Both ICAM-1 and B7.1 are required to convert non-stimulatory keratinocytes into T cell-stimulating APCs
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Alamartine, E; Stauss, HJ; Beverley, PCL
- Source
- Subject
- chemical and pharmacologic phenomena
- Language
- English
Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV 16) is implicated in the aetiology of carcinoma of the cervix. Infection with the virus is common but detection of cellular immune responses to it in man is difficult. Previous work has shown that cervical keratinocytes are poor antigen-presenting cells and may induce tolerance in T cells clones, providing a possible explanation for the difficulty in detection of anti-HPV immune responses. In this report we show that the antigen-presenting function of cervical keratinocytes is increased following the introduction of the CD80 (B7.1) gene by transfection. Transfected keratinocytes can stimulate proliferation of a CD4+ T cell clone in Spite of low expression of MHC class II antigen and their ability to induce an allo-response is also greater than control keratinocytes. Blocking experiments show that CD54 (ICAM-1) and CD80 expressed on the keratinocytes have a synergistic effect in allo-responses. These data suggest that presentation of viral antigens by keratinocytes may not lead to an effective immune response and that this may be in part due to the lack of expression of the co-stimulatory molecule CD80.