技术资料

We have established a system for directed differentiation of human embryonic stem (hES) cells into myeloid dendritic cells (DCs). As a first step,we induced hemopoietic differentiation by coculture of hES cells with OP9 stromal cells,and then,expanded myeloid cells with GM-CSF using a feeder-free culture system. Myeloid cells had a CD4+CD11b+CD11c+CD16+CD123(low)HLA-DR- phenotype,expressed myeloperoxidase,and included a population of M-CSFR+ monocyte-lineage committed cells. Further culture of myeloid cells in serum-free medium with GM-CSF and IL-4 generated cells that had typical dendritic morphology; expressed high levels of MHC class I and II molecules,CD1a,CD11c,CD80,CD86,DC-SIGN,and CD40; and were capable of Ag processing,triggering naive T cells in MLR,and presenting Ags to specific T cell clones through the MHC class I pathway. Incubation of DCs with A23187 calcium ionophore for 48 h induced an expression of mature DC markers CD83 and fascin. The combination of GM-CSF with IL-4 provided the best conditions for DC differentiation. DCs obtained with GM-CSF and TNF-alpha coexpressed a high level of CD14,and had low stimulatory capacity in MLR. These data clearly demonstrate that hES cells can be used as a novel and unique source of hemopoietic and DC precursors as well as DCs at different stages of maturation to address essential questions of DC development and biology. In addition,because ES cells can be expanded without limit,they can be seen as a potential scalable source of cells for DC vaccines or DC-mediated induction of immune tolerance. View Publication

Prior experimental strategies to induce transplantation tolerance have focused largely on modifying adaptive immunity. However,less is known concerning the role of innate immune signaling in the induction of transplantation tolerance. Using a highly immunogenic murine skin transplant model that resists transplantation tolerance induction when innate immunity is preserved,we show that absence of MyD88,a key innate Toll like receptor signal adaptor,abrogates this resistance and facilitates inducible allograft acceptance. In our model,absence of MyD88 impairs inflammatory dendritic cell responses that reduce T cell activation. This effect increases T cell susceptibility to suppression mediated by CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells. Therefore,this study provides evidence that absence of MyD88 promotes inducible allograft acceptance and implies that inhibiting innate immunity may be a potential,clinically relevant strategy to facilitate transplantation tolerance. View Publication

We describe here the effects of three drugs that are either approved or have the potential for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients through the in vitro activities of human natural killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells (DCs). Our results indicate that 1,25(OH)2D3,the biologically active metabolite of vitamin D3,calcipotriol and FTY720 augment IL-2-activated NK cell lysis of K562 and RAJI tumor cell lines as well as immature (i) and mature (m) DCs,with variable efficacies. These results are corroborated with the ability of the drugs to up-regulate the expression of NK cytotoxicity receptors NKp30 and NKp44,as well as NKG2D on the surfaces of NK cells. Also,they down-regulate the expression of the killer inhibitory receptor CD158. The three drugs down-regulate the expression of CCR6 on the surface of iDCs,whereas vitamin D3 and calcipotriol tend to up-regulate the expression of CCR7 on mDCs,suggesting that they may influence the migration of DCs into the lymph nodes. Finally,vitamin D3,calcipotriol and FTY720 enhance NK17/NK1 cell lysis of K562 cells,suggesting that a possible mechanism of action for these drugs is via activating these newly described cells. In conclusion,our results show novel mechanisms of action for vitamin D3,calcipotriol and FTY720 on cells of the innate immune system. View Publication

As sentinels of the immune system,dendritic cells (DCs) play an essential role in regulating cellular immune responses. One of the main challenges of developing DC-targeted therapies includes the delivery of antigen to DCs in order to promote the activation of antigen-specific effector CD8 T cells. With the goal of creating antigen-directed immunotherapeutics that can be safely administered directly to patients,Immune Design has developed a platform of novel integration-deficient lentiviral vectors that target and deliver antigen-encoding nucleic acids to human DCs. This platform,termed ID-VP02,utilizes a novel genetic variant of a Sindbis virus envelope glycoprotein with posttranslational carbohydrate modifications in combination with Vpx,a SIVmac viral accessory protein,to achieve efficient targeting and transduction of human DCs. In addition,ID-VP02 incorporates safety features in its design that include two redundant mechanisms to render ID-VP02 integration-deficient. Here,we describe the characteristics that allow ID-VP02 to specifically transduce human DCs,and the advances that ID-VP02 brings to conventional third-generation lentiviral vector design as well as demonstrate upstream production yields that will enable manufacturing feasibility studies to be conducted. View Publication

