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Short Communications |
From the Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Antigen-specific T cell lysis of target cells is MHC restricted, and dependent on expression of MHC on the target cell. In most of the normal CNS, MHC expression at the protein level does not occur or is below detection levels. During an inflammatory response or following viral infection, MHC expression in the CNS can be detected. However reports of specific cell types within the CNS that express MHC have often been conflicting, and the number of studies using double labeling techniques to clearly identify cell types expressing MHC in vivo has been limited.4
In the present study, we used an established murine model of CNS inflammation and demyelination to determine definitively which cells of the CNS express MHC molecules during an acute viral infection. We used an attenuated variant of murine hepatitis virus (MHV)-JHM (MHV V5A13.1)5 that infects neurons and glial cells and induces chronic demyelination. Following an intracranial (i.c.) injection into mice, MHV V5A13.1 spreads throughout the brain and spinal cord causing demyelination and an inflammatory response.3,5,6 Infectious MHV V5A13.1 is cleared from the CNS of mice by 12 days post infection (dpi),5,6 although viral RNA persists.13 During acute demyelination and inflammation we identified the spinal cord cell types expressing MHC class I and class II molecules in vivo by using double label immunofluorescence imaged by confocal microscopy to colocalize MHC expression with specific cell type markers.
| Materials and Methods |
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Six- to eight-week-old BALB/c female and male mice were anesthetized with methoxyfluorane and intracranially injected with 30 µl of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (n = 8) or 10100 plaque forming units (PFU) of MHV V5A13.1. Following MHV infection, mice were perfused at 10 dpi (n = 6), 14 dpi (n = 3) 24 dpi (n = 3) and 49 dpi (n = 5).
Tissue Preparation
For all double immunolabeling studies, mice were anesthetized with chloral hydrate and transcardially perfused with saline, and spinal cords were removed and stored at -20°C. For immunostaining to identify demyelinated lesions with cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (CNP), mice were anesthetized and transcardially perfused with saline followed by 4% paraformaldehyde.
Immunohistochemistry
Sagittal spinal cord sections were fixed in 95% ethanol at 4°C (15 minutes), blocked with avidin and biotin, and incubated with antibodies to CD4 (clone RM45 1:150, Pharmingen, San Diego, CA), CD8 (clone 536.7, 1:200 Pharmingen), MHC class I (clone ER-HR-52 1:5000; Bachem, Torrance, CA), or MHC class II (Clone ER-TR-3 1:200; Bachem) at 4°C overnight. Slides were then incubated with a biotinylated anti-rat secondary (Vector Labs, Burlingame, CA), followed by biotin/avidin/horseradish peroxidase (HRP) reagents (Vector Labs), and color was developed with diaminobenzidine (Zymed Labs, San Francisco, CA) for approximately 8 minutes. The reaction was stopped with water, the slides were counterstained with hematoxylin, and slides were mounted with Aquamount (Polysciences, Inc., Warrington, PA).
Immunofluorescence
To identify demyelinated lesions, coronal sections from paraformaldehyde perfused mice were pretreated with 100% methanol (15 minutes at -20°C), blocked with 25% donor calf serum, and incubated with anti-CNP 1:100 (clone 115B, Sigma, St. Louis, MO). Slides were then incubated with an anti-mouse IgG F(ab)2 conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (1 hour at room temperature) and mounted with Vectashield (Vector Labs, used in all immunofluorescence experiments). To identify viral antigen, sagittal spinal cord sections were blocked with donor calf serum, incubated with purified monoclonal antibody 4B62 5 (that recognizes MHV nucleocapsid), rinsed, incubated with anti-mouse secondary antibody conjugated to FITC, rinsed, and mounted. For all double label experiments involving immunofluorescence labeling of MHC class I or class II and a second antigen, sections were serially stained with anti-MHC antibodies followed by antibodies to the second antigen. As a control, the primary antibodies were omitted to ensure fluorescence was specific for antibody binding. To verify specificity of the MHC class I antibody clone ER-HR-52, the antibody was incubated on spinal cords from ß2-microglobulin knockout mice that lack cell surface MHC class I expression. No MHC class I expression was detected on the blood vessels of ß2m -/- mice, compared to clear detection of MHC class I staining on blood vessels from normal mouse spinal cord. For labeling of MHC antigens, slides were fixed in cold 95% ethanol for 15 minutes, blocked with serum/PBS/3% bovine serum albumin (BSA), and incubated with anti-MHC class I (clone ER-HR-52 1:2000) or MHC class II (clone M5/114, Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN, or clone ER-TR-3, Bachem) overnight at 4°C. Slides were then incubated with an anti-rat secondary IgG F(ab)2 antibody conjugated to a fluorochrome (FITC or Texas Red) absorbed for minimal cross-reactivity with other species (Jackson Immunoresearch, West Grove, PA). For anti-MHC class I antibody clone M1/42 (data not shown, Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals), slides were incubated with a biotinylated anti-mouse antibody, followed by avidin/biotin/HRP reagents (Vector Labs), followed by incubation with an anti-HRP antibody conjugated to either FITC or Texas Red (Jackson Immunoresearch).
