells by
Salmonella-loaded DC remains to be clarified. Taken together
the data in the present study support a role for dendritic cells as an
APC important in triggering a specific immune response during
Salmonella infection.
| |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
This work was supported by the Swedish Natural Sciences Research Council (project 5107-20005470/2000), The Swedish Medical Science Research Council (project K2001-16X-14005-01A), The Österlund Foundation, Kock's Foundation, Kungliga Fysiografiska Foundation, The Crafoord Foundation, Åke Wiberg's Foundation, the Swedish Society for Medical Research, and Lund University Medical Faculty.
U.Y. and M.S. contributed equally to this work.
We gratefully acknowledge Roy Curtiss III, Washington University, St.
Louis, Mo. for providing S. enterica serovar Typhimurium
4550 and pYA3259.
| |
FOOTNOTES |
|---|
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Section for Immunology, Lund University BMC I-13, SE-221 84 Lund, Sweden. Phone: 46-46-222-4167. Fax: 46-46-222-4218. E-mail: Mary_Jo.Wick{at}immuno.lu.se.
Editor: S. H. E. Kaufmann
| |
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