Investigation of the Immunogenic Properties of Ovalbumin Modified by Urban Airborne Particulate Matter

• Published in: Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis 2023-12, Vol.71 (1), p.13-13, Article 13
• Main Authors: Nowak, Bernadeta, Wądołek, Anna, Mazuryk, Olga, Poznańska, Anna, Majzner, Katarzyna, Majka, Grzegorz, Oszajca, Maria, Barańska, Małgorzata, Stochel, Grażyna, Marcinkiewicz, Janusz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Airborne particulates; Animals; Antigen presentation; Antigen-presenting cells; Antigenicity; Antigens; Autoimmune diseases; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cell proliferation; Dendritic cells; Dialysis; Epitopes; Immunogenicity; Immunology; Lymphocytes T; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic; Original; Original Article; Ovalbumin; Oxidative stress; Particulate Matter; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Proteolysis; T cell receptors; Transgenic mice; γ-Interferon
• ISSN: 0004-069X; 1661-4917
• DOI: 10.1007/s00005-023-00679-8

Exposure to air particulate matter (PM) is linked to the blood oxidative stress and systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether oxidative PM modification of ovalbumin (OVA), the major antioxidant serum protein, may alter its antigenicity and/or immunogenicity. Ovalbumin was exposed via dialysis to the standard urban PM (SRM 1648a) or to PM with removed organic content (encoded as LAP). Both structural changes and biological properties of PM-modified OVA were measured. T lymphocytes and dendritic cells (the major antigen-presenting cells) isolated from C57BL/6 and OT-II (323–339 epitope) OVA-specific T cell receptor (TCR)-transgenic mice were used to test the effect of PM on OVA immunogenicity. The immunogenicity of both SRM 1648a and LAP-modified OVA was significantly higher than that of control OVA, as measured by the epitope-specific T cell proliferation and interferon γ production by the stimulated cells. This effect was associated with mild oxidative changes in the carrier molecule outside the structure of the OVA epitope and with increased resistance to proteolysis of PM-modified OVA. Interestingly, dendritic cells showed enhanced capacity for the uptake of proteins when the cells were cultured with PM-modified OVA. Our results suggest that the enhanced immunogenicity of PM-modified OVA is not associated with altered antigenicity or antigen presentation. However, it may result from slower degradation and longer persistence of modified antigens in dendritic cells. Whether this phenomenon is associated with enhanced risk prevalence of autoimmune diseases observed in the areas with high urban PM pollution needs to be explained.