技术资料

Granulomas are innate sequestration responses that can be modified by superimposed acquired immune mechanisms. The present study examined the innate stage of pulmonary granuloma responses to bead-immobilized Th1- and Th2-inducing pathogen antigens (Ags),Mycobacteria bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) and Schistosoma mansoni soluble egg Ags (SEA). Compared to a nonpathogen Ag,PPD and SEA bead elicited larger lesions with the former showing accelerated inflammation. Temporal analyses of cytokine and chemokine transcripts showed all Ag beads induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA but indicated biased interleukin (IL)-1,IL-6,and IL-12 expression with PPD challenge. All beads elicited comparable levels of CXCL9,CXL10,CCL2,CCL17,and CCL22 mRNA,but PPD beads caused biased CXCL2 CXCL5,CCL3,and CCL4 expression whereas both pathogen Ags induced CCL7. Immunohistochemical,electron microscopic,and flow cytometric analyses showed that Ag beads mobilized CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs) of comparable maturation. Transfer of DCs from PPD Ag-challenged lungs conferred a Th1 anamnestic cytokine response in recipients. Surprisingly,transfer of DCs from the helminth SEA-challenged lungs did not confer the expected Th2 response,but instead rendered recipients incapable of Ag-elicited IL-4 production. These results provide in vivo evidence that lung DCs recruited under inflammatory conditions favor Th1 responses and alternative mechanisms are required for Th2 commitment. View Publication

The novel immunosuppressant FTY720 activates sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors (S1PRs) that affect responsiveness of lymphocytes to chemokines such as stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1),resulting in increased lymphocyte homing to secondary lymphoid organs. Since SDF-1 and its receptor CXCR4 are also involved in bone marrow (BM) homing of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HPCs),we analyzed expression of S1PRs and the influence of FTY720 on SDF-1/CXCR4-mediated effects in human HPCs. By reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),S1PRs were expressed in mobilized CD34+ HPCs,particularly in primitive CD34+/CD38- cells. Incubation of HPCs with FTY720 resulted in prolonged SDF-1-induced calcium mobilization and actin polymerization,and substantially increased SDF-1-dependent in vitro transendothelial migration,without affecting VLA-4,VLA-5,and CXCR4 expression. In nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice,the number of CD34+/CD38- cells that homed to the BM after 18 hours was significantly raised by pretreatment of animals and cells with FTY720,tending to result in improved engraftment. In addition,in vitro growth of HPCs (week-5 cobblestone area-forming cells [CAFCs]) was 2.4-fold increased. We conclude that activation of S1PRs by FTY720 increases CXCR4 function in HPCs both in vitro and in vivo,supporting homing and proliferation of HPCs. In the hematopoietic microenvironment,S1PRs are involved in migration and maintenance of HPCs by modulating the effects of SDF-1. View Publication

BACKGROUND: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) agonists inhibit vascular smooth muscle proliferation and migration and improve endothelial function. It is unknown whether PPAR-gamma agonists favorably modulate bone marrow (BM)-derived angiogenic progenitor cells (APCs) to promote endothelial lineage differentiation and early reendothelialization after vascular intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS: C57/BL6 mice,treated with or without rosiglitazone (8 mg/kg per day),a PPAR-gamma agonist,underwent femoral angioplasty. Rosiglitazone treatment attenuated neointimal formation (intima/media ratio: 0.98+/-0.12 [rosiglitazone] versus 3.1+/-0.5 [control]; Ptextless0.001; n=10 per group). Using a BM transplantation model,we identified that 58+/-12% of the cells within the neointima at 4 weeks were derived from the BM. Pure endothelial marker-positive,pure alpha-smooth muscle actin (alphaSMA)-positive,or double-positive APCs could be found both in mouse BM and in human peripheral blood after culture in conditional medium enriched with vascular endothelial growth factor. Rosiglitazone caused a 6-fold (Ptextless0.001) increase in colony formation by human endothelial progenitor cells,promoted the differentiation of APCs toward the endothelial lineage in mouse BM in vivo (0.66+/-0.06% [control] to 0.95+/-0.08% [rosiglitazone]; Ptextless0.05) and in human peripheral blood in vitro (13.2+/-1.5% [control] to 28.4+/-3.3% [rosiglitazone]; Ptextless0.05),and inhibited the differentiation toward the smooth muscle cell lineage. Within the neointima,rosiglitazone also stimulated APCs to differentiate into mature endothelial cells and caused earlier reendothelialization compared with controls (31+/-5 versus 8+/-2 CD31-positive cells per millimeter of neointimal surface on day 14; Ptextless0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Similar to embryonic stem cell-derived progenitors,the adult BM and peripheral blood harbor APCs that are at least bipotential and able to differentiate into endothelial and smooth muscle lineages. The PPAR-gamma agonist rosiglitazone promotes the differentiation of these APCs toward the endothelial lineage and attenuates restenosis after angioplasty. View Publication

