Effector Cytokine (effector + cytokine)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Neutralization of IL-17 by active vaccination inhibits IL-23-dependent autoimmune myocarditis

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 11 2006
Ivo Sonderegger
Abstract The most common reason for heart failure in young adults is dilated cardiomyopathy often resulting from myocarditis. Clinical studies and animal models provide evidence that an autoimmune response against heart myosin is the underlying reason for the disease. IL-12 has been suggested to play a key role in development of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM), as IL-12p40 and IL-12R,1 knockouts are protected from disease. In this study, we have compared IL-12p40,/, mice, IL-12p35,/, mice and mice treated with a neutralizing IL-23 antibody in EAM and found that in fact IL-23, not IL-12, is responsible for inflammatory heart disease. However, these cytokines appear to have redundant activity for priming and expansion of autoreactive CD4 T cells, as specific T cell proliferation was only defective in the absence of both cytokines. IL-23 has been suggested to promote a pathogenic IL-17-producing T cell population. We targeted IL-17 by capitalizing on an active vaccination approach that effectively breaks B cell tolerance. Neutralization of IL-17 reduced myocarditis and heart autoantibody responses, suggesting that IL-17 is the critical effector cytokine responsible for EAM. Thus, targeting of IL-23 and IL-17 by passive and active vaccination strategies holds promise as a therapeutic approach to treat patients at risk for development of dilated cardiomyopathy. See accompanying commentary: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.200636760 [source]


Allergen-specific antibody and cytokine responses, mast cell reactivity and intestinal permeability upon oral challenge of sensitized and tolerized mice

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 1 2010
C. Perrier
Summary Background Food allergy has reached an epidemic level in westernized countries and although central mechanisms have been described, the variability associated with genetic diversity underscores the still unresolved complexity of these disorders. Objective To develop models of food allergy and oral tolerance, both strictly induced by the intestinal route, and to compare antigen-specific responses. Methods BALB/c mice were mucosally sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) in the presence of the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin, or tolerized by intra-gastric administrations of OVA alone. Antibody titres and cytokines were determined by ELISA, and allergic status was determined through several physiologic parameters including decline in temperature, diarrhoea, mast cell degranulation and intestinal permeability. Results OVA-specific antibodies (IgE, IgGs and IgA in serum and feces) were produced in sensitized mice exclusively. Upon intra-gastric challenge with OVA, sensitized mice developed anaphylactic reactions associated with a decline of temperature, diarrhoea, degranulation of mast cells, which were only moderately recruited in the small intestine, and increased intestinal permeability. Cytokines produced by immune cells from sensitized mice included T-helper type 2 cytokines (IL-5, IL-13), but also IL-10, IFN-, and IL-17. In contrast, all markers of allergy were totally absent in tolerized animals, and yet the latter were protected from subsequent sensitization, demonstrating that oral tolerance took place efficiently. Conclusion This work allows for the first time an appropriate comparison between sensitized and tolerized BALB/c mice towards OVA. It highlights important differences from other models of allergy, and thus questions some of the generally accepted notions of allergic reactions, such as the protective role of IFN-,, the importance of antigen-specific secretory IgA and the role of mucosal mast cells in intestinal anaphylaxis. In addition, it suggests that IL-17 might be an effector cytokine in food allergy. Finally, it demonstrates that intestinal permeability towards the allergen is increased during challenge. Cite this as: C. Perrier, A.-C. Thierry, A. Mercenier and B. Corthésy, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2010 (40) 153,162. [source]


Both IL-12p70 and IL-23 are synthesized during active Crohn's disease and are down-regulated by treatment with anti-IL-12 p40 monoclonal antibody

INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 1 2006
Ivan J Fuss MD
Abstract Background: Interleukin (IL)-12p70 and IL-23 are key T helper-1 (TH1) cytokines that drive the inflammation seen in numerous models of intestinal inflammation. These molecules contain an identical p40 chain that is bound to a p35 chain in IL-12 and a p19 chain in IL-23, making both potentially susceptible to modulation by an anti-IL-12p40 monoclonal antibody (mAb). Methods: In the present study, we sought to determine whether active inflammation in Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with the increased synthesis of both of these cytokines and whether patients treated with an anti-IL-12p40 mAb down-regulate IL-23 as well as IL-12p70 as previous reported. Results: To this end we initially determined that IL-12p70 secretion by control and CD antigen-presenting cells (macrophages) in lamina propria mononuclear populations is optimized by stimulation with CD40L and interferon-,. In subsequent studies using these stimulation conditions we found that patients with CD manifested both increased IL-12p70 and IL-23 secretion before anti-IL-12p40 mAb treatment and normal levels of secretion of these cytokines following cessation of treatment. Antigen-presenting cells in lamina propria mononuclear cells from ulcerative colitis patients, in contrast, produced only baseline levels of IL-23. Finally, we found that IL-23-induced T cell production of IL-17 and IL-6 are also greatly reduced after antibody treatment. The latter data are parallel to those from previous studies showing that anti-IL-12p40 down-regulates IFN-, and tumor necrosis factor-, secretion. Conclusions: We conclude that CD but not ulcerative colitis is associated with high levels of both IL-12p70 and IL-23 secretion as well as the secretion of downstream effector cytokines, and that this cytokine production is down-regulated following administration of IL-12p40 mAb. [source]


A role for ,/, T cells in a mouse model of fracture healing

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 6 2009
Nona T. Colburn
Objective Fractures can initiate an immune response that disturbs osteoblastic and osteoclastic cellular homeostasis through cytokine production and release. The aim of our study was to investigate ,/, T cells, innate lymphocytes known to be involved in tissue repair, as potential cellular components of the osteoimmune system's response to an in vivo model of bone injury. The absence of such cells or their effector cytokines influences the fate of other responder cells in proliferation, differentiation, matrix production, and ultimate callus formation. Methods Tibia fractures were created in 60 ,/, T cell,deficient mice (also called , T cell receptor [TCR],knockout mice) and 60 control C57BL/6 mice. Analysis included radiographs, basic histology, mechanical testing, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemical localization of ,/, TCR,positive subsets from control animals and of CD44 expression from both groups, as well as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the effector cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-, (IFN,), and IL-6. Results Animals deficient in ,/, T cells demonstrated more mature histologic elements and quantitative increases in the expression of major bone (bone sialoprotein) and cartilage (type II collagen) matrix proteins and in the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 at a critical reparative phase. Moreover, only ,/, T cell,deficient animals had a decrease in the osteoprogenitor antiproliferative cytokines IL-6 and IFN, at the reparative phase. The result was improved stability at the repair site and an overall superior biomechanical strength in ,/, T cell,deficient mice compared with controls. Conclusion The evidence for a role of ,/, T cells in the context of skeletal injury demonstrates the importance of the immune system's effect on bone biology, which is relevant to the field of osteoimmunology, and offers a potential molecular platform from which to develop essential therapeutic strategies. [source]