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are innate sensors of viral infections and important mediators of antiviral innate immunity through their ability to produce large amounts of IFN-α. Moreover,Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and 9 (TLR9) ligands,such as HIV and CpG respectively,turn pDCs into TRAIL-expressing killer pDCs able to lyse HIV-infected CD4+ T cells. NK cells can regulate antiviral immunity by modulating pDC functions,and pDC production of IFN-α as well as cell-cell contact is required to promote NK cell functions. Impaired pDC-NK cell crosstalk was reported in the setting of HIV-1 infection,but the impact of HIV-1 on TRAIL expression and innate antiviral immunity during this crosstalk is unknown. Here,we report that low concentrations of CCR5-tropic HIV-1Ba-L promote the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-α,TNF-α,IFN-γ and IL-12,and CCR5-interacting chemokines (MIP-1α and MIP-1β) in NK-pDCs co-cultures. At high HIV-1BaL concentrations,the addition of NK cells did not promote the release of these mediators,suggesting that once efficiently triggered by the virus,pDCs could not integrate new activating signals delivered by NK cells. However,high HIV-1BaL concentrations were required to trigger IFN-α-mediated TRAIL expression at the surface of both pDCs and NK cells during their crosstalk. Interestingly,we identified the alarmin HMGB1,released at pDC-NK cell synapse,as an essential trigger for the secretion of IFN-α and IFN-related soluble mediators during the interplay of HIV-1 exposed pDCs with NK cells. Moreover,HMGB1 was found crucial for mTRAIL translocation to the plasma membrane of both pDCs and NK cells during their crosstalk following pDC exposure to HIV-1. Data from serum analyses of circulating HMGB1,HMGB1-specific antibodies,sTRAIL and IP-10 in a cohort of 67 HIV-1+ patients argue for the in vivo relevance of these observations. Altogether,these findings identify HMGB1 as a trigger for IFN-α-mediated TRAIL expression at the surface of pDCs and NK cells,and they suggest a novel mechanism of innate control of HIV-1 infection. View Publication

PURPOSE: Immunotherapy holds promise as a new strategy for the eradication of residual cells in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Leukaemic antigen presenting cells (APCs) combining optimal antigen presentation and tumour antigenicity could be used as potent T cell activators. For clinical purposes it is desirable to culture APCs under serum-free conditions. Therefore,we compared morphological,immunophenotypical and functional outcome of the serum-free culture of AML-APCs to their serum-enriched culture. METHODS: AML blasts (n=19) were cultured in the presence of either a cytokine mix or calcium ionophore (CI) for 14 and 2 days,respectively,in FCS-containing medium (FCS),StemSpan serum-free medium (SP) and CellGro serum-free medium (CG). After culture relative yields were calculated and immunophenotypic analysis of APC markers was performed. The mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) was used to determine T cell stimulating capacity. RESULTS: Serum-free culture of AML-APCs resulted in comparable morphology,relative yields and immunophenotype to serum-enriched culture. By comparing both serum-free media we observed a trend towards a more mature phenotype of CI-cultured AML-APCs in SP. MLR showed that serum-free cultured cells have equal T cell stimulatory capacity in comparison with serum-enriched culture. CONCLUSION: These data show that the serum-free culture of AML-APCs is feasible and that these APCs are comparable to serum-enriched cultured AML-APCs with regard to morphological,immunophenotypical and functional characteristics. These AML-APCs are suitable for the development of active specific immunisation protocols which meet the criteria for good clinical practise (GCP). View Publication

Mice deficient in early B cell factor (EBF) are blocked at the progenitor B cell stage prior to immunoglobulin gene rearrangement. The EBF-dependent block in B cell development occurs near the onset of B-lineage commitment,which raises the possibility that EBF may act instructively to specify the B cell fate from uncommitted,multipotential progenitor cells. To test this hypothesis,we transduced enriched hematopoietic progenitor cells with a retroviral vector that coexpressed EBF and the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Mice reconstituted with EBF-expressing cells showed a near complete absence of T lymphocytes. Spleen and peripheral blood samples were textgreater95 and 90% GFP+EBF+ mature B cells,respectively. Both NK and lymphoid-derived dendritic cells were also significantly reduced compared with control-transplanted mice. These data suggest that EBF can restrict lymphopoiesis to the B cell lineage by blocking development of other lymphoid-derived cell pathways. View Publication

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like ligand BAFF/BLyS (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family/B-lymphocyte stimulator) is a potent B-cell survival factor,yet its functional relationship with other B-cell surface molecules such as CD19 and CD40 is poorly understood. We found that follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) in human lymph nodes expressed BAFF abundantly. BAFF up-regulated a B cell-specific transcription factor Pax5/BSAP (Pax5/B cell-specific activator protein) activity and its target CD19,a major component of the B-cell coreceptor complex,and synergistically enhanced CD19 phosphorylation by B-cell antigen receptor (BCR). BAFF further enhanced B-cell proliferation,immunoglobulin G (IgG) production,and reactivity to CD154 by BCR/CD19 coligation and interleukin-15 (IL-15). Our results suggest that BAFF may play an important role in FDC-B-cell interactions through the B-cell coreceptor complex and a possibly sequential link between the T cell-independent and -dependent B-cell responses in the germinal centers. View Publication