The cellular and molecular events regulating the induction and tissue-specific differentiation of endoderm are central to our understanding of the development and function of many organ systems. To define and characterize key components in this process,we have investigated the potential of embryonic stem (ES) cells to generate endoderm following their differentiation to embryoid bodies (EBs) in culture. We found that endoderm can be induced in EBs,either by limited exposure to serum or by culturing in the presence of activin A (activin) under serum-free conditions. By using an ES cell line with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) cDNA targeted to the brachyury locus,we demonstrate that endoderm develops from a brachyury(+) population that also displays mesoderm potential. Transplantation of cells generated from activin-induced brachyury(+) cells to the kidney capsule of recipient mice resulted in the development of endoderm-derived structures. These findings demonstrate that ES cells can generate endoderm in culture and,as such,establish this differentiation system as a unique murine model for studying the development and specification of this germ layer. View Publication

The myeloproliferative disorder of mice lacking the Src homology 2 (SH2)-containing 5' phosphoinositol phosphatase,SHIP,underscores the need for closely regulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway activity,and hence levels of phosphatidylinositol species during hematopoiesis. The role of the 3' phosphoinositol phosphatase Pten in this process is less clear,as its absence leads to embryonic lethality. Despite Pten heterozygosity being associated with a lymphoproliferative disorder,we found no evidence of a hematopoietic defect in Pten(+/-) mice. Since SHIP shares the same substrate (PIP(3)) with Pten,we hypothesized that the former might compensate for Pten haploinsufficiency in the marrow. Thus,we examined the effect of Pten heterozygosity in SHIP(-/-) mice,predicting that further dysregulation of PIP(3) metabolism would exacerbate the pheno-type of the latter. Indeed,compared with SHIP(-/-) mice,Pten(+/-)SHIP(-/-) animals developed a myelodysplastic phenotype characterized by increased hepatosplenomegaly,extramedullary hematopoiesis,anemia,and thrombocytopenia. Consistent with a marrow defect,clonogenic assays demonstrated reductions in committed myeloid and megakaryocytic progenitors in these animals. Providing further evidence of a Pten(+/-)SHIP(-/-) progenitor abnormality,reconstitution of irradiated mice with marrows from these mice led to a marked defect in short-term repopulation of peripheral blood by donor cells. These studies suggest that the regulation of the levels and/or ratios of PI3K-derived phosphoinositol species by these 2 phosphatases is critical to normal hematopoiesis. View Publication

Recent evidence suggests that protease release by neutrophils in the bone marrow may contribute to hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) mobilization. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9),neutrophil elastase (NE),and cathepsin G (CG) accumulate in the bone marrow during granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) treatment,where they are thought to degrade key substrates including vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and CXCL12. To test this hypothesis,HPC mobilization was characterized in transgenic mice deficient in one or more hematopoietic proteases. Surprisingly,HPC mobilization by G-CSF was normal in MMP-9-deficient mice,NE x CG-deficient mice,or mice lacking dipeptidyl peptidase I,an enzyme required for the functional activation of many hematopoietic serine proteases. Moreover,combined inhibition of neutrophil serine proteases and metalloproteinases had no significant effect on HPC mobilization. VCAM-1 expression on bone marrow stromal cells decreased during G-CSF treatment of wild-type mice but not NE x CG-deficient mice,indicating that VCAM-1 cleavage is not required for efficient HPC mobilization. G-CSF induced a significant decrease in CXCL12 alpha protein expression in the bone marrow of Ne x CG-deficient mice,indicating that these proteases are not required to down-regulate CXCL12 expression. Collectively,these data suggest a complex model in which both protease-dependent and -independent pathways may contribute to HPC mobilization. View Publication

