Table 3.
Summary of findings for studies of autoimmune regulatory (Aire) protein expression in peripheral tissue.
| Author | Species | Tissue | Technique | Antibody | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heino et al. (1999) [71] | Human | Thymus, spleen, LN, F liver, adrenal cortex, thyroid gland, gonad, pancreas, kidney, skin, lung, heart, PBL Adult and fetal | Immunohistochemistry | Mouse polyclonal against human AIRE protein, rabbit polyclonal against a peptide to the 20 C-terminal amino acids of mouse Aire | Staining found in thymus medulla, medulla and paracortical regions in lymph node, in spleen and F liver. No staining was seen in the remaining tissues. Identical results obtained with the mouse and rabbit anti-AIRE |
| Heino et al. (2000) [74] | Mouse (BALB/c and NOD) | Thymus, skeletal muscle, testis, ovaries, kidney, adrenal gland, lung, LN, spleen, liver | Western blotting | Rabbit polyclonal against 11 peptides from the mouse Aire sequence | 60kDa Aire-specific band detected in thymus only. Band was abolished by pre-absorbing antibody with immunizing serum confirming specificity for Aire staining. No staining seen for any of the other tissues |
| Halonen et al. (2001) [69] | Mouse (NMRI) | Thymus, spleen, LN, BM, PBMCs | Immunohistochemistry | Rabbit polyclonal against mouse Aire polypeptide | Staining found predominantly in epithelial cells of thymus as nuclear dots. Some staining of splenic macrophages, lymphocytes and neutrophils. Some staining of lymphocytes, and reticular cells in LN. Some staining of large megakaryocyte subpopulations and possibly lymphoblasts and myeloblasts in BM. Some staining of lymphocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocyte and monocyte nuclei in PBMC smears |
| Ramsey et al. (2002) [52] | Mouse (C57BL/6 Aire+/+ and Aire–/–) | Thymus, liver, brain | Immunohistochemistry | Rabbit polyclonal against a peptide from mouse Aire protein | Thymus, liver and brain in Aire+/+ mice showed immunoreactivity for Aire. No reactivity detected in Aire–/– mouse tissues confirming specificy for Aire staining |
| Adamson et al. (2004) [53] | Mouse (CD1 and C57BL/6J at 6–8 weeks) | Thymus, LN, spleen, lung, kidney, ovary, testis, goblet cells of gut, brain, fallopian tubes, heart, liver, adrenal glands | Immunohistochemistry | Rabbit polyclonal against a peptide from the human AIRE protein | Aire expression detected in all tissues other than heart, liver and adrenal glands in both mouse strains |
| C57BL/6J E14·5 | In contrast to adult tissue described above, Aire staining was seen in liver but decreased towards term. Like the adult, staining was found in lung and kidney. Although staining was seen in the gut at this embryonic stage, it was in different cells to the adult gut | ||||
| Suzuki et al. (2008) [72] | Human | PBMC | FACS | Rabbit polyclonal against a peptide from the human AIRE protein | Barely expressed on T cell, intermediate expression on B cells and CD14+ cells which appeared to be DC/macrophages |
| Hubert et al. (2008) [56] | Mouse | Thymus, spleen, LN | Immunohistochemistry/ immunofluorescence | Rat monoclonal against a peptide from mouse Aire protein | Staining seen in the medullar and cortico-medullar junction of thymus |
| Thymus, spleen | Transgenic mice expressing β-galactosidase under control of Aire promoter | β-galactosidase expression | Staining seen in the medullar and cortico-medullar junction of thymus | ||
| Thymus, spleen and LN DCs CD45–UEA+ cells from spleen and LN | FACS | Rat monoclonal against a peptide from mouse Aire protein | No staining seen in any tissues examined | ||
| Schaller et al. (2008) [76] | Mouse (HD C57BL/6 background) (LA unknown strain contributions) | Thymus, testis | Immunohistochemistry | Rat monoclonal against a peptide from mouse Aire protein – also used by Hubert et al. 2008 [45] | Staining seen in the medullary cells of the thymus, spermatogonia and spermatocytes of the testis |
| Gardner et al. (2008) [73] | Mouse [Aire-driven Igrp-GFP (ADIG)] | Thymus, LN and spleen | Immunofluorescence | Anti-GFP staining | GFP was expressed in mTECs and found in LN and spleen |
| Rat monoclonal against a peptide from mouse Aire protein – also used by Hubert et al. 2008 [45] | Aire staining seen in LN | ||||
| Poliani et al. (2010) [54] | Human | Fetal and adult tissues of the cardiovascular system, endocrine glands, eye and annexa, female genital system, gastrointestinal tract, haemolymphopoietic system, integumentary system, male genital system, mammary gland, nervous system, respiratory system, salivary gland, soft tissues and urinary system | Immunohistochemistry | Mouse monoclonal raised against human Aire protein | In fetal tissue – Aire only detected in thymus |
| In adult tissue – Aire detected in thymus, LN, tonsils and GALT but not in spleen. Aire-positive cells regularly found in LN but at lower numbers than thymus. Aire staining rarer still in tonsils and GALT. All other tissues were negative for AIRE staining |
LN, lymph node; MLN, mesenteric lymph node; SKLN, skin draining lymph node; GALT, gut-associated lymphoid tissue; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cells; BM, bone marrow; F liver, fetal liver; DC, dendritic cell; NOD, non-obese diabetic; FACS, fluorescence activated cell sorting; GFP, green fluorescent protein; PBL, peripheral blood leucocytes; igrp, islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase-related protein; ADIG, Aire-driven Igrp-GFP.