Down-regulation of poison ivy/oak-induced contact sensitivity by treatment with a class II MHC binding peptide:hapten conjugate.

Abstract

Immune regulation of contact sensitivity to the poison ivy/oak catechol was studied at the level of class II MHC-restricted T cell recognition of hapten:peptide conjugates. In this study we have shown that 1) T cells from C3H/HeN (H-2k) mice, immunized with a synthetic I-Ak binding peptide coupled to 3-pentadecyl-catechol (PDC; a representative catechol in urushiol), recognized peptides derived from syngeneic cells linked to the same catechol; 2) T cells from draining lymph nodes of C3H/HeN mice skin-painted with PDC proliferated in response to a peptide carrier:PDC conjugate only when it was linked at the 7th, but not the 4th or the 10th, position on the peptide carrier; and 3) tolerization studies confirmed down-regulation of PDC-induced delayed-type hypersensitivity following treatment with a single I-Ak binding peptide carrying PDC covalently bound to a lysine residue at the middle (7th) TCR contact position. Tolerization with peptide:PDC conjugate resulted in abrogation of hapten-specific T cell proliferative responses that correlated with diminished IL-2 secretion. On the basis of these data we propose that it may be sufficient to couple the hapten at a single, well-chosen position on a carrier peptide to target a relevant population of T cells involved in contact sensitivity.

• Authors: C Gelber, L Gemmell, D McAteer, M Homola, P Swain, A Liu, K J Wilson, M Gefter
• Journal: Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) (J Immunol) Vol. 158 Issue 5 Pg. 2425-34 (Mar 01 1997) ISSN: 0022-1767 [Print] United States
• PMID: 9036993 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Carrier Proteins
• Catechols
• Haptens
• Histocompatibility Antigens Class II
• Interleukin-2
• Peptides
• Trinitrobenzenes
• 3-pentadecacatechol

Topics

• Administration, Topical
• Animals
• Carrier Proteins (chemical synthesis, chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Catechols (administration & dosage, chemical synthesis, chemistry)
• Dermatitis, Toxicodendron (immunology, prevention & control)
• Down-Regulation (immunology)
• Haptens (immunology, therapeutic use)
• Histocompatibility Antigens Class II (metabolism)
• Immune Tolerance (drug effects)
• Interleukin-2 (metabolism)
• Lymphocyte Activation (drug effects)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred A
• Mice, Inbred C3H
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Peptides (metabolism, physiology)
• Protein Binding (drug effects, immunology)
• Skin (immunology)
• T-Lymphocytes (immunology, metabolism)
• Trinitrobenzenes (immunology, therapeutic use)