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From the Boston Biomedical Research Institute,*
Watertown; and the Department of Neurology and Graduate Program inNeuroscience,
Harvard Medical School,Boston, Massachusetts
| Abstract |
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Mice of the SJL/J strain spontaneously develop myopathy with inflammation and macrophage invasion.5-7 This myopathy appears to be due to a mutation in the dysferlin gene of SJL/J mice.8,9 The dysferlin gene is also mutated in the human disease, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B), suggesting that SJL/J mice might be used as a model for the human disease.10,11 By eight months of age, muscles in 100% of SJL/J mice show extensive abnormalities, such as centrally nucleate fibers, necrotic fibers, hypertrophic fibers, atrophic fibers, and infiltrating cells.7 Most of the muscle-infiltrating cells are macrophages, with smaller numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ cells.12 SJL/J mice also have abnormalities that appear not to be related to the dysferlin mutation, including suspectibility to lymphoma, experimental myositis, and vascular leakage,6,7,13,14 perhaps complicating the use of these mice as a LGMD 2B model.
To analyze how MHC class I functions in a myopathy with inflammation, we have compared muscles from three types of mice: C57BL/6J (controls); SJL/J (dysferlin-deficient with normal MHC class I); and SJL/J: ß-2-microglobulin (-/-) (both dysferlin- and MHC class I-deficient). Because ß-2-microglobulin (B2m) is required for proper assembly of MHC class I proteins on the cell surface, functional MHC class I proteins are nearly eliminated in B2m (-/-) mice.15 Mice with a targeted mutation in the B2m gene have been used successfully to analyze the role of MHC class I proteins in a number of biological processes.15-18 Our results show that MHC class I expression is markedly up-regulated in myopathic muscles of SJL/J mice. However, the extent of myopathy in 8- to 9-month-old mice was not affected when this up-regulation of MHC class I was eliminated in SJL/JB2m (-/-) muscles.
| Materials and Methods |
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C57BL/6J mice, as well as mice of the SJL/J and SJL.129P2(B6)-B2mtm1Unc (termed SJL/J B2m (-/-) in this paper) strains were obtained from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). The B2mtm1Unc mutant strain19 was developed by targeted mutation of the ß-2-microglobulin gene in the 129-derived E14TG2a ES cell line. The SJL.129P2(B6)-B2mtm1Unc strain was produced in the laboratory of Dr. Derry Roopenian at The Jackson Laboratory by back-crossing the B2mtm1Unc mutation 10 times to SJL/J inbred mice. Genotypes of the B2m (+/+) and (-/-) mice were confirmed using a polymerase chain reaction-based protocol supplied by the Jackson Laboratory. All mice were females and were analyzed at 8 to 9 months of age. At this age, all SJL/J mice exhibit significant myopathology.7 SJL/J mice are of the H-2s haplotype and C57BL/6J mice are of the H-2b haplotype.
Antibodies
MHC class I expression was analyzed using a monoclonal antibody
produced by M1/42.3.9.8.HLK cells (TIB-126, obtained from American Type
Culture Collection, Manassas, VA). This M1/42 mAb, which is a rat
IgG2a, reacts with an epitope that is common to all haplotypes of the
H-2 protein components of MHC class I molecules. The Mac-1
-chain
(also known as CD11b and integrin
M chain) was
analyzed using biotinylated mAb M1/70, a rat IgG2b that is specific for
the mouse Mac-1
-chain at a dilution of 1:250 (Pharmingen, San Diego
CA). Expression of ß-2-microglobulin was analyzed with a goat
anti-B2m serum (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) used at a
1:100 dilution. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was
detected with a mouse mAb (Research Diagnostics Inc., Flanders, NJ)
used at 1:4000 dilution. Binding of primary antibodies was detected
with an appropriate secondary antibody system: biotinylated anti-rat
secondary antibody used at a 1:200 dilution and coupled with
avidin-peroxidase detection (Vector Elite system, Vector Laboratories,
Burlingame, CA) with diaminobenzidine as substrate; or HRP-conjugated
donkey anti-goat IgG (1:1500 dilution) or goat anti-mouse IgG (1:2000
dilution) (Jackson Immunoresearch, West Grove, PA) used with
chemiluminescent substrate (ECL substrate, Amersham, Piscataway, NJ)
for immunoblots. Preparation of tissue homogenates and immunoblotting
of proteins separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) were carried out as described
previously.20
Before SDS-PAGE, tissue homogenates were
analyzed by Bradford protein assay, and equal amounts of total protein
(60 µg) were analyzed in each lane. After proteins were transferred
to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes, protein loading
was demonstrated by immunoblotting for GAPDH in muscle samples, or by
Ponceau S staining of the most abundant
13-kd band for spleen
samples (spleen samples did not show reaction with the anti-GAPDH
antibody).
