Involvement of dipeptidyl peptidase IV in an in vivo immune response.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DP IV) is a serine protease that selectively cleaves X-Pro dipeptides from polypeptides and proteins. Among blood cells, this enzyme occurs preferentially on the surface of CD4+ T cells and the amount of enzyme activity increases with T cell activation. In previous work, two potent and specific peptidyl-boronic acid inhibitors of DP IV, Ala-boroPro and Pro-boroPro, were synthesized and Pro-boroPro was shown to suppress antigen-specific proliferative responses of T cells in vitro. In this study, we tested the in vivo effects of these inhibitors. Subcutaneous injection of Ala-boroPro or Pro-boroPro into BALB/c mice inhibited DP IV activity in serum and spleen cell suspensions. Repeated injections of more than 10 micrograms of Ala-boroPro or Pro-boroPro at 12 h intervals maintained in vivo DP IV activity at less than 30% of the normal level. Repeated injections of the inhibitors during the primary, secondary or tertiary immune response to bovine serum albumin (BSA) reduced anti-BSA antibody production. Without inhibitor, immunization with BSA was followed by a temporary decrease in serum DP IV activity and then by enhanced serum enzyme activity after several days. These results provide the first direct evidence that DP IV plays an important role in immune response in vivo.