Transplantation of bone marrow cells from nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, a model for type 1 diabetes mellitus, to C3H/HeN mice, which express I-Ea molecules and have aspartic acid at residue 57 of the I-Ap chain, induced insulitis followed by overt diabetes in the recipient C3H/HeN mice more than 40 weeks after bone marrow transplantation. When cyclosporin A, which perturbs T-ceil functions, was injected intraperitoneally into [NOD -* C3H/HeN] chimeric mice daily for 1 month, the chimeric mice developed insulitis and overt diabetes within 20 weeks following bone marrow transplantation. Transplantation of bone marrow cells from (NZW x BXSB)F1 mice, which develop lupus nephritis, myocardial infarction, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, into C3H/HeN or C57BL/6J mice induced in the recipient strains both lupus nephritis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura more than 3 months after transplantation.

BackgroundWe conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase I study of a recombinant replication-defective adenovirus type 5 (rAd5) vector expressing HIV-1 Gag and Pol from subtype B and Env from subtypes A, B and C, given alone or as boost following a DNA plasmid vaccine expressing the same HIV-1 proteins plus Nef, in 114 healthy HIV-uninfected African adults.Methodology/Principal FindingsVolunteers were randomized to 4 groups receiving the rAd5 vaccine intramuscularly at dosage levels of 1×1010 or 1×1011 particle units (PU) either alone or as boost following 3 injections of the DNA vaccine given at 4 mg/dose intramuscularly by needle-free injection using Biojector® 2000. Safety and immunogenicity were evaluated for 12 months. Both vaccines were well-tolerated. Overall, 62% and 86% of vaccine recipients in the rAd5 alone and DNA prime - rAd5 boost groups, respectively, responded to the HIV-1 proteins by an interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) ELISPOT. The frequency of immune responses was independent of rAd5 dosage levels. The highest frequency of responses after rAd5 alone was detected at 6 weeks; after DNA prime - rAd5 boost, at 6 months (end of study). At baseline, neutralizing antibodies against Ad5 were present in 81% of volunteers; the distribution was similar across the 4 groups. Pre-existing immunity to Ad5 did not appear to have a significant impact on reactogenicity or immune response rates to HIV antigens by IFN-γ ELISPOT. Binding antibodies against Env were detected in up to 100% recipients of DNA prime - rAd5 boost. One volunteer acquired HIV infection after the study ended, two years after receipt of rAd5 alone.Conclusions/SignificanceThe HIV-1 rAd5 vaccine, either alone or as a boost following HIV-1 DNA vaccine, was well-tolerated and immunogenic in African adults. DNA priming increased the frequency and magnitude of cellular and humoral immune responses, but there was no effect of rAd5 dosage on immunogenicity endpoints.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00124007

We have recently shown that, in unfractioned peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), the cross-linking of CD4 molecules (CD4XL) is sufficient to induce T-cell apoptosis. However, the underlying mechanism for the CD4XL-mediated T-cell apoptosis is largely unknown. Several recent studies have shown that Fas antigen (Ag), a cell-surface molecule, mediates apoptosis-triggering signals. We show here that cross-linking of CD4 molecules, induced either by anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) Leu3a or by human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) envelope protein gp160, upregulates Fas Ag expression as well as Fas mRNA in normal lymphocytes. Addition of the tyrosine protein kinase inhibitor genistein or of the immunosuppressive agent cyclosporin A abrogated these effects. The upregulation of Fas Ag closely correlated with apoptotic cell death, as determined by flow cytometry. In addition, CD4XL resulted in the induction of interferon-gamma (IFN- gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the absence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-4 secretion in PBMCs. Both INF-gamma and TNF-alpha were found to contribute to Fas Ag upregulation and both anti- IFN-gamma and anti-TNF-alpha antibodies blocked CD4XL-induced Fas Ag upregulation and lymphocyte apoptosis. These findings strongly suggest that aberrant cytokine secretion induced by CD4XL and consequent upregulation of Fas Ag expression might play a critical role in triggering peripheral T-cell apoptosis and thereby contribute to HIV disease pathogenesis.

Cytokine mRNA expression and stimulus-induced cytokines were examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 62 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children and uninfected controls. Compared with that in controls, constitutive mRNA expression in patients was increased for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and interleukin (IL)-10 and decreased for IL-12; it was undetectable for IL-2 and IL-4 in both patients and controls. Stimulus-induced secretion of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-12, and IL-4 was less than that in controls; IL-10 secretion was similar. There was no increase in stimulus-induced or constitutive IL-4 or IL-10 in children with severe immunologic deficit compared with controls. A higher stimulus-induced IL-10 secretion and a lower constitutive TNF-alpha mRNA were associated with a slower rate of disease progression, and TNF-alpha mRNA expression correlated with lower plasma HIV RNA. Thus, constitutive cytokine mRNA expression differs from stimulus-induced cytokine responses. The dominant defect in HIV-infected children appears to be one of reduced type 1 cytokines, predominantly IL-2.