November 21, 2013

The site of allergen expression in hematopoietic cells determines the degree and quality of tolerance induced through molecular chimerism

Eur J Immunol. 2013 September; 43(9): 2451–2460.
Published online 2013 June 14. doi:  10.1002/eji.201243277
PMCID: PMC3816328

The site of allergen expression in hematopoietic cells determines the degree and quality of tolerance induced through molecular chimerism

Abstract

The transplantation of allergens (e.g. Phl p 5 or Bet v 1) expressed on BM cells as membrane-anchored full-length proteins leads to permanent tolerance at the T-cell, B-cell, and effector-cell levels. Since the exposure of complete allergens bears the risk of inducing anaphylaxis, we investigated here whether expression of Phl p 5 in the cytoplasm (rather than on the cell surface) is sufficient for tolerance induction. Transplantation of BALB/c BM retrovirally transduced to express Phl p 5 in the cytoplasm led to stable and durable molecular chimerism in syngeneic recipients (~20% chimerism at 6 months). Chimeras showed allergen-specific T-cell hyporesponsiveness. Further, Phl p 5-specific TH1-dependent humoral responses were tolerized in several chimeras. Surprisingly, Phl p 5-specific IgE and IgG1 levels were significantly reduced but still detectable in sera of chimeric mice, indicating incomplete B-cell tolerance. No Phl p 5-specific sIgM developed in cytoplasmic chimeras, which is in marked contrast to mice transplanted with BM expressing membrane-anchored Phl p 5. Thus, the expression site of the allergen substantially influences the degree and quality of tolerance achieved with molecular chimerism in IgE-mediated allergy.
Keywords: Allergy, B-cell tolerance, Molecular chimerism, Phl p 5, T-cell tolerance

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