Wolfram syndrome, an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus and optic atrophy, is caused by mutations in the WFS1 gene. In order to gain insight into the pathophysiology of this disease, we disrupted the wfs1 gene in mice. The mutant mice developed glucose intolerance or overt diabetes due to insufficient insulin secretion in vivo. Islets isolated from mutant mice exhibited a decrease in insulin secretion in response to glucose. The defective insulin secretion was accompanied by reduced cellular calcium responses to the secretagogue. Immunohistochemical analyses with morphometry and measurement of whole-pancreas insulin content demonstrated progressive beta-cell loss in mutant mice, while the alpha-cell, which barely expresses WFS1 protein, was preserved. Furthermore, isolated islets from mutant mice exhibited increased apoptosis, as assessed by DNA fragment formation, at high concentration of glucose or with exposure to endoplasmic reticulum-stress inducers. These results strongly suggest that WFS1 protein plays an important role in both stimulus-secretion coupling for insulin exocytosis and maintenance of beta-cell mass, deterioration of which leads to impaired glucose homeostasis. These WFS1 mutant mice provide a valuable tool for understanding better the pathophysiology of Wolfram syndrome as well as WFS1 function.

One major role of the thymus is to provide the peripheral immune system with mature T cells, but the mechanisms involving the cellular export are not fully understood. In this study, we examined the ability of a novel immunosuppressive reagent, FTY720, to inhibit T cell export from the thymus. Daily administration of FTY720 at a dose of 1 mg / kg resulted in a marked decrease in the number of peripheral blood T lymphocytes. In the thymus, long-term daily administration of FTY720 caused a three- to fourfold increase in the proportion of mature medullary thymocytes (CD4(+)CD8(-) and CD4(-)CD8(+)) as well as a slight decrease in the double-positive cell (CD4(+)CD8(+)) ratio. Phenotypic analysis (TCRalpha beta, H-2K(d), CD44, CD69 and CD24) revealed that these increased subsets represent possible peripheral recent thymic emigrants. High level expression of L-selectin by these subsets further suggests that they were prevented from leaving the thymus. By intrathymic labeling with fluorescein isothiocyanate, only one fourth of labeled cells could be detected in the lymph nodes and in the spleen of FTY720-treated mice compared to saline-treated control mice. Taken together, these results suggest that the immunosuppressive action of FTY720, at least in part, could be due to its inhibitory effect on T cell emigration from the thymus to the periphery.

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The intestine, which is exposed to nutrition and to food-derived antigens and microbes including viruses and bacteria, might be an important site for the immune response. Crucial structural and functional differences exist between the small and large intestine, regional differences even having been demonstrated within the small intestine. Accordingly, intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) and lamina propria lymphocytes (LPLs) might be heterogeneous among the different intestinal regions. The aim of this study has been to describe, as accurately as possible, the numbers and T-cell receptor (TCR) phenotypes of IELs and LPLs present in distinct regions of the murine small intestine under physiological conditions. Using an immunohistological technique to differentiate IELs from LPLs, the differential enumeration of IELs and LPLs in distinct regions of the murine small intestine, based upon their definition originally determined by their location, has been performed for the first time and has demonstrated that (1) there are more IELs than LPLs in the duodenum and jejunum, but more LPLs than IELs in the ileum, (2) in the duodenum and jejunum, TCRgammadelta IELs account for 70%-75% of the total CD3(+) IELs, a much greater percentage than previously reported, (3) the ratio of TCRgammadelta to TCRalphabeta IELs is inverted in the ileum, with more than 75% IELs being TCRalphabeta-positive, (4) the lamina propria forms one functional unit throughout the small intestine in terms of the TCR subset components (TCRalphabeta:TCRgammadelta=3:1), and (5) the ileum is entirely different from other regions of the small intestine. To deepen our understanding of the functional significance of the small intestine as an immunologically competent organ, the precise distributions of IELs and LPLs, the ratio of their various subsets, and the strict distinction of IELs and LPLs, as described in this study, is indispensable.

Summary. As the first step toward understanding the identity and functions of thymic macrophages in situ, we examined the phenotypic heterogeneity of mouse thymic macrophages in tissue sections by the immunohistochemical double staining method with four monoclonal antibodies (F4/80, Mac-2, anti-CD32/16 and anti-I-A antibodies) as macrophage markers. Morphologically, three types of macrophages were identified: dendritic, round and flat-shaped. Dendritic macrophages were scattered throughout the thymus, and most of them were stained by all four markers. Among these macrophages, those at the cortico-medullary region (CMR) expressed a high intensity of CD32/16 antigen. Round macrophages were also distributed throughout the thymus; most of them, however, were localized in the cortico-medullary region to the medulla. These cells were F4/80-negative, Mac-2-positive, CD32/ 16-negative and I-A-positive. In contrast, round macrophages located at the cortex expressed F4/80. Flatshaped macrophages were localized at the subcapsular region of the cortex where active lymphopoiesis was observed. This type was positive for F4/80 and CD32/16, but negative for Mac-2. Furthermore, most of the three types of thymic macrophages showed intense reactions of the I-A antigen within the cytoplasm in addition to the expression of I-A antigen on the cell membrane. These results indicate that morphological characteristics of thymic macrophages at different locations reflect phenotypic variations detected in immunohistochemistry, and suggest that these different type macrophages may play distinct roles at various locations in thymocyte development in the thymus.