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Division of Infectious Disease, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York 12208
Received 22 September 2006/ Returned for modification 26 October 2006/ Accepted 4 January 2007
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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While ricin (
64 kDa) is one of the simplest members of the A-B family of toxins, it is also one of the most promiscuous (32, 37). The toxin's single A subunit (RTA) is an N-glycosidase that selectively depurinates a conserved adenine residue within 28S rRNA and in this respect is indistinguishable from shiga toxin (11). The toxin's B subunit (RTB) is a bivalent lectin that mediates toxin attachment to terminal galactose residues on glycoproteins and glycolipids (4). The ubiquitous nature of ricin's receptors, combined with its universally conserved enzymatic substrate, enables ricin to intoxicate virtually all known cell types. Not surprisingly, ricin can be lethal to humans following injection, inhalation, or ingestion (3, 6, 26).
Although a recent expert panel workshop sponsored by the National Institutes of Health deemed the adulteration of food and water supplies to be the most likely mechanism by which ricin would be disseminated as a bioterrorism agent, very little is known about the effects of ricin on the gastrointestinal mucosa (1). Ingestion of whole castor beans results in severe abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and (depending on the number of beans and degree of mastication) death (3, 6, 26). Experimentally, Sekine and colleagues (38) demonstrated that rats exposed intragastrically (i.g.) to ricin develop pronounced lesions in the proximal small intestine as early 2 h postchallenge, with the median lethal dose estimated to be 10 mg/kg of body weight. In addition to the direct cytotoxic effects, it is postulated that ricin can also initiate an inflammatory response that exacerbates pathogenesis. Shiga toxins, including ricin, trigger a so-called "ribotoxic stress response" in human intestinal epithelial cell lines and in macrophage cell lines that culminates in the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines (12, 23, 40). However, the proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines induced following ricin intoxication of the intestinal mucosa in vivo have not been identified.
In an effort to better understand the pathophysiology associated with ricin exposure, we have developed and characterized a mouse model of intestinal ricin intoxication. Our results indicate that ricin elicits dose- and time-dependent morphological changes in the proximal small intestine that coincide with the local production of proinflammatory chemokines. Protection against ricin intoxication was achieved by immunizing mice i.g. with ricin toxoid and correlated with elevated levels of antitoxin mucosal immunoglobulin A (IgA) and serum IgG antibodies. This mouse model provides the research community with a valuable tool with which to begin to dissect the inflammatory pathways and protective immune responses that are elicited in the intestinal mucosa following ricin exposure.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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i.g. ricin challenge and tissue collection. All animals used in this study were housed under conventional, specific-pathogen-free conditions and were treated in strict compliance with guidelines established by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the Wadsworth Center. Female BALB/c mice ages 6 to 8 weeks were purchased from Taconic Laboratories (Germantown, NY). Animals weighing 18 to 22 g were fasted for 1 h prior to being administered azide-free ricin (final volume, 0.4 ml) i.g. by means of a 22-gauge, 1.5-in. blunt-end feeding needle (Popper Scientific, New Hyde Park, NY). Food was provided ad libitum 1 h after challenge. At designated time points, animals were sacrificed by CO2 asphyxiation, followed by cervical dislocation. The entire small intestine was surgically removed, beginning at the ileocecal junction, and then laid out on a moistened paper towel. Alternating segments (0.25-cm) of the duodenum were immersed in Bouin's fixative and subsequently embedded in paraffin by the Wadsworth Center Animal Histopathology core facility or immersed in ice-cold cell lysis buffer (Cell Signaling, Beverly, MA) supplemented with protease inhibitors and homogenized on ice using a Tekmar Tissuemizer (Fisher Scientific) tissue homogenizer. The following protease inhibitors (Calbiochem) were used: 150 nM aprotinin, 1 µM leupeptin, 50 µM 4-(2-aminoethyl) benzenesulfonyl fluoride hydrochloride, 1 µg/ml bestatin, and 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride. Homogenates were centrifuged (10,000 x g, 10 min) at 4°C, and the resulting supernatants were passed through a QiaShredder instrument (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA) to remove any residual debris. The amounts of protein in intestinal homogenates, as determined by the bicinchoninic acid assay (Pierce Chemical), were equalized in all samples by the addition of cell lysis buffer. Homogenates were frozen at 20°C as 0.2-ml aliquots and thawed immediately prior to use in the BD cytometric bead array (CBA) assay.
Histological and proinflammatory cytokine analysis of mouse duodenum. Paraffin sections of mouse duodena were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and visualized by light microscopy using a Zeiss Axioskop II microscope equipped with a charge-coupled-device camera. Tissue sections were scored for ricin intoxication using a 12-point histological grading system (21, 34) based on the severity and extent of alterations in villus shape (width and height), lamina propria edema, interepithelial swelling, and the presence of cellular infiltrate in the intestinal lumen. Tissue section samples were coded and blinded prior to being provided to investigators for scoring.
Proinflammatory cytokine (gamma interferon, interleukin 1 [IL-1], IL-6, IL-12p70, monocyte chemotactic protein 1 [MCP-1], and tumor necrosis factor alpha) levels in intestinal homogenates were determined using the BD CBA mouse inflammation kit (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA). The cytokine concentrations in intestinal homogenates were calculated from standard curves generated using purified cytokines provided by the manufacturer. Statistical analysis of differences between CBA values from treatment groups of mice was conducted using analysis of variance (Excel 2003, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA).
Production of RT. Ricin toxoid (RT) was produced as described by Yan and colleagues (44). Ricin (1 mg per ml in phosphate-buffered saline [PBS]) was dialyzed in a Slide-a-lyzer dialysis unit (molecular weight cutoff, 10,000; Pierce Chemical) against 4% paraformaldehyde for 18 h at 47°C, followed by 30 h at 42°C. Dialysis was then continued against 4 liters of 0.1 M glycine for 4 days in the cold room to quench residual paraformaldehyde in the RT preparations. RT preparations (1 mg/ml) were stored at 80°C and were thawed immediately prior to use.
i.g. immunization of mice with RT and measurement of serum and fecal antibodies by ELISA. Groups of BALB/c mice, ages 6 to 8 weeks, were immunized three times i.g. with RT (200 µg per animal per immunization) at 2-week intervals). Serum and fecal pellets were collected as described previously (28) 2 days before the first immunization and 7 days after each immunization. The antiricin IgA and IgG antibody titers in serum and the antiricin IgA antibody titers in fecal pellets were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), as done previously (29). Briefly, NUNC Maxisorb F96 microtiter plates (Krackeler Scientific, Albany, NY) were coated overnight at 4°C with 0.1 µg of ricin (or RTA or RTB) per well in a volume of 0.1 ml in PBS (pH 7.4). Microtiter plates were washed with PBS-Tween 20 (0.05% [vol/vol]), blocked with goat serum (2% [wt/vol] in PBS-Tween 20), and overlaid with serum or fecal extracts diluted in block solution. Secondary goat anti-mouse IgG- and IgA-specific antibodies labeled with horseradish peroxidase were obtained from Southern Biotech (Birmingham, AL). ELISA plates were developed with a one-component TMB colorimetric substrate (Kirkegaard and Perry, Gaithersburg, MD) and were read using a SpectraMax 250 microtiter plate reader equipped with Softmax software (Molecular Devices, Union City, CA). Mouse monoclonal IgGs and IgAs specific for RTA or RTB were used as controls for these assays (29, 30). ELISAs were done a minimum of two times in duplicate for each sample analyzed. Averages and standard errors (SE) between duplicate samples were calculated using Softmax and Excel 2003.
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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Ricin intoxication correlates with elevated MCP-1 levels in intestinal mucosa. To determine whether ricin intoxication is accompanied by a local increase in proinflammatory cytokines, we challenged mice i.g. with ricin at a range of doses (1 to 10 mg/kg) for various lengths of time (0, 5, 12, and 24 h) and then measured cytokine levels in intestinal homogenates by CBA (see Materials and Methods). There was no detectable increase in local gamma interferon, IL-1, IL-6, IL-12p70, or tumor necrosis factor alpha levels following ricin challenge at any of the doses or time points examined (data not shown). In contrast, we observed a dose- and time-dependent increase in MCP-1 in intestinal homogenates from mice treated with ricin (Fig. 3A and B). Interestingly, a comparison of Fig. 2 and 3 reveals that the severity of intestinal damage following ricin exposure correlates with MCP-1 levels.
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i.g. immunization of mice with RT stimulates a systemic and mucosal antibody response that protects animals against toxin challenge. While vaccination of mice with RT has been shown to confer immunity to both systemic and aerosol ricin challenge (20, 44), it has not been examined whether vaccination with RT confers gastrointestinal immunity to ricin. To examine this possibility, groups of mice were immunized i.g. with formaldehyde-inactivated RT three times at biweekly intervals. Serum and fecal pellets were collected 7 days after each immunization and analyzed for antiricin antibodies by ELISA, as done previously (29). i.g. immunization of mice with RT stimulated antiricin IgG and IgA antibodies in serum and IgA antibodies in intestinal secretions (Fig. 4 A and B).
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In conclusion, we have developed a mouse model of ricin intoxication, as well as quantitative measures of local tissue damage and inflammation elicited upon toxin exposure. We have also demonstrated for the first time that immunity to ricin in the intestinal tract can be elicited by vaccination, although the specific roles of IgA and IgG in this protection remain to be elucidated. This model will enable our laboratory, as well as other laboratories, to begin to test the hypothesis that inflammatory cytokines and/or chemokines contribute directly to the tissue damage associated with ricin exposure. As mentioned above, we can also use available monoclonal IgA and IgG antibodies to determine the mechanisms of mucosal immunity and test whether these are the same as or different from those in the systemic compartment.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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This work was supported by a grant to N.J.M. from the National Institutes of Health.
| FOOTNOTES |
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Published ahead of print on 5 February 2007. ![]()
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