Influence of Interleukin 10 and Transforming Growth Factor-β on T Cell Stimulation through Allogeneic Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells in vitro

Abstract

The effect of interleukin 10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) on the immunological capability of human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells was tested by measuring the proliferation of allogeneic T cells after stimulation through the RPE cells in vitro. For this, human RPE cells were activated with different concentrations of interferon-γ (0, 50, 100 and 250 U/ml) used as stimulator cells. The following T cell proliferation was measured with a tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay over a period of up to 4 days. Our results show that RPE cells are able to stimulate allogeneic T cells in the presence or absence of professional antigen-presenting cells (macrophages). Additionally, the proliferation could be significantly decreased by IL-10 or TGF-β. The maximum of suppression, especially by TGF-β, was found after 48 and 72 h of incubation. This shows that the antigen-presenting properties of human RPE cells can be altered in culture.

Immunosuppression by IL-10-transfected human retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro

“…8 To investigate the biological effect of the secreted IL-10 in vitro we developed a modified MLR assay with and without professional APC (macrophages). In this system, a significant suppression of the T-lymphocyte proliferation was detectable after the incubation with hRPE cells and recombinant IL-10 over a time period up to 96 h. 45 In the current experiments similar results were found, whereby the IL-10 was secreted by the transfected RPE cells. The diminished proliferation compared to the non-transfected control reached 14.1 ± 1.1% (without macrophages) and 35.3 ± 11.5% (with macrophages) on day 6.…”

Interleukin-8 promoter polymorphism -251A/T is a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration

“…IL8 is a primary mediator of angiogenesis, and this has been demonstrated in various carcinomas 7 8. Interleukin-10 (IL10) is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine produced by T cells, macrophages, and retinal pigment epithelial cells 9 10. It strongly inhibits antigen-specific T cell proliferation and cytokine production, and downregulates both human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class 1 and class 2 antigen expression 11 12.…”

Surgical Approaches to Gene and Stem Cell Therapy for Retinal Disease

“…The subretinal space of the eye is considered one such compartment ( Jiang et al, 1994;Grisanti et al, 1997) not only because it is avascular but also because RPE cells express cell surface markers and secrete factors that modify immunemediated inflammatory responses (Enzmann et al, 2000(Enzmann et al, , 2002. Questions remain, however, concerning whether this immune privilege extends to pathological states in which, for example, the RPE is deficient, as in AMD, or the postsurgical retina after vitrectomy and retinotomy.…”