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Activity Suppresses Activation of Infiltrating Macrophages in Experimental Autoimmune Uveoretinitis
1From the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom; and the 2Division of Ophthalmology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. EAU was induced in Lewis rats by active immunization with soluble retinal extract (RE) and pertussis toxin (intraperitoneally), and animals were treated on days 6 and 8 after immunization with either sTNFr-IgG or human (hu)IgG. Disease course and severity were noted clinically, and eyes were enucleated for histologic scoring, including TUNEL immunofluorescence, at various stages of disease. Infiltrating retinal macrophages were isolated through a density gradient and subsequently phenotyped by flow cytometry, analyzed for ability to produce nitrite, either spontaneously or after cytokine stimulation, and assayed by PCR for cytokine gene expression.
RESULTS. Neutralizing TNF activity suppressed tissue damage without impeding myeloid cell infiltrate. Moreover, with sTNFr-IgG treatment, infiltrating macrophages demonstrated reduced nitrite production at the height of disease, and the level of apoptosis within the retina of both ED1+ cells and resident cells was reduced. PCR analysis demonstrated a significant increase in TGFß signal and absent or low TNF signal throughout the disease course after treatment with sTNFr-IgG.
CONCLUSIONS. sTNFr-IgG successfully suppresses retinal damage and impairs macrophage activation but not trafficking during EAU. sTNFr-IgGmediated suppression of NO production results in reduced levels of apoptosis of inflammatory cells and reduction in photoreceptor damage.
is a pleiotropic, pivotal proinflammatory cytokine and is implicated in the orchestration of many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and therefore neutralizing its activity has been successful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis1 and, more recently, uveitis.2 TNF-
activity can be inhibited in vivo and in vitro by specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or by administration of soluble TNF-
receptor (sTNFr-IgG), as demonstrated by successful inhibition of tissue damage in EAU and EAE.3 4 5 6 Experimentally neutralizing TNF-
activity with mAb prevents the upregulation of adhesion molecules, such as vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 on vascular endothelium,7 and thereby reduces the inflammatory infiltrate. In addition, inhibition of TNF-
directly suppresses tissue damage8 and cell death.9 In contrast to other reports using anti-TNF-
mAb, we and others have shown with sTNFr-IgG that, despite the suppression of clinical disease and reduction in tissue damage during EAU, there is no reduction in T-cell infiltrate.3 4 5 6 sTNFr-IgG therapy suppresses T helper (Th)-1 cell responses in EAU,10 and, in these experiments, it was noted that macrophage phenotypes, as represented by MHC class II expression within the infiltrate, was reduced, inferring that treatment may also downregulate macrophage activity.
EAU induced by soluble retinal antigens closely resembles human disease,11 and is mediated by CD4+ T cells and activated macrophages.12 13 14 Macrophages are major effectors of tissue damage. They are found in the outer retina during retinal inflammation and have been identified as a major source of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-2.15 16 17 Recent data have shown that inhibition of NOS2 significantly inhibits tissue damage,16 18 which can be attributed to a dramatic reduction in photoreceptor apoptosis, despite retention of T cells during inhibition of NOS2. It appears therefore that formation of peroxynitrites and reactive oxygen species contributes to photoreceptor death but is also necessary for activation-induced cell death and elimination of effector T cells. Both TNF-
and IFN-
activate macrophages and elicit strong NO responses.19 Cytokines act hierarchically to elicit macrophage activation and a maximum NO response, whereas TNF-
alone is unable generate significant NO response. In the retina, the resident myeloid cell population (microglia, MG) does not constitutively express NOS2 and thus does not generate NO spontaneously.17 During EAU, infiltrating myeloid cells under the influence of pronounced cytokine release from the Th1-cell infiltrate20 21 22 23 express NOS2 and nitrotyrosine and constitutively release NO.17 Given our observations of TNF neutralization,4 10 we wanted to determine whether macrophage infiltrate function was simultaneously downregulated, suppressing generation of NO, and accounting for the limited tissue damage observed during sTNFr-IgG therapy.
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Antibodies and Cytokines
Rat rIFN-
was obtained from Bradsure Biologicals, Ltd. (Loughborough, UK) and human rTNF-
and rTGF-ß1 were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (Poole, UK). Rat recombinant (r)IL-4 was produced in house, as described previously,25 using a CHO cell line generously donated by Neil Barclay (MRC Cellular Immunology Unit, Oxford, UK). Unless otherwise stated, mouse mAbs specific for rat cell surface markers were obtained from Serotec (Oxford, UK), including mouse anti-rat I-A (OX6):RPE and mouse anti-rat CD4 (w3/25). Purified anti-rat CD86 (B7-2), biotinylated mouse IgG1
(negative isotype control), biotinylated mouse anti-rat mononuclear phagocyte mAb (IC7), anti-rat CD11b/c (OX42), and streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (AP) complex (SA-APC) were obtained from BD PharMingen (San Diego, CA). Anti-mouse IgG (whole molecule)-FITC conjugate was obtained from Sigma Chemical Co.
| Isolation and Preparation of Macrophage Cultures |
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Cytokine Stimulation of Macrophage Cultures.
