The kidney-renal lymph node-system contributes to cross-tolerance against innocuous circulating antigen

V Lukacs-Kornek, S Burgdorf, L Diehl… - The Journal of …, 2008 - journals.aai.org
V Lukacs-Kornek, S Burgdorf, L Diehl, S Specht, M Kornek, C Kurts
The Journal of immunology, 2008journals.aai.org
Soluble Ags devoid of inflammatory stimuli, derived for example from self-serum or food
proteins, induce T cell tolerance, predominantly in the spleen. In this study, we describe an
additional role of the kidney-renal LN (rLN) system in tolerogenic presentation of circulating
soluble Ags. Protein below albumin molecular mass constitutively passed the kidney
glomerular filter and was concentrated in the tubular compartment. Enriched filterable Ag
was endocytosed by kidney dendritic cells (kDCs). Simultaneously, it was transported cell …
Abstract
Soluble Ags devoid of inflammatory stimuli, derived for example from self-serum or food proteins, induce T cell tolerance, predominantly in the spleen. In this study, we describe an additional role of the kidney-renal LN (rLN) system in tolerogenic presentation of circulating soluble Ags. Protein below albumin molecular mass constitutively passed the kidney glomerular filter and was concentrated in the tubular compartment. Enriched filterable Ag was endocytosed by kidney dendritic cells (kDCs). Simultaneously, it was transported cell independently within 2 min to DCs resident in rLNs. These DC phenotypically differed from kDCs carrying filterable Ag, and used a distinct mechanism, mannose receptor-mediated endocytosis, to internalize Ag. They activated specific CD8+ T cells, which subsequently proliferated without producing effector cytokines or developing cytotoxic activity, showed a curtailed lifespan and signs of apoptosis. Such T cell tolerization was independent of steady-state migratory kDC, because it occurred also when nephrectomy was performed soon after Ag injection. These findings demonstrate that the kidney dispatches concentrated blood-borne Ags to the rLNs, where they are captured by resident DCs, resulting in CD8+ T cell cross-tolerance. This mechanism may contribute to avoiding immunity against innocuous circulating protein Ags below albumin size.
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