First Author | McKee CM | Year | 2002 |
Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 168 |
Issue | 1 | Pages | 483-9 |
PubMed ID | 11751996 | Mgi Jnum | J:126021 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3760364 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.168.1.483 |
Citation | McKee CM, et al. (2002) Prolonged allograft survival in TNF receptor 1-deficient recipients is due to immunoregulatory effects, not to inhibition of direct antigraft cytotoxicity. J Immunol 168(1):483-9 |
abstractText | TNF-alpha and lymphotoxin (LT)alpha have been shown to be important mediators of allograft rejection. TNF-R1 is the principal receptor for both molecules. Mice with targeted genetic deletions of TNF-R1 demonstrate normal development of T and B lymphocytes but exhibit functional defects in immune responses. However, the role of TNF-R1-mediated signaling in solid organ transplant rejection has not been defined. To investigate this question, we performed vascularized heterotopic allogeneic cardiac transplants in TNF-R1-deficient (TNF-R1(-/-)) and wild-type mice. Because all allografts in our protocol expressed TNF-R1, direct antigraft effects of TNF-alpha and LTalpha were not prevented. However, immunoregulatory effects on recipient inflammatory cells by TNF-R1 engagement was eliminated in TNF-R1(-/-) recipients. In our study, cardiac allograft survival was significantly prolonged in TNF-R1(-/-) recipients. Despite this prolonged allograft survival, we detected increased levels of CD8 T cell markers in allografts from TNF-R1(-/-) recipients, suggesting that effector functions, but not T cell recruitment, were blocked. We also demonstrated the inhibition of multiple chemokines and cytokines in allografts from TNF-R1(-/-) recipients including RANTES, IFN-inducible protein-10, lymphotactin, and IL-1R antagonist, as well as altered levels of chemokine receptors. We correlated gene expression with the physiologic process of allograft rejection using self-organizing maps and identified distinct patterns of gene expression in allografts from TNF-R1(-/-) recipients. These findings indicate that in our experimental system TNF-alpha and LTalpha exert profound immunoregulatory effects through TNF-R1. |