Assay culture conditions were optimized using splenic macrophages (derived from immunized animals at time retinal cells were isolated), which were cultured and stimulated as previously described.17 19 Cytokines used were IFN-
(20 U/mL), TNF-
(5 ng/mL), IL-4 (5 µL), and sTNFr-IgG (13 µg/mL), alone or administered sequentially in combination, with the administration of each cytokine separated by a 4-hour period. Macrophage function was assessed 24 hours after addition of the first cytokine. IFN-
, followed 4 hours later by TNF-
(IFN
/TNF
), was used as a positive stimulation of NO production, confirming previous in vitro studies.19 Where stated, cytokine additions were given relative to IFN-
/TNF-
(positive control) stimulation. Cytokines were not removed before macrophage function was assessed. In retinal specimens, the number of cytokine stimulation assays that could be performed was restricted by the number of macrophages isolated.
Flow Cytometric Phenotypic Analysis of Retinal Macrophages
Immunophenotyping of infiltrating leukocytes was performed using mouse mAb specific for the rat cell surface markers to be listed later. mAbs used were either unconjugated or conjugated to biotin, phycoerythrin (PE), or FITC for three-color immunofluorescence. Unconjugated mAbs were detected with rat anti-mouse FITC, and biotinylated mAbs were detected with streptavidin-APC (SA-APC). Staining was performed, with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) buffer (PBS, BSA, and 10 mM NaN3) used for washes. All reagents, buffers, and incubations were performed and kept at 4°C. Negative isotype control and single positive control experiments were performed to allow accurate breakthrough compensation. Primary unconjugated mAbs included CD4, CD11b/c, and CD86. Cells were incubated sequentially with primary mAb, anti-mouse IgG (whole molecule)-FITC conjugate in the presence of 10% NRS, blocked with 10% normal mouse/normal rat serum (NMS/NRS), biotinylated second antibody (CD45, CD11b/c, or IC7) with PE-conjugated third antibody (mouse anti-I-A [mouse/rat]), and finally SA-APC. Acquisition of data was performed by flow cytometer (FACS Calibur; BD Biosciences; Plymouth, UK) and the accompanying software (CellQuest; BD Biosciences). A total of 10,000 events were recorded and gates and instrument settings were set according to forward- and side-scatter characteristics. Fluorescence analysis was performed after further back-gating to exclude dead cells, most neutrophils, and background staining.
Quantification of NO Synthesis
NO generation was estimated after 24 hours in culture by assaying culture supernatants for the stable reaction product of NO (nitrite) against a sodium nitrite standard on the same plate. A 200-µL total volume of each cell-free supernatant (diluted 1:4 with dH2O) was incubated with 50 µL of Griess reagent (0.5% sulfanilamide, 0.05% N-(1-naphtyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride in 2.5% phosphoric acid) in 96-well flat-bottomed plates for 10 minutes at room temperature. The optical densities were measured at 540 and 690 nm to account for background.
Immunohistochemistry
Eyes removed from normal or immunized animals at the various stages of EAU were embedded in optimal cutting temperature (OCT) compound, snap frozen, and stored at -30°C, or processed for routine paraffin embedding for histologic scoring and immunofluorescence, for the detection and quantification of apoptosis. Histologic scoring was performed, as previously described.24 In brief, three sections per slide were examined, and scoring was based on the extent of infiltration and the extent of structural damageprincipally, photoreceptor and nuclear cell loss and disruption of retinal architecture. Apoptosis was detected in sections with a kit (TACS 2 TdT-Fluor In Situ Apoptosis Detection; Trevigen, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD; AMS Biotechnology, Oxon, UK), using deionized water throughout and according to the manufacturers instructions. Briefly, slides were first dewaxed with xylene (BDH Laboratory Supplies, Poole, UK) and reducing concentrations of ethanol, before rehydration in PBS for 15 minutes, incubation with proteinase K for 15 minutes, and subsequently 1x TdT labeling buffer. Slides were finally incubated in streptavidin-fluorescein at 1:50 dilution for 30 minutes. After two washes in PBS, slides were either mounted in antifade medium (Vectashield; Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) or further incubated with ED1 mAb (Serotec), detected with streptavidin-Texas red (1:50; Amersham Life Science, Amersham, UK). The number of TUNEL-positive cells within the retina and subretinal space was counted throughout all the sections under a x20 objective with the appropriate excitation filters of a confocal microscope (BH2-RFC; Olympus, Tokyo, Japan), according to the manufacturers instructions. Cells in three sections per eye were counted.