Histology
Muscles were dissected, frozen immediately in 2-methylbutane chilled by liquid nitrogen, and 10- to12-µm cryostat sections were prepared from matching regions of muscles for comparison of different genotypes. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) or by immunohistochemistry as described previously.21,22 Abnormal fibers and Mac-1-positive cells were counted by microscopy using 10x or 20x objectives. For each count, the abnormal fibers or Mac-1-positive cells were counted in multiple, adjacent 10x or 20x fields until the entire area of each muscle section was counted, with at least three complete sections observed for each point. The average number ± SD per field was calculated and converted to average ± SD per mm2. Mean differences were assessed for statistical significance by the appropriate analysis of variance test; unpaired, two-tailed t-test; or non-parametric Mann-Whitney test using the InStat computer program (v2.03, GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA).
| Results |
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Skeletal muscles in SJL/J mice showed a marked up-regulation of
MHC class I and ß-2-microglobulin expression. Individual muscles
(quadriceps, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius/soleus complex) were
dissected from 8- to 9-month-old mice of the C57BL/6J, SJL/J, and SJL/J
B2m (-/-) genotypes and examined by immunohistology with a mAb that
reacts with an epitope common to all MHC class I proteins (Figure 1, AC)
or by immunoblotting with an
antibody specific for ß-2-microglobulin (Figure 2)
.
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Consistent with the increased MHC class I expression, SJL/J muscle also
had increased expression of ß-2-microglobulin. Immunoblotting showed
that ß-2-microglobulin was much more abundant in SJL/J muscles than
in C57BL/6J muscles, even though spleens from mice of these two
genotypes showed similar levels of ß-2-microglobulin (Figure 2)
. As
expected, the SJL/J B2m (-/-) muscles showed no detectable
ß-2-microglobulin.
Myopathology
In contrast to the marked differences in MHC class I expression in
the muscles of SJL/J and SJL/J B2m (-/-) mice, the muscles of these
two genotypes showed no consistent differences in muscle pathology
(Figure 1, DF
, Table 1
). Individual
muscles (quadriceps, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius/soleus complex)
were dissected from 8- to 9-month-old mice of the C57BL/6J, SJL/J, and
SJL/J B2m (-/-) genotypes. Muscles were sectioned, H&E stained, and
examined to determine the relative numbers of normal and abnormal
muscle fibers. Muscle fibers were considered to be abnormal if they
were (1) centrally nucleate or small and basophilic (indicating
regeneration), (2) atrophic (<20 µm diameter) or hypertrophic (>100
µm diameter, (3) apparently necrotic with infiltrating cells, or (4)
apparently replaced by fat or collagen (cf. ref. 7
).
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Infiltrating Cells
Mac-1-positive cells are the predominant infiltrating cells in
myopathic SJL/J muscles.7,12
To examine how infiltrating
cell numbers might be affected by MHC class I expression in SJL/J
myopathy, we used immunohistology with an anti-Mac-1 mAb to determine
the number of Mac-1-positive cells in muscles of the C57BL/6J, SJL/J,
and SJL/J B2m (-/-) genotypes (Figure 1, GI)
.
Mac-1-positive cells were quite rare in healthy C57BL/6J muscles
(Figure 1G
and Table 2
). In myopathic
SJL/J muscles, in contrast, Mac-1-positive cells were much more
abundant, reaching levels that were
3- to 5-fold higher than in
normal muscles (Figure 1H
and Table 2
). However, the highest abundance
of Mac-1-positive cells was found in SJL/J B2m (-/-) muscles, where
the density of Mac-1-psoitive cells was
10- to 13-fold greater than
in C57BL/6J muscles and
2 to 4 x higher than in SJL/J muscles
(Figure 1I
, Table 2
). Statistical analysis by analysis of variance
showed that, with the sole exception of the quadriceps sample from
SJL/J mouse no. 3 (Table 2)
, individual muscles of the same genotype
had similar abundances of Mac-1-positive cells, whereas individual
muscles of different genotypes had significantly different abundances
of Mac-1-positive cells (P < 0.01).
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| Discussion |
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All SJL/J mice spontaneously develop a myopathy that is well established by eight months of age.7 This spontaneous myopathy is accompanied by up-regulation of MHC class I expression on muscle fibers that begins at 4 to 6 weeks of age12 and is nearly complete by eight months of age (this work). Because up-regulation of MHC class I proteins is found in many neuromuscular diseases, it has been suggested that MHC class I may play a key role in regulating inflammation and disease progression in some neuromuscular diseases. However, despite the fact that induced expression of MHC class I in adult muscle is sufficient to initiate inflammatory myositis,4 class I up-regulation does not appear to necessary for either experimentally induced autoimmune myasthenia gravis16 or dysferlin-deficiency myopathy in SJL/J mice (this work).
The use of B2m (-/-) mice for analysis of MHC class I function in muscle disease has certain limitations. First, SJL/J B2m (-/-) mice lack functional MHC class I not just on muscle fibers, where it is up-regulated compared to healthy muscle, but also on all other cell types that normally express these proteins. It is possible, though unlikely, that muscle-specific depletion of MHC class I, unlike complete depletion, would change the outcome of myopathy in SJL/J mice.
