Autoimmune gastritis develops in 20-60% of BALB/c mice following thymectomy at 3 days after birth (3dnTx). Previously we identified the gastric H+/K+ ATPase as the causative autoantigen and mapped the immunoreactive T cell epitope to a carboxyl-terminal peptide on the gastric H+/K+ ATPase β subunit. Here we show that autoimmune gastritis can be suppressed by immunizing 3dnTx mice through neonatal skin with the β subunit peptide, in combination with the contact sensitizer TNCB. When spleen cells were transferred from suppressed mice to nude mice a proportion of recipient mice developed gastritis. These results indicate that pathogenic T cells were still present in the 3dnTx mice but the absence of gastritis indicates that their activity can be regulated following induction of cutaneous tolerance by immunizing through neonatal skin. We propose that cutaneous tolerance is induced through mediation of immature Langerhans cells in neonatal skin and that this tolerance prevented the autoreactivity of pathogenic T cells. This procedure will have implications for strategies to suppress autoimmunity. © 2001 Academic Press.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Medical and Health Sciences
Research Group:	Immunology
Research Field:	Autoimmunity
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions)
Objective Field:	Immune System and Allergy
Author:	Woods, GM (Professor Gregory Woods)
Author:	Chen, YP (Mr Yi Peng Chen)
Author:	Dewar, AL (Ms Andrea Louise Dewar)
Author:	Doherty, KV (Dr Kathleen Doherty)
Author:	Muller, HK (Professor Konrad Muller)
ID Code:	21587
Year Published:	2001
Web of Science® Times Cited:	2
Deposited By:	Pathology
Deposited On:	2001-08-01
Last Modified:	2002-05-23
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