Abnormal differentiation of myeloid cells is one of the hallmarks of cancer. However,the molecular mechanisms of this process remain elusive. In this study,we investigated the effect of tumor-derived factors on Janus kinase (Jak)/STAT signaling in myeloid cells during their differentiation into dendritic cells. Tumor cell conditioned medium induced activation of Jak2 and STAT3,which was associated with an accumulation of immature myeloid cells. Jak2/STAT3 activity was localized primarily in these myeloid cells,which prevented the differentiation of immature myeloid cells into mature dendritic cells. This differentiation was restored after removal of tumor-derived factors. Inhibition of STAT3 abrogated the negative effects of these factors on myeloid cell differentiation,and overexpression of STAT3 reproduced the effects of tumor-derived factors. Thus,this is a first demonstration that tumor-derived factors may affect myeloid cell differentiation in cancer via constitutive activation of Jak2/STAT3. View Publication

Two distinct dendritic cell (DC) subpopulations have been evidenced in mice on the basis of their differential CD8alpha expression and their localization in lymphoid organs. Several reports suggest that CD8alpha(+) and CD8alpha(-) DC subsets could be functionally different. In this study,using a panel of MHC class I- and/or class II-restricted peptides,we analyzed CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses obtained after i.v. injection of freshly purified peptide-pulsed DC subsets. First,we showed that both DC subsets efficiently induce specific CTL responses and Th1 cytokine production in the absence of CD4(+) T cell priming. Second,we showed that in vivo activation of CD4(+) T cells by CD8alpha(+) or CD8alpha(-) DC,injected i.v.,leads to a nonpolarized Th response with production of both Th1 and Th2 cytokines. The CD8alpha(-) subset induced a higher production of Th2 cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-10 than the CD8alpha(+) subset. However,IL-5 was produced by CD4(+) T cells activated by both DC subsets. When both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were primed by DC injected i.v.,a similar pattern of cytokines was observed,but,under these conditions,Th1 cytokines were mainly produced by CD8(+) T cells,while Th2 cytokines were produced by CD4(+) T cells. Thus,this study clearly shows that CD4(+) T cell responses do not influence the development of specific CD8(+) T cell cytotoxic responses induced either by CD8alpha(+) or CD8alpha(-) DC subsets. View Publication

Retinoic acid (RA) produced by intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) imprints gut-homing specificity on lymphocytes and enhances Foxp3(+) regulatory T-cell differentiation. The expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 1A in these DCs is essential for the RA production. However,it remains unclear how the steady-state ALDH1A expression is induced under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions. Here,we found that bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BM-DCs) generated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) expressed Aldh1a2,an isoform of Aldh1a,but that fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand-generated BM-DCs did not. DCs from mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and Peyer's patches (PP) of normal SPF mice expressed ALDH1A2,but not the other known RA-producing enzymes. Employing a flow cytometric method,we detected ALDH activities in 10-30% of PP-DCs and MLN-DCs. They were CD11c(high)CD4(-/low)CD8alpha(intermediate)CD11b(-/low) F4/80(low/intermediate)CD45RB(low)CD86(high)MHC class II(high)B220(-)CD103(+). Equivalent levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDHact) and ALDH1A2 expression were induced synergistically by GM-CSF and IL-4 in splenic DCs in vitro. In BM-DCs,however,additional signals via Toll-like receptors or RA receptors were required for inducing the equivalent levels. The generated ALDH1A2(+) DCs triggered T cells to express gut-homing receptors or Foxp3. GM-CSF receptor-deficient or vitamin A-deficient mice exhibited marked reductions in the ALDHact in intestinal DCs and the T cell number in the intestinal lamina propria,whereas IL-4 receptor-mediated signals were dispensable. GM-CSF(+)CD11c(-)F4/80(+) cells existed constitutively in the intestinal tissues. The results suggest that GM-CSF and RA itself are pivotal among multiple microenvironment factors that enable intestinal DCs to produce RA. View Publication

Removal of sialic acid from glycoconjugates on the surface of monocytes enhances their response to bacterial LPS. We tested the hypothesis that endogenous sialidase activity creates a permissive state for LPS-induced cytokine production in human monocyte-derived DCs. Of the four genetically distinct sialidases (Neu1-4),Neu1,Neu3,and Neu4 are expressed in human monocytes,but only Neu1 and Neu3 are up-regulated as cells differentiate into DCs. Neu1 and Neu3 are present on the surface of monocytes and DCs and are also present intracellularly. DCs contain a greater amount of sialic acid than monocytes,but the amount of sialic acid/mg total protein declines during differentiation to DCs. This relative hyposialylation of cells does not occur in mature DCs grown in the presence of zanamivir,a pharmacologic inhibitor of Neu3 but not Neu1,or DANA,an inhibitor of Neu1 and Neu3. Inhibition of sialidase activity during differentiation to DCs causes no detectable change in cell viability or expression of DC surface markers. Differentiation of monocytes into DCs in the presence of zanamivir results in reduced LPS- induced expression of IL-6,IL-12p40,and TNF-α by mature DCs,demonstrating a role for Neu3 in cytokine production. A role for Neu3 is supported by inhibition of cytokine production by DANA in DCs from Neu1�?�/�?� and WT mice. We conclude that sialidase-mediated change in sialic acid content of specific cell surface glycoconjugates in DCs regulates LPS-induced cytokine production,thereby contributing to development of adaptive immune responses. View Publication