Second, B2m (-/-) mice may have a very low level (<5% of wild-type) of functional class I protein of the H-2D group (eg, H-2Ds for SJL/J mice or H-2Db for C57BL/6J mice), though this low level of functional protein may be confined to particular T cell subgroups.15 It is clear, however, that muscles in the SJL/J B2m (-/-) mice have greatly reduced MHC class I protein levels compared to the very high levels found in muscles in SJL/J mice. Thus, we conclude that this marked up-regulation of MHC class I in muscles is not required for spontaneous myopathy in SJL/J mice.
Finally, B2m (-/-) mice have NK cell deficiency, decreased levels of serum Ig, few CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, and under some circumstances a compensatory increase in CD4+ cytotoxic T cells.15 Evidently, these changes in immune system function do not inhibit the development of myopathy in SJL/J mice. Because CD8+ cytotoxic T cells appear to promote myopathy in dystrophin-deficient mice,23-25 it is noteworthy that the severe (though not complete) depletion of these cells in SJL/JB2m (-/-) mice has no effect on the SJL/J, dysferlin-deficient myopathy. A further study is needed to determine whether complete elimination of CD8+ cytotoxic cells will ameliorate SJL/J myopathy.
In addition to exhibiting spontaneous myopathy at several months of age, the SJL/J strain is also uniquely susceptible to developing a rapid, apparently autoimmune myopathy in response to injection of syngeneic muscle proteins during the first 4 to 6 weeks of life.26-29 This autoimmune myositis can be induced in normal mice that are dysferlin-positive by transfer of T cells or IgG from immunized SJL/J mice.29 Whether the susceptibility to experimentally induced myositis in SJL/J mice is dependent in some manner on the presence of the dysferlin mutation remains to be determined. Further studies are also needed to determine whether this susceptibility may require the MHC class I up-regulation that begins on or near a small percentage of SJL/J muscle fibers as soon as 4 to 6 weeks after birth12 and progresses until MHC class I is expressed around a large majority of muscle fibers by 8 to 9 months after birth (this work).
After injury or during some diseases, Mac-1-positive cells (largely macrophages) enter skeletal muscles in large numbers. Macrophages appear to regulate the removal of dead fibers, as well as the speed at which abnormal fibers are repaired or replaced by activated satellite cell myoblasts.30-33 Macrophages are also the predominant infiltrating cell in SJL/J muscles,12 and the abundance of infiltrating cells may correlate with the severity of myopathy. Because SJL/J myopathy appeared unaffected by the B2m (-/-) locus, it was surprising to find that the level of Mac-1-positive cells was higher in SJL/J B2m (-/-) muscles than the already high levels found in SJL/J muscles. The different Mac-1-positive cell numbers might indicate that disease progression may differ between SJL/J and SJL/J B2m (-/-) muscles, though our limited study at one time point was not designed to test this possibility.
The mechanism underlying the different numbers of Mac-1-positive cells remains to be determined, though it is possible that, because Mac-1 is expressed on other cell types such as granulocytes, the infiltrate in the B2m (-/-) cells may be composed of different proportions of macrophages, granulocytes (cf. ref. 24 ), and possibly additional Mac-1-positive cells. Another possibility is that Mac-1-positive cells may undergo less apoptosis and thus survive longer and at higher levels in B2m (-/-) muscles. A role for apoptosis in the survival of infiltrating cells is suggested by the finding that inhibition of the apoptosis regulator FasL improves survival of phagocytic cells during muscle regeneration.33 Because damaged muscle is a source of several inflammatory signals (reviewed in 34), it is also possible that B2m (-/-) and wild-type muscles produce different levels of inflammatory signals such as intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 (which interacts with the Mac-1 protein), nitric oxide, or inflammatory cytokines.
The spontaneous SJL/J myopathy was initially thought to be a model for autoimmune myositis. With the finding that SJL/J mice are homozygous for an inactivating mutation in the dysferlin gene, however, it was suggested that SJL/J mice are a model for the human disease limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2B in which this gene is also inactivated.10 In contrast to SJL/J mice, however, a recent study found that MHC class I expression was not up-regulated in the muscles of four LGMD 2B patients carrying a particular dysferlin splicing mutation, though muscles of two patients had an inflammatory infiltrate.35 In dysferlin-deficient patients, the severity of disease varies with both the specific dysferlin mutation and additional modifying factors that are currently not well understood.36-38 Whether up-regulation of MHC class I expression might accompany particular dysferlin mutations or vary with stage of the human disease remains to be determined. It will be useful to use breeding experiments to determine whether the MHC class I up-regulation seen in SJL/J muscle is independent of the dysferlin mutation, as might be predicted from the limited human studies. In the meantime, SJL/J mice should be used with caution as a model of human LGMD 2B.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported by grants from National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the W. R. Hearst Fund of Harvard Medical School (to J. D.) and by grants from USDA (National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (to J. B. M.).
Accepted for publication November 14, 2001.
| References |
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