The Kit receptor functions in hematopoiesis,lymphocyte development,gastrointestinal tract motility,melanogenesis,and gametogenesis. To investigate the roles of different Kit signaling pathways in vivo,we have generated knock-in mice in which docking sites for PI 3-kinase (KitY719) or Src kinase (KitY567) have been mutated. Whereas steady-state hematopoiesis is normal in KitY719F/Y719F and KitY567F/Y567F mice,lymphopoiesis is affected differentially. The KitY567F mutation,but not the KitY719F mutation,blocks pro T cell and pro B cell development in an age-dependent manner. Thus,the Src family kinase,but not the PI 3-kinase docking site in Kit,mediates a critical signal for lymphocyte development. In agreement with these results,treatment of normal mice with the Kit tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib (Gleevec) leads to deficits in pro T and pro B cell development,similar to those seen in KitY567F/Y567F and KitW/W mice. The two mutations do not affect embryonic gametogenesis but the KitY719F mutation blocks spermatogenesis at the spermatogonial stages and in contrast the KitY567F mutation does not affect this process. Therefore,Kit-mediated PI 3-kinase signaling and Src kinase family signaling is highly specific for different cellular contexts in vivo. View Publication

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Erythropoietin (EPO) is the hormone necessary for development of erythrocytes from immature erythroid cells. EPO activates Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK),a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family in the EPO-dependent murine erythroid HCD57 cells. Therefore,we tested if JNK activity supported proliferation and/or survival of these cells. Treatment with the JNK inhibitor SP600125 inhibited JNK activity and EPO-dependent proliferation of HCD57 cells and the human EPO-dependent cell lines TF-1 and UT7-EPO. SP600125 also increased the fraction of cells in G2/M. Introduction of a dominant-negative form of JNK1 inhibited EPO-dependent proliferation in HCD57 cells but did not increase the fraction of cells in G2/M. Constitutive JNK activity was observed in primary murine erythroid progenitors. Treatment of primary mouse bone marrow cells with the SP600125 inhibitor reduced the number of erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-e's) but not the more differentiated erythroid colony-forming units (CFU-e's),and SP600125 protected the BFU-e's from apoptosis induced by cytosine arabinoside,demonstrating that the SP600125 inhibited proliferation of the BFU-e's. Therefore,JNK activity appears to be an important regulator of proliferation in immature,primary erythroid cells and 3 erythroid cell lines but may not be required for the survival or proliferation of CFU-e's or proerythroblasts. View Publication

The colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) are a group of cytokines central to the hematopoiesis of blood cells,the modulation of their functional responses,as well as the maintenance of homeostasis and overall immune competence. This group consists of the macrophage-CSF (M-CSF),granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF),granulocyte/macrophage-CSF (GM-CSF),and multi-CSF (IL-3). M-CSF and G-CSF are relatively lineage-specific,having a role in the proliferation,differentiation,and survival of macrophages,neutrophils,and their precursors. In contrast,GM-CSF and multi-CSF function at earlier stages of lineage commitment regulating the expansion and maturation of primitive hematopoietic progenitors. Colony stimulating factor production and degradation are strictly controlled,thus allowing for effective modulation of their biological functions in steady-state conditions as well as under periods of stress. Moreover,the mechanisms behind their expression and that of their cognate receptors ensures that their actions are tightly coordinated,within the context of a network of complex but finely tuned regulatory pathways derived from a variety of local and endocrine hematopoietic regulators. In this review we present some of the most salient information on CSF biology collected over the last three decades. We examine the gene and protein structure of each of the four CSFs and their corresponding receptors,and consider the main determinants behind their biological activities. The components responsible for their functional redundancy as well as the mechanisms that mediate their specificity are also discussed. Although most of available knowledge about CSFs is on human and mouse CSFs,an attempt was made to integrate recent findings in other systems in order to highlight a more widespread role for CSFs throughout evolution. View Publication