Cytokine Expression
RNA was extracted from whole retina (one to two per sample; RNA-Bee (Biogenesis, Poole, UK), an improved version of the single-step method of RNA isolation. All components used had been treated with diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC). The final concentration of RNA was determined by spectrophotometric analysis. Viable cDNA was then generated for each sample. The expression of multiple cytokines in retina, including IL-6, TNF, IL-1ß, TGFß, and granulocyte-macrophagecolony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was determined by the use of commercial quantitative PCR detection kits (Biosource, Camarillo, CA), according to the manufacturers instructions. All components were provided in the kits, with the exception of the Taq DNA polymerase (Promega, Southampton, UK). The primers used were as follows: GAPDH, 532 bp; IL-6, 432 bp; TNF-
, 352 bp; IL-1ß, 295 bp; TGF-ß, 250 bp; and GM-CSF, 210 bp. A total reaction volume of 25 µL per sample was used, which included 7.25 µL of sample or control cDNA. The PCR products from the multicytokine detection kit described earlier were visualized on a 2% agarose gel by ethidium bromide staining. To determine fragment size, a DNA ladder (Roche Diagnostics Ltd., Lewes, UK) was run on the same gel. A positive control was also run on each gel, to allow complete analysis of the samples. Gels were visualized and further analyzed with a commercial system (Syngene; Synoptics, Ltd., Cambridge, UK), whereby the fluorescence intensity of the ethidium bromide stained PCR products was measured under ultraviolet light, with the area of fluorescence intensity being equivalent to the cDNA levels present in the sample. A ratio of each cytokine-to-GAPDH intensity was obtained for the raw volume of each sample, from which results were analyzed.
Statistical Analysis
Differences between groups of NO production were analyzed by nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance and the Dunnett posttest. Histologic scores and level of apoptosis from counts of TUNEL positivity was assessed by nonparametric Mann-Whitney analysis, in which P < 0.05 was considered significant.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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and TNF refers to the ability of a macrophage to express NOS2 and generate nitrite, peroxynitrites, and superoxides, which in turn induce lipid peroxidation of cell membranes and cell death. In the rat, naïve bone marrowderived macrophages respond to cytokines in a hierarchical fashion, requiring, for example, both IFN
and TNF for optimal priming of NO production, whereas TNF alone is largely insufficient.17 19 Recently, in EAU, we have shown that infiltrating macrophages, conditioned by the microenvironment, are activated to generate NO during peak disease.17 Furthermore, inhibition of NOS2 suppresses EAU16 18 and prevents peroxynitrite formation by macrophages, thereby protecting photoreceptor cells from apoptosis. The role of NO and peroxynitrite in ocular inflammation and tissue damage has been confirmed by others. These present data further our understanding of macrophage conditioning during EAU and the mechanisms by which anti-TNF therapies are active during suppression of target organ damage. To add further to our previous observations, we have shown that after sTNFr-IgG therapy, entry of macrophages into the retina was not impaired, but generation of NO was, concomitant with suppression of photoreceptor damage.
