Novel CD8 T Cell Alloreactivities in CCR5-Deficient Recipients of Class II MHC Disparate Kidney Grafts

Recipient CD4 T regulatory cells inhibit the acute T cell-mediated rejection of renal allografts in wild-type mice. The survival of single class II MHC-disparate H-2(bm12) renal allografts was tested in B6.CCR5(-/-) recipients, which have defects in T regulatory cell activities that constrain alloimmune responses. In contrast to wild-type C57BL/6 recipients, B6.CCR5(-/-) recipients rejected the bm12 renal allografts. However, donor-reactive CD8 T cells rather than CD4 T cells were the primary effector T cells mediating rejection. The CD8 T cells induced to bm12 allografts in CCR5-deficient recipients were reactive to peptides spanning the 3 aa difference in the I-A(bm12) versus I-A(b) β-chains presented by K(b) and D(b) class I MHC molecules. Allograft-primed CD8 T cells from CCR5-deficient allograft recipients were activated during culture either with proinflammatory cytokine-stimulated wild-type endothelial cells pulsed with the I-A(bm12) peptides or with proinflammatory cytokine-simulated bm12 endothelial cells, indicating their presentation of the I-A(bm12) β-chain peptide/class I MHC complexes. In addition to induction by bm12 renal allografts, the I-A(bm12) β-chain-reactive CD8 T cells were induced in CCR5-deficient, but not wild-type C57BL/6, mice by immunization with the peptides. These results reveal novel alloreactive CD8 T cell specificities in CCR5-deficient recipients of single class II MHC renal allografts that mediate rejection of the allografts.