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J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 187, Number 5, March 2, 1998 721-731
/
+ T Cells or Interferon (IFN)-
in a Murine
Model of Allergen Sensitization
By


From the * Department of Immunobiology, DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular
Biology, Palo Alto, California 94304; and the Mice exposed for 20 min daily to aerosolized ovalbumin (OVA) for 10 d at concentrations
from 1 to 0.01% OVA made greatly reduced immunoglobulin (Ig)-E responses to subsequent
immunogenic OVA challenges, given either intraperitoneally or by aerosol. This IgE-specific
unresponsiveness lasted for at least four months. However, these aerosol-treated mice were
primed for larger OVA-specific IgG1 and IgG2a responses. The specific reduction in IgE responses was not due to preferential induction of a T helper (Th)-1 response as aerosol OVA-
primed mice made greatly reduced Th2 and no detectable Th1 response after rechallenge in
vitro. Consistent with this, the increase in circulating eosinophils observed in control Th2-primed mice was absent in aerosol OVA-treated animals. Interferon (IFN)-
Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and
Immunology, University of California, School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, California 95616
was not required
for this unresponsiveness, as IFN-
knockout mice and anti-IFN-
antibody-treated wild-type
mice had greatly reduced levels of IgE similar to wild-type controls. CD8+ T cells played a relatively small role as IgE responses were reduced to about the same extent in
2 microglobulin-deficient, or in anti-CD8-treated wild-type mice as in normal mice after aerosol OVA treatment. Similarly, T cell receptor (TCR)-
/
T cells were not required for maximal inhibition of
the IgE response. These results demonstrate that exposure to inhaled protein antigens can induce a state of unresponsiveness of CD4+ T cells that results in a prolonged loss of IgE and
eosinophil responses to subsequent challenges. This T cell unresponsiveness was shown not to
require CD8+ or TCR-
/
+ T cells or IFN-
.
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