Given that macrophage activation, inducing NOS2 expression and NO generation, is driven by IFN
/TNF stimulation, it is perhaps not surprising to confirm that neutralizing TNF activity results in diminished macrophage-derived NO production within the retina. One notion is that sTNFr-IgG binds to membrane TNF on macrophages inhibiting TNF production and subsequent macrophage activation. However, as we have showed in the current study, macrophages generated NO after stimulation with IFN
alone, and thus administering sTNFr-IgG to macrophages in vitro does not block generation of NO.29 30 IFN
/TNF-induced NO production. How does sTNFr-IgG therapy suppress macrophage activity in vivo? We have shown that during sTNFr-IgG therapy, there is pronounced inhibition of retinal T-cellderived IFN
and T-cell activation, despite maintained proliferation10 and retention of T cells within retina as a result of reduced apoptosis. During EAU, there is pronounced production of Th1 cytokine,20 21 22 23 which are available to activate infiltrating macrophages at the height of disease. It is possible in light of our current observations that sTNFr-IgG binds and inhibits both soluble TNF (solTNF) and membrane TNF (memTNF) on T cells, thus preventing T-cell activation and IFN
production and subsequent IFN
/TNFmediated activation of infiltrating macrophages during EAU. TNF-mediated activities are numerous, and recent views dictate a fundamental role in the control of leukocyte movement by virtue of a role in chemokine expression,31 in addition to other recognized roles including control of T-cell activation and survival.32 33 34
TNF is first produced as a transmembrane molecule that is cleaved by metalloproteinases to produce solTNF,35 and both memTNF and solTNF interact with both TNF receptors.36 Generally, however, solTNF is regarded as the ligand for p55 or TNFr1.37 TNFr1 contains death domains that mediate apoptosis on engagement,38 but also under other circumstances may mediate cell survival.33 Recent evidence strongly infers that memTNF supports the generation of lymphoid structures, whereas solTNF is required for generation of the full phenotype of inflammatory lesions, as shown in experimental models of autoimmunity within the central nervous system (CNS).39 That sTNFr-IgG treatment in these and previous experiments delayed but did not impair cell movement into the retina, yet suppressed the full phenotype of tissue damage, implies in the main that the principal action is against solTNF. If that is the case, then the main action opposes T-cell production of TNF, which in turn reduces the activation of macrophages that are infiltrating the retina. TGFß cytokine expression was present in normal retina (Fig. 4) , and significantly increased in treated animals compared with the control at peak disease. The increase in IFN
production10 and decrease in TGFß after treatment contributes to alternative macrophage programming and suppression of NO.17 In addition, although we could did not demonstrate differences in expression of MHC class II and costimulatory expression with treatment, further evidence is needed to assess whether higher TGFß and lower IFN
levels result in downregulation of antigen-presenting cell (APC) function contributing to regulation of disease.
Suppression of NO production, accounting for reduction in target organ damage is consistently observed with sTNFr-IgG therapy and is supported by other related findings in which NOS2 inhibition, induced with nonspecific inhibitors of NOS results in significant suppression of clinical disease and structural damage.18 In these experiments, nitrotyrosine formation was seen, indicating that large quantities of both NO and superoxide were generated and reacted to form peroxynitrite, which is highly toxic, particularly to neuronal cells. Inducible NOS2 and NO have both regulatory and effector functions in autoimmunity, providing both a pathogenic and regulatory role during disease evolution and remission.40 41 Tissue-specific expression of NOS is essential for the regulation of immune responses in the periphery, depending on the amount of NO produced. During EAU, until resolution there is retention of ED1+ macrophages,17 18 which is also observed whether inhibited with sTNFr-IgG or NOS2 inhibitors, implying that any macrophage necrosis at the height of disease does not significantly affect progression and outcome of disease. This notion is further supported by our observation that macrophage apoptosis was reduced at peak disease in these current experiments. Simultaneously, apoptosis of resident neuronal cells and photoreceptors was also reduced after sTNFr-IgG therapy and with NOS2 inhibitors. Furthermore, NO appears to modulate mitochondria-mediated apoptosis that leads to photoreceptor death and the Fas or death receptor pathway that results in T-cell apoptosis.34 Similarly, although not identified directly in these experiments, sTNFr-IgG may target solTNF, also preventing TNFr1-induced apoptosis and accounting for the retention of T cells that we observed previously. The role of TNF in retinal inflammation remains undefined. The recent differentiation between functions of memTNF and solTNF,39 taken with the current data, helps to explain why sTNFr-IgG delays but does not inhibit leukocyte trafficking, as has been seen in other models3 6 42 or in TNF-/- animals,43 44 and directs where more exquisitely specific targeting of TNF responses could be used therapeutically in the future. Although clinical reports indicate a possible benefit in the treatment of uveitis and retinal vasculitis related to, for example, Behçets disease, there remains concerns that in some patients inflammation may be perpetuated by such therapy. These findings, taken in the context of this present data, may of course relate to the retention of inflammatory cells rather than ongoing tissue damage. However, secondary effects as a result of persistence of inflammatory cells, such as edema, may still result in an absence of perceived clinical success. Neutralizing TNF activity therefore is more likely to be beneficial in combination with other immunosuppression until we refine the ability to target TNF responses vis-à-vis memTNF versus solTNF and their respective receptors.
In summary, in the current studies sTNFr-IgG inhibited TNF activity, resulting in the incomplete formation of an inflammatory response, probably through inhibition of solTNF. The result was downregulation of macrophage-derived, NO-mediated cell death and presumably solTNF-mediated cell death.
| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication November 13, 2002; revised December 20, 2002; accepted January 22, 2003.
Disclosure: M. Robertson, None; J. Liversidge, None; J.V. Forrester, None; A.D. Dick, None
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Andrew D. Dick, Division of Ophthalmology, University of Bristol, Bristol Eye Hospital, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol BS1 2LX, UK; a.dick{at}bristol.ac.uk.
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