Oral tolerance: mechanisms and possible role in inflammatory joint diseases

Decreased systemic immune responsiveness to a specific antigen following exposure to that antigen by the enteric route is termed 'oral tolerance.' Oral tolerance is revealed when attempts are made to parenterally immunize the host to the same antigen that was previously administered orally or intragastrically. A similar phenomenon is also seen following antigen exposure via the nasal mucosa and a related phenomenon is seen following antigen exposure in the upper respiratory tract. There has been a marked renewal of interest in the mechanisms that underlie oral tolerance because of its potential role for preventing and treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and IgE-mediated allergic disorders. The specific factors that determine whether or not the host develops mucosal tolerance to an antigen administered by the mucosal route are also of substantial importance for those involved in mucosal vaccine development. Furthermore, putative abnormalities in the ability of the host to develop mucosal tolerance may play a pathogenetic role in certain autoimmune and allergic diseases and disorders. Several well-defined immunological mechanisms mediate oral tolerance. These include the induction, following mucosal antigen exposure, of regulatory populations of T-cells that can down-regulate specific immune responses (e.g. DTH) via the production of specific cytokines (e.g. TGF-beta 1, IL-10 and IL-4). In addition, clonal anergy, clonal deletion and antibody-mediated suppression can be shown to play a role in the induction and maintenance of mucosal tolerance in several experimental systems. In animal studies, the onset of collagen-induced, adjuvant-induced, antigen-induced and pristane-induced arthritis has been delayed and the severity of ongoing disease diminished following feeding collagen type II. Mucosal tolerance has been clearly demonstrated in humans and clinical studies have been undertaken to treat rheumatoid arthritis using a similar approach. Results of initial clinical studies in rheumatoid arthritis indicated a modest improvement and further studies are ongoing in this and other autoimmune diseases (e.g. multiple sclerosis, autoimmune uveitis and insulin-dependent diabetes). This approach, if successful, could offer a new and novel therapeutic modality for preventing autoimmune and allergic disorders, and modulating ongoing disease.