For double immunofluorescence of MHC antigens with CNP, slides were then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 30 minutes followed by cold methanol for 15 minutes at -20°C. They were then blocked and incubated with anti-CNP as described above. Finally, they were incubated with a secondary anti-mouse antibody conjugated to FITC or Texas Red and mounted. For double immunofluorescence of MHC antigens with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), slides were then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and incubated with polyclonal rabbit anti-cow GFAP (1:100, DAKO, Carpinteria, CA) in PBS/3% BSA/0.1% Triton X-100 for 2 hours at room temperature. They were then incubated with an anti-rabbit secondary conjugated to FITC and mounted. For double immunofluorescence of MHC antigens with mac-1 (CD11b) after MHC staining, the slides were incubated with anti-mac-1 directly conjugated to FITC (Pharmingen) for 2 hours at room temperature, rinsed, and mounted. For double immunofluorescence of MHC antigens with CD31, slides were then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 30 minutes at room temperature, and incubated with hamster anti-CD31 (1:100; Chemicon International, Temecula, CA) for 2 hours at room temperature. They were then incubated with an anti-hamster secondary conjugated to FITC (1:200; Jackson Immunoresearch) and mounted. For double immunofluorescence of MHC antigens with neuron specific enolase (NSE), slides were then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 30 minutes at room temperature, incubated with polyclonal anti-mouse NSE (1:50; Polysciences, Warrington, PA) overnight at 4°C, and incubated with a biotinylated anti-mouse antibody (1:400). They were then incubated with an avidin/biotin/HRP complex (Vector Labs) followed by an anti-HRP conjugated to FITC (1:400, Jackson Immunoresearch) and mounted.
Confocal Microscopy
Single plane confocal microscope images were collected sequentially using a Bio-Rad MRC-1024 unit attached to a Zeiss Axiovert S100TV microscope with 40x or 63x objective lenses. A krypton/argon mixed gas laser produced excitation wavelengths at 488 nm and 568 nm for FITC or Texas Red, respectively. In some cases, z-series images from 3 to 5 planes 0.2 µm apart were collected for reconstrution. Individual fluorophore images were merged and pseudocolored using Adobe Photoshop (version 5.5).
| Results |
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motor neurons in the ventral horn. No neurons in
sham infected mice expressed MHC class I. In contrast to the findings
with MHC class I, NSE positive neurons were not found to express MHC
class II (data not shown).
To identify astrocytes, sections were stained with a polyclonal
antibody to the astrocyte-specific protein, GFAP. Unlike
oligodendrocytes and neurons, astrocytes did not express MHC molecules
during MHV V5A13.1-induced demyelination (Figure 2
, panels E1-E3;
Figure 3
, panels B1-B3). Figures 2 and 3
show staining of astrocytic
processes with GFAP that do not colocalize with MHC. Astrocyte cell
bodies also did not costain with MHC class I or II (not shown).
Microglia/macrophage lineage cells were identified with an antibody to
CD11b, and most expressed MHC class I following MHV infection (Figure 2
, panels F1-F3). CD11b-positive cells expressing MHC class I had a
ramified (or resting) morphology (Figure 2
, panels F1, F3) and a
reactive morphology with shorter, broader processes.
Microglia/macrophage lineage cells expressing CD11b also expressed MHC
class II following MHV infection (Figure 3
, panels C1-C3), and in fact
were the only resident cell type in the spinal cord to express MHC
class II. Reactive microglia/macrophages with short broad processes
expressed MHC class II, while ramified or resting microglia/macrophages
typically did not express MHC class II. MHC class II-
positive/CD11b-positive cells could be detected throughout white matter
and gray matter, but were most abundant in scattered focal regions in
white matter.
Vascular endothelial cells expressed MHC class I at low levels in
sham-infected mice, and at much higher levels following MHV infection
(Figure 2
, panels G1-G3). Endothelial cells did not express MHC class
II (Figure 3
, panels D1-D3), although MHC class II expressing cells
were often adjacent to endothelial cells in the perivascular region (as
in Figure 3
, panel D3). These cells were probably perivascular
microglia, infiltrating macrophages, and/or pericytes.
| Discussion |
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as identified by double immunofluorescence
labeling.19
Detection of MHC class I expression by
oligodendrocytes in MHV infection provides direct evidence that
oligodendrocytes are capable of presenting antigen to CD8+ T cells
in vivo. Neurons and the complex pattern of connections each neuron maintains are extremely difficult or impossible to replace. To prevent cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated killing, neurons tightly regulate the peptide presentation process. For example, neurons have been shown to express only very low levels of the class I heavy chain and the peptide transporters TAP1 and TAP2.20 MHC class I expression following MHV infection was previously observed in neuron-rich gray matter regions,21 although a neuronal phenotype was not confirmed. There are currently very few reports of neurons that express MHC class I in an adult rodent CNS identified by in situ double labeling as shown here. Interestingly, recent reports have identified MHC class I expression in a subset of neurons in the developing and mature cat and rodent CNS.22,23 This expression appears to be required for activity dependent remodeling and synaptic plasticity, thus indicating that MHC molecules have functions that extend beyond their roles in immune responses.
In vitro studies have demonstrated that electrically silent
neurons treated with IFN
express MHC class I proteins on the cell
surface.24-26
MHV infection of neurons in vivo
may disrupt normal neuronal electrical functions. IFN
secreted by
infiltrating T cells could then induce MHC class I expression, leading
to recognition and lysis by virus-specific CTL. Neurons that were
double labeled with MHC class I and NSE in MHV-infected mice were rare.
However a low number was anticipated since it was likely that only
damaged neurons would express MHC class I. Triple immunofluorescence
labeling studies to identify MHV-infected neurons expressing MHC class
I were done, but these technically difficult experiments were not
successful since the viral antigen staining pattern was often observed
as small blebs that resembled dead or dying cells. Although in
vitro and in vivo evidence for cell surface expression
of MHC class I has been reported,22-25,27
our experiments
do not specifically localize MHC class I to the neuronal cell surface
since it is very difficult to distinguish surface staining from
cytoplasmic staining in tissue sections. MHC class I staining did not
appear to be restricted to the endoplasmic reticulum, but was found
throughout the neuronal cytoplasm although it did not extend into axons
or dendrites.
Since no MHC proteins were detected on astrocytes at any time
point examined, the role of astrocytes in vivo in the
inflammatory response following MHV V5A13.1 does not appear to involve
antigen presentation. This lack of MHC expression by astrocytes in an
inflamed CNS is consistent with other in vivo observations
during MHV infection28
and with our own studies of CNS
inflammation in transgenic mice19
(J Redwine, L Shriver,
and C Evans, manuscript in preparation). In vitro, MHC class
I and class II expression can be induced on astrocytes in response to
interferon-
or viral infection.29,30
However, MHC
expression by astrocytes in vitro can be inhibited by
neuronal contact or brain-derived gangliosides,31,32
so
these factors may actively suppress MHC expression by astrocytes
in vivo.
Microglia expressed MHC class I and were the only cell type found to express MHC class II at all time points examined following MHV infection. Therefore these cells are the only cell type capable of presenting antigen to both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Resident microglia and infiltrating macrophages likely play major roles in regulating chronic inflammation by presenting antigen and expressing chemokines that attract T cells and/or macrophages.3,13 Microglia can also express B7 costimulatory molecules33,34 which increases the ability of these cells to activate T cells.
CNS endothelial cells were found to express MHC class I but not MHC class II following MHV infection. Although some studies of different models have reported MHC class II expression on endothelial cells,35 others have reported MHC class II expression on perivascular cells but not endothelial cells.36 The disparate findings may be due to the different models studied, or to the resolution of the various detection methods. Vessel endothelial cells and perivascular cells are likely important in antigen presentation to lymphocytes being recruited into the CNS. In addition, endothelial cells express the receptor for MHV,37,38 so they may play a role in virus dissemination throughout the CNS.
Clearly, the mechanisms of MHV-induced pathology are multifactorial, since some demyelination can occur even in the absence of functional MHC class I or CD8+ T cells.39 We found that at early time points post-MHV infection, oligodendrocytes expressed MHC class I, but expression decreased during the chronic phase of disease. Initial damage to CNS cells by virus-specific CD8+ T cells and by lytic viral infection may initiate a cascade of immune responses resulting in chronic demyelination that would not require continuing MHC class I expression. For example, macrophages may subsequently present viral antigen to CD4+ T cells in the context of MHC class II, thus continuing a local cycle of cytokine and chemokine production, T cell activation, and tissue damage.3 In light of these findings with MHV, it is possible that in humans, a CNS viral infection could result in the up-regulation of MHC class I molecules on oligodendrocytes or neurons during acute disease, thus rendering them susceptible to attack by CD8+ T cells. Chronic disease could then result due to a cascade of immune responses involving mechanisms such as epitope spreading.40 Our findings of in vivo expression of MHC class I by oligodendrocytes and neurons are novel and have broad implications for the pathogenesis of neurological diseases that involve CD8+ T cell infiltration, such as MS.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported in part by a grant to C. F. E. from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and by National Institutes of Health grants NS37135 (to C. F. E.), AI43103 (to M. J. B.) and NS38719 (to M. B. A. Oldstone). J. M. R. was supported by NIH Training Grant 5 T32 AG0008021 and a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Jeffrey M. Redwines current address is Neurome Inc., 11149 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037.
Accepted for publication July 2, 2001.
| References |
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