Hypersensitivity pneumonitis in athymic nude mice. Additional evidence of T cell dependency.

We previously demonstrated that C57 Black/6 mice develop lung lesions similar to human hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) by repeated transnasal administration of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris (Tv) antigen. To elucidate the role of T cells in the development of this disease, Tv antigen (90 micrograms/day) was transnasally administered to athymic nude C57 Black/nu/nu (nu) mice and their littermates (+/nu) three times a week for 3 wk. The nude mice developed minimal lung lesions, whereas their thymus-intact littermates (+/nu) showed changes equivalent to those in C57 Black/6. Changes in local inflammatory cell responses were evaluated by bronchoalveolar lavage, and increases in the numbers of lymphocytes and macrophages were significantly less severe in the nude mice than in the +/nu mice. Interestingly, the increase in polymorphonuclear leukocytes 6 h after the last antigen inoculation was equivalently seen in both groups. When spleen-derived T cells (more than 95% Thy-1.2+) from the sensitized +/nu mice were adoptively transferred to nude mice, the HP-like lesions in the recipients were found after Tv antigen challenge. These results suggest that Thy-1.2+ T cell-mediated immunity was necessary for the development of HP in this murine model.