Inhibition of antigen-specific immune responses by co-application of an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-encoding vector requires antigen transgene expression focused on dendritic cells

We have previously shown that particle-mediated epidermal delivery (PMED) of plasmids encoding beta-galactosidase (betaGal) under control of the fascin-1 promoter (pFascin-betaGal) yielded selective production of the protein in skin dendritic cells (DCs), and suppressed Th2 responses in a mouse model of type I allergy by inducing Th1/Tc1 cells. However, intranasal challenge of mice immunized with pFascin-betaGal induced airway hyperreactivity (AHR) and neutrophilic inflammation in the lung. The tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has been implicated in immune suppression and tolerance induction. Here we investigated the consequences of co-application of an IDO-encoding vector on the modulatory effect of DNA vaccination by PMED using pFascin-betaGal in models of eosinophilic allergic and non-eosinophilic intrinsic airway inflammation. IDO-encoding plasmids and pFascin-betaGal or pCMV-betaGal were co-applied to abdominal skin of BALB/c mice without, before or after sensitization with betaGal protein. Immune responses in the lung were analysed after intranasal provocation and airway reactivity was determined by whole body plethysmography. Co-application of pCMV-IDO with pFascin-betaGal, but not pCMV-betaGal inhibited the Th1/Tc1 immune response after PMED. Moreover, AHR in those mice was attenuated following intranasal challenge. Therapeutic vaccination of betaGal-sensitized mice with pFascin-betaGal plus pCMV-IDO slightly suppressed airway inflammation and AHR after provocation with betaGal protein, while prophylactic vaccination was not effective. Altogether, our data suggest that only the combination of DC-restricted antigen and ubiquitous IDO expression attenuated asthma responses in mice, most probably by forming a tryptophan-depleted and kynurenine-enriched micromilieu known to affect neutrophils and T cells.