Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is critically involved in the pathogenesis of several chronic inflammatory diseases. Monoclonal antibodies against TNF-α are currently used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. This report describes a simple and effective method for active immunization against self TNF-α. This vaccination approach leads to a T-cell–dependent polyclonal and sustainable anti–TNF-α autoantibody response that declines upon discontinuation of booster injections. The autoantibodies are elicited by injecting modified recombinant TNF-α molecules containing foreign immunodominant T-helper epitopes. In mice immunized with such molecules, the symptoms of experimental cachexia and type II collagen-induced arthritis are ameliorated. These results suggest that vaccination against TNF-α may be a useful approach for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
Access options
Subscribe to Journal
Get full journal access for 1 year
70,80 €
only 5,90 € per issue
All prices include VAT for France.
Rent or Buy article
Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.
from$8.99
All prices are NET prices.
References
- 1.
Thorbecke, G.J. et al. Involvement of endogenous tumor necrosis factor alpha and transforming growth factor beta during induction of collagen type II arthritis in mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 7375–7379 (1992).
- 2.
Williams, R.O., Feldmann, M. & Maini, R.N. Anti-tumor necrosis factor ameliorates joint disease in murine collagen-induced arthritis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 9784–9788 ( 1992).
- 3.
Williams, R.O., Ghrayeb, J., Feldmann, M. & Maini, R.N. Successful therapy of collagen-induced arthritis with TNF receptor–IgG fusion protein and combination with anti-CD4. Immunology 84, 433–439 (1995).
- 4.
Neurath, M.F. et al. Predominant pathogenic role of tumor necrosis factor in experimental colitis in mice. Eur. J. Immunol. 27, 1743 –1750 (1997).
- 5.
Elliott, M.J. et al. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with chimeric monoclonal antibodies to tumor necrosis factor alpha. Arthritis Rheum. 36, 1681–1690 (1993).
- 6.
Moreland, L.W. et al. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with a recombinant human tumor necrosis factor receptor (p75)-Fc fusion protein. N. Engl. J. Med. 337, 141–147 ( 1997).
- 7.
Targan, S.R. et al. A short-term study of chimeric monoclonal antibody cA2 to tumor necrosis factor alpha for Crohńs disease. Crohńs Disease cA2 Study Group. N. Engl. J. Med. 337, 1029 –1035 (1997).
- 8.
Elliott, M.J. et al. Repeated therapy with monoclonal antibody to tumour necrosis factor alpha (cA2) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet 344, 1125–1127 ( 1994).
- 9.
Sette, A. et al. Structural characteristics of an antigen required for its interaction with Ia and recognition by T cells. Nature 328, 395–399 (1987).
- 10.
Shastri, N., Gammon, G., Horvath, S., Miller, A. & Sercarz, E.E. The choice between two distinct T cell determinants within a 23-amino acid region of lysozyme depends on their structural context. J. Immunol. 137, 911–915 (1986).
- 11.
Ruff, M.R. & Gifford, G.E. Purification and physico-chemical characterization of rabbit tumor necrosis factor. J. Immunol. 125, 1671–1677 (1980).
- 12.
Nemazee, D.A. & Burki, K. Clonal deletion of B lymphocytes in a transgenic mouse bearing anti-MHC class I antibody genes. Nature 337, 562–566 ( 1989).
- 13.
Goodnow, C.C. et al. Altered immunoglobulin expression and functional silencing of self-reactive B lymphocytes in transgenic mice. Nature 334, 676–682 (1988).
- 14.
Dalum, I., Jensen, M.R., Hindersson, P., Elsner, H.I. & Mouritsen, S. Breaking of B cell tolerance toward a highly conserved self protein. J. Immunol. 157, 4796–4804 (1996).
- 15.
Dalum, I. et al. Induction of cross-reactive antibodies against a self protein by immunization with a modified self protein containing a foreign T helper epitope. Mol. Immunol 34, 1113– 1120 (1997).
- 16.
Eck, M.J. & Sprang, S.R. The structure of tumor necrosis factor-alpha at 2.6 A resolution. Implications for receptor binding. J. Biol. Chem. 264, 17595–17605 (1989).
- 17.
Bloom, J.W. Bettencourt, J.D. & Mitra, G. Epitope mapping and functional analysis of three murine IgG1 monoclonal antibodies to human tumor necrosis factor-α. J. Immunol. 151, 2707–2716 (1993).
- 18.
Cerami, A., Ikeda, Y., Le Trang, N., Hotez, P.J., & Beutler, B. Weight loss associated with an endotoxin-induced mediator from peritoneal macrophages: the role of cachectin (tumor necrosis factor). Immunol. Lett. 11, 173– 177 (1985).
- 19.
Staines, N.A. & Wooley, P.H. Collagen arthritis—what can it teach us? Br. J. Rheumatol. 33, 798– 807 (1994).
- 20.
Lehmann, P.V., Forsthuber, T., Miller, A. & Sercarz, E.E. Spreading of T-cell autoimmunity to cryptic determinants of an autoantigen. Nature 358, 155–157 (1992).
- 21.
Pasparakis, M., Alexopoulou, L., Episkopou, V. & Kollias, G. Immune and inflammatory responses in TNF alpha-deficient mice: a critical requirement for TNF alpha in the formation of primary B cell follicles, follicular dendritic cell networks and germinal centers, and in the maturation of the humoral immune response. J. Exp. Med. 184, 1397–1411 (1996).
- 22.
Rothe, J. et al. Mice lacking the tumour necrosis factor receptor 1 are resistant to TNF-mediated toxicity but highly susceptible to infection by Listeria monocytogenes. Nature 364, 798–802 (1993).
- 23.
Erickson, S.L. et al. Decreased sensitivity to tumour-necrosis factor but normal T-cell development in TNF receptor-2-deficient mice. Nature 372, 560–563 (1994).
- 24.
Panina-Bordignon, P. et al. Universally immunogenic T cell epitopes: promiscuous binding to human MHC class II and promiscuous recognition by T cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 19, 2237–2242 (1989).
- 25.
Williams, R.O., Williams, D.G. & Maini, R.N. Anti-type II collagen ELISA. Increased disease specificity following removal of anionic contaminants from salt-fractionated type II collagen. J. Immunol. Methods 147, 93– 100 (1992).
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the technicians at M&E Biotech for excellent assistance and Dr. Anand Gautam and Dr. Gunilla Karlsson for useful comments on the manuscript. I.D. was supported by a grant from The Danish Natural Science Research Council, and M.F. and D.M.B. were supported by the Arthritis Research Campaign, UK.
Author information
Affiliations
M&E Biotech A/S, 6 Kogle Alle, DK-2970 Hørsholm, Denmark.
- Iben Dalum
- , Martin R. Jensen
- , Peter Hindersson
- , Lucilla Steinaa
- , Susanne N. Grell
- , Henrik I. Elsner
- & Søren Mouritsen
Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, London , England.
- Debra M. Butler
- , Ashita M. Waterston
- & Marc Feldmann
Authors
Search for Iben Dalum in:
Search for Debra M. Butler in:
Search for Martin R. Jensen in:
Search for Peter Hindersson in:
Search for Lucilla Steinaa in:
Search for Ashita M. Waterston in:
Search for Susanne N. Grell in:
Search for Marc Feldmann in:
Search for Henrik I. Elsner in:
Search for Søren Mouritsen in:
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Søren Mouritsen.
Rights and permissions
To obtain permission to re-use content from this article visit RightsLink.