Immunological Property of Antibodies against N-Glycolylneuraminic Acid Epitopes in Cytidine Monophospho–N-Acetylneuraminic Acid Hydroxylase-Deficient Mice

The generation of pigs devoid of Galalpha1,3Galbeta1,4GlcNAc (Gal) residues has stimulated interest in non-Gal Ags as potentially important targets for Ab binding leading to rejection of pig organ xenografts in humans. Although N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc) epitopes, which are widely expressed on the endothelial cells of all mammals except humans, are likely targets of anti-non-Gal Abs, this aspect has not been investigated intensively owing to the absence of an appropriate animal model. In this study, we used CMAH(-/-) mice, which are completely deficient in NeuGc and thus produce anti-NeuGc Abs. Sera obtained from CMAH(-/-) mice and healthy human volunteers having anti-NeuGc Abs initiated complement-mediated lysis against CMAH(+/+) cells in vitro. The cytotoxic activity of anti-NeuGc Abs was also determined in vivo (i.e., NeuGc-expressing CMAH(+/+) mouse splenocytes that had been i.v. injected were completely eliminated in syngeneic CMAH(-/-) mice). CMAH(-/-) mice rejected the islets transplanted from syngeneic CMAH(+/+) mice. Thus, the anti-NeuGc Ab-mediated response may be crucially involved in xenograft loss. This is the first direct demonstration of the immunogenic property of NeuGc determinants as targets of the corresponding Abs in CMAH(+/+)-to-CMAH(-/-) transplantation setting.