Background: Intravenous injection of soluble antigen has been reported to induce immunologic tolerance through a variety of mechanisms including T-cell deletion, anergy, and suppression. To clarify the reported discrepancies, we studied mechanisms of intravenous tolerance to a defined transgenic minor transplantation antigen in mice.
Methods: Wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice or congenic B6 B-cell knockout mice were made tolerant to beta-galactosidase (beta-gal). Clinical tolerance was assessed by placement of B6 beta-gal transgenic (tg) and third-party skin grafts. In vitro analysis of T- and B-cell immunity and in vivo treatment with anti-TGFbeta antibodies were used to define mechanisms of induced tolerance.
Results: Intravenous injection of beta-gal induced true immunologic tolerance to beta-gal tg skin in wild-type but not in B-cell-deficient recipients, suggesting that antigen presentation by B cells was required for the effect. The tolerogenic manipulation primed a population of CD4+, beta-gal-specific, TGFbeta-producing T cells. Although evidence for both anergy and suppression were observed, subsequent data demonstrated that TGFbeta was a critical immunoregulatory mediator of the tolerant state: neutralizing anti-TGFbeta antibodies fully prevented the induction of tolerance to B6 beta-gal tg skin grafts. Second male beta-gal tg grafts placed onto female recipients that were previously made tolerant to female beta-gal tg skin were rapidly rejected, however, suggesting that this TGFbeta-induced tolerance could not be linked to additional antigenic determinants.
Conclusions: The studies demonstrate a critical role for TGFbeta in mediating tolerance after intravenous injection of antigen but additionally raise concerns about the stability of this tolerant state.