Adjuvant Activity of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in Enhancing the Immunogenicity of Autoantigens During Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Summary

Here, we present an alternative protocol to actively induce experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in C57BL/6 mice, using the immunogenic epitope myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)_35-55 suspended in incomplete Freund's adjuvant containing the heat-killed Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis.

Abstract

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) requires immunization by a MOG peptide emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) containing inactivated Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The antigenic components of the mycobacterium activate dendritic cells to stimulate T-cells to produce cytokines that promote the Th1 response via toll-like receptors. Therefore, the amount and species of mycobacteria present during the antigenic challenge are directly related to the development of EAE. This methods paper presents an alternative protocol to induce EAE in C57BL/6 mice using a modified incomplete Freund's adjuvant containing the heat-killed Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis strain K-10.

M. paratuberculosis, a member of the Mycobacterium avium complex, is the causative agent of Johne's disease in ruminants and has been identified as a risk factor for several human T-cell-mediated disorders, including multiple sclerosis. Overall, mice immunized with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis showed earlier onset and greater disease severity than mice immunized with CFA containing the strain of M. tuberculosis H37Ra at the same doses of 4 mg/mL. The antigenic determinants of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) strain K-10 were able to induce a strong Th1 cellular response during the effector phase, characterized by significantly higher numbers of T-lymphocytes (CD4⁺ CD27⁺), dendritic cells (CD11c⁺ I-A/I-E⁺), and monocytes (CD11b⁺ CD115⁺) in the spleen compared to mice immunized with CFA. Furthermore, the proliferative T-cell response to the MOG peptide appeared to be highest in M. paratuberculosis-immunized mice. The use of an encephalitogen (e.g., MOG_35-55) emulsified in an adjuvant containing M. paratuberculosis in the formulation may be an alternative and validated method to activate dendritic cells for priming myelin epitope-specific CD4⁺ T-cells during the induction phase of EAE.

Introduction

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a common model for the study of human demyelinating disorders¹. There are several models of EAE: active immunization using different myelin peptides in combination with potent adjuvants, passive immunization by in vitro transfer of myelin-specific CD4⁺ lymphocytes, and transgenic models of spontaneous EAE². Each of these models has specific features that allow different aspects of EAE to be studied, such as the onset, effector phase, or chronic phase. The myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) model of EAE is a good model to study the immune-mediat....

Protocol

All mouse experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Juntendo University School of Medicine (Approval Number 290238) and were conducted in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Animal Experimentation.

1. General comments on the experiment

1. House the mice in individual cages in the animal facility under controlled, pathogen-free conditions at 23 °C ± 2 °C with 50% ± 10% humidity, and a 12 h light/dark cycle with ad libitum access to food and water.
2. Inject the mice with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) without ....

Results

Groups of C57BL/6 mice (total n = 15/group) were immunized with MOG_35-55 in an emulsion containing M. paratuberculosis or by the common method with CFA. All groups of mice manifested an acute monophasic disease characterized by a single peak of disability observed at 14-17 days, followed by a partial recovery of symptoms over the next 10 days (Figure 1A). Mice immunized with the adjuvant containing M. paratuberculosis, irrespectiv.......

Discussion

We demonstrated a robust alternative protocol to actively induce severe EAE in C57BL/6J mice using the peptide MOG_35-55 emulsified in an adjuvant containing M. paratuberculosis¹⁰. The induction of EAE by this method resulted in a more severe disease than that induced by the common protocol with CFA. This difference could be due to the different lipidic components in the cell wall of the mycobacteria¹¹. In fact, unlike other mycobacteria, M. paratuber.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
anti-mouse CD115 antibody	Biolegend, USA	135505	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse CD11b antibody	Biolegend, USA	101215	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse CD11c antibody	Biolegend, USA	117313	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse CD16/32  antibody	Biolegend, USA	101302	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse CD4  antibody	Biolegend, USA	116004	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse CD8a  antibody	Biolegend, USA	100753	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse I-A/I-E antibody	Biolegend, USA	107635	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
anti-mouse Ly-6C  antibody	Biolegend, USA	128023	for cytofluorimetry 1:1,000
BBL Middlebrook OADC Enrichment	Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA	BD 211886	for isolation and cultivation of mycobacteria
C57BL/6J mice	Charles River Laboratory, Japan		3 weeks old, male and female
FBS 10279-106	Gibco Life Techologies, USA	42F9155K	for cell culture, warm at 37 °C before use
Freeze Dryer machine	Eyela, Tokyo, Japan	FDU-1200	for bacteria lyophilization
incomplete e Freund’s adjuvant	Difco Laboratories, MD, USA	263810	for use in adjuvant
Middlebrook 7H9 Broth	Difco Laboratories, MD, USA	90003-876	help in the growth of Mycobacteria
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis K-10	ATCC, USA	BAA-968	bacteria from bovine origin
Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37 Ra, Desiccated	BD Biosciences, USA	743-26880-EA	for use in adjuvant
Mycobactin J	Allied Laboratory, MO, USA		growth promoter
Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycolipid (MOG) 35-55	AnaSpec, USA	AS-60130-10	encephalotigenic peptide
Ovalbumin (257-264)	Sigma-Aldrich, USA	S7951-1MG	negative control antigen  for proliferative assay
pertussis toxin solution	Fujifilm Wako, Osaka Japan	168-22471	From gram-negative bacteria Bordetella pertussi, increases blood-brain barrier permeability
Polytron homogenizer PT 3100	Kinematica		for mixing the antigen with the adjuvant
RPMI 1640 with L-glutamine	Gibco Life Techologies, USA	11875093	For cell culture
Thymidine, [Methyl-3H], in 2% ethanol, 1 mCi	PerkinElmer, Waltham, MA, USA	NET027W001MC	for proliferation assay, use (1 μCi/well)
Zombie NIR Fixable Viability Kit	Biolegend, USA	423105	cytofluorimetry, for cell viability