No abstract

Active delivery of recombinant autoantigens or allergens at the intestinal mucosa by genetically modified Lactococcus lactis (LL) provides a novel therapeutic approach for the induction of tolerance. Celiac disease is associated with either HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 restricted responses to specific antigenic epitopes of gliadin, and may be treated by induction of antigen-specific tolerance. We investigated whether oral administration of LL-delivered DQ8-specific gliadin epitope induces antigen-specific tolerance. L. lactis was engineered to secrete a deamidated DQ8 gliadin epitope (LL-eDQ8d) and the induction of antigen-specific tolerance was studied in NOD AB° DQ8 transgenic mice. Tolerance was assessed by delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction, cytokine measurements, eDQ8d-specific proliferation and regulatory T cell analysis. Oral administration of LL-eDQ8d induced suppression of local and systemic DQ8 restricted T-cell responses in NOD AB° DQ8 transgenic mice. Treatment resulted in an antigen-specific decrease of the proliferative capacity of inguinal lymph node cells and lamina propria cells. Production of IL-10 and TGF-β and a significant induction of Foxp3+ regulatory T-cells were associated with the eDQ8d-specific suppression induced by LL-eDQ8d. These data provide support for the development of effective therapeutic approaches for gluten-sensitive disorders using orally administered antigen-secreting LL. Such treatments may be effective even in the setting of established hypersensitivity.

Down-regulation of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cell function might be beneficial to enhance the immunogenicity of viral and tumor vaccines or to induce breakdown of immunotolerance. Although the mechanism of suppression used by Treg cells remains controversial, it has been postulated that TGF-β1 mediates their immunosuppressive activity. In this study, we show that P17, a short synthetic peptide that inhibits TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 developed in our laboratory, is able to inhibit Treg activity in vitro and in vivo. In vitro studies demonstrate that P17 inhibits murine and human Treg-induced unresponsiveness of effector T cells to anti-CD3 stimulation, in an MLR or to a specific Ag. Moreover, administration of P17 to mice immunized with peptide vaccines containing tumor or viral Ags enhanced anti-vaccine immune responses and improved protective immunogenicity against tumor growth or viral infection or replication. When CD4+ T cells purified from OT-II transgenic mice were transferred into C57BL/6 mice bearing s.c. EG.7-OVA tumors, administration of P17 improved their proliferation, reduced the number of CD4+Foxp3+ T cells, and inhibited tumor growth. Also, P17 prevented development of immunotolerance induced by oral administration of OVA by genetically modified Lactococcus lactis in DO11.10 transgenic mice sensitized by s.c. injection of OVA. These findings demonstrate that peptide inhibitors of TGF-β may be a valuable tool to enhance vaccination efficacy and to break tolerance against pathogens